Bouyed up by the excitement of filming Greta Thunberg at the Climate Strike on College Green last week. I was all set up for a weekend of conservation action. The plan? Along with my husband, to plant over 70 trees!
The leaves of the wild cherry saplings we’d bought were unfolding fast and they needed to be planted out. These cherry trees came as part of a Woodland Trust pack aimed at restoring woodland and regenerating the countryside. It’s a disease-resistant selection of beech, silver birch, oak, hornbeam and wild cherry that increases biodiversity by giving homes to wildlife, prevent flooding by improving the soil structure and make the air cleaner in south Bristol. What’s not to love?
Sadly, we had to cut down a mature ash to make space for these new trees. But as ash dieback is likely to kill 95% of the UK’s ash trees, we’re thinking ahead and making space for more resilient species. I hope that the introduction of stricter biosecurity measures will mean that in the future, potential threats to trees in the UK are kept at bay. We’d ordered two packs from the Woodland Trust – 90 trees in all – of which we planted 72 in a day. I can’t describe how good it felt, looking at the vast area we’d planted and considering the positive impact we’d made on the environment. How, in just a few hours, we’d converted a thin hedgerow into something that with a few years’ growth will become a woodland corridor alive with wildlife.
Bristol’s One City Climate Strategy
It’s our way of supporting Bristol’s One City Climate Strategy, launched by the One City Environmental Sustainability Board on 26 February. If Bristol is to become carbon neutral and climate resilient by 2030, we all need to do what we can. These trees are planted in Bristol’s green belt, but if you live in the city, there’s lots of way you can get involved. From choosing sustainable transport to taking the #wastenothing journey. This is also part of a nationwide Friends of the Earth initiative to double tree cover.
Our next tree-planting day is already planned. This time we’ll be helped out by the entire Skylark team planting the forest trees for each of our clients. Of course we’ll be sharing with you a film to show how it’s done.
JOIN US!
I’ll also be leading the Future Economy Network‘s Netwalking event next month. Interested in planting trees to improve your health, well-being and the environment? Join me at Future Leap‘s Gloucester Road offices over lunchtime (12.30-1.30pm) on Wednesday 29th April.
UPCOMING MARCH AWARENESS DAYS:
18th March – Global Recycling Day
19th March – NHS Sustainability Day
21st March – World Forestry Day
22nd March – World Water Day
28th March – WWF Earth Hour
Jo Haywood
Jo founded Skylark Media in 2005 after carving out a career making climate change documentaries for the BBC and Discovery Channel. She is an environmental campaigner and avid tree-planter, now CEO of Skylark.