Month: Nov 2023

A two-decade-long investigation has commenced to evaluate the potential of a vast newly planted woodland in the Yorkshire Dales to mitigate the severe impacts of climate change. The Woodland Trust is in the process of planting hundreds of thousands of trees at Snaizeholme, near Hawes, aiming to establish one of England’s largest native woodlands.

The trust wants to raise £8 million for a decades-long programme that will see a restored forest providing habitat for threatened species such as woodland birds and black grouse.

The Yorkshire Dales spot was once home to a 1,386 acre forest, but is now barren. It was identified as the wettest location in Yorkshire, the site is the focus of the study, which experts anticipate will enhance our comprehension of the flood-mitigating benefits associated with trees. Conducted by researchers from the University of York and the University of Leeds, the study employs specialiased equipment to observe the site and assess extreme weather events, the BBC reports.

The research aims to expand our knowledge of how trees can play a role in reducing the risk of flooding, sequestering and storing carbon, and offering essential habitats for the recovery of nature in the uplands of the United Kingdom, as stated by the researchers. The aim of the trust is to plant 291 hectares with saplings to create one of the largest native woodlands in England.

The first stage of the mammoth project is to be funded by the White Rose Forest through its Trees for Climate funding programme.

Dr John Crawford, conservation evidence officer for the Woodland Trust, said: “We know mature woodlands deliver a range of important benefits. They provide a home for nature, lock away carbon to fight climate change and slow the flow of water helping to reduce downstream flooding.

By slowing the flow of water on the hillsides, trees can also improve the wetland environment, giving space for otters and kingfishers to thrive, while reducing the risk of flooding for residents nearby.

There is also a plan to plant trees next to an existing ancient woodland where red squirrels live, expanding their home, while dry stone walls currently in place will be maintained to offer shelter for small mammals and lizards, the trust said.

Planted trees will be mostly native broadleaved species such as alder, silver birch, downy birch, willow, aspen, rowan, hawthorn and blackthorn, with montane species on the higher slopes.

Dr Rob Mills, from the University of York, said: “Opportunities to create and restore habitats at this scale are rare in England. Snaizeholme provides a unique opportunity to understand how carefully restoring a rich mosaic of habitats provides a range of benefits for people, nature and climate.”

Richmondshire Today reported that Al Nash, who is spearheading the project for the Woodland Trust, said that when the first of 100,000 trees are planted in phase one, it will be a significant moment for the Woodland Trust. Mr Nash said: “I love the Dales but the one thing it lacks in many areas is an abundance of trees.

“Here we will be giving nature and biodiversity a big boost and creating a vibrant mosaic of habitats and a rare opportunity to create a sizeable wildlife haven for the north of England.

Prof Dominick Spracklen, from the University of Leeds, said: “We have used a computer model to calculate that restoring the valley would reduce downstream flooding during a 1-in-50-year storm event by nearly 10%. It could be the difference between a house or a community being flooded, or not.”

Key aims of the Woodland Trust at Snaizeholme
* It will become a flagship woodland creation project for the White Rose Forest, the Community Forest for North and West Yorkshire, and the Northern Forest, a partnership between the Woodland Trust and some of the Community Forests in the north of England.
* The project as a whole will deliver against the YDNPA ‘Dales Woodland Strategy’ This new strategy sets an ambition to enhance the landscape by creating 6,000 ha of woodland habitat in the Yorkshire Dales National Park by 2030. That would take the area of the National Park covered by woodland from 4.3% to 7%.
* There are over 250 acres of upland peatbog, crucial carbon sinks – the Trust will look to restore them working with the Yorkshire Peat Partnership.
* With a staggering 21 (42km!) streams running down into Snaizeholme Beck, there is a huge amount of work needed to slow the headlong rush of flood water during heavy rains that contributes to flooding in urban areas downstream.
* Long term research collaboration with the University of Leeds and the University of York – including monitoring the development of woodland and water quality on site.
* Have a site free of all plastic tree protection. The Woodland Trust vowed to cease the use of any new plastic tree protection at its sites by the end of 2021.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/17/100000-native-trees-for-yorkshire-woodlands/

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/press-centre/2023/04/snaizeholme-yorkshire-dales-native-woodland-nature-boost/

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”
Albert Camus
photo: ikdz – istanbul

Although this is a beautiful photo and verse that is trending – Camus is not extolling the beauty of autumn, but rather portraying it as false and deceptive replacement for a poverty-stricken and bleak spring, tricking one into thinking that all is in bloom, when in actuality everything is dying. This quote or at least its original French incarnation is from Act 2 of his 1944 play The Misunderstanding (Le Malentendu).

‘Majestic’ oak tree that Charles Darwin may have climbed as a boy will be FELLED to make way for the Shrewsbury bypass – as campaigners say it’s a ‘dark day for the environment’

• The 550-year old oak is believed to have been visited by a young Charles Darwin
• Despite opposition, a six to five vote decided that the tree would be felled 

Over 200 years ago, when a young Charles Darwin may have played in its branches, this majestic oak tree was already 300 years old.

Now 550 years old, Darwin’s Oak and eight other ancient trees will be felled to make way for the £80 million ($97.3m) Shrewsbury North West Relief Road (NWRR).

Despite months of opposition, it only took a narrow vote on the Shropshire planning committee to condemn the trees to destruction.

Advocates for the road say it will connect the North and West of the town, reducing congestion and boosting the economy.

However, campaigners and local opposition groups say the move risks devastating an important piece of green space.

The tree, now known as Darwin’s Oak, stands in a ‘green wedge’ of undeveloped land which extends into the town centre.

Not far from Darwin’s childhood home, it is believed that Darwin may have visited the tree during his frequent walks in the Shrewsbury countryside.

With a girth of 23ft (seven metres), the enormous tree would certainly have been almost impossible for the young naturalist to miss.

However, opposition groups say the newly approved NWRR will bisect this green wedge and threaten a number of important ecological sites.

In addition to destroying 2.5 miles (four kilometres) of hedgerows, the road will also be built feet from four local wildlife sites.

The road will pass by an ancient woodland site, Hencott Pool, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and the extremely important Ramsar Wetland.

The Woodland Trust, a forestry conservation group, says that the decision goes against national planning laws that protect ancient trees.

Jack Taylor, lead campaigner for the Woodland Trust, said: ‘Just weeks after the iconic Sycamore Gap tree was lost, we are now faced with the loss of another iconic tree.’

The approval of the road is a ‘dark day for the environment and our natural heritage as it threatens the loss of this living legend, numerous other irreplaceable veteran trees, and will damage nearby ancient woodland,’

Dan Morris, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member of highways, said: ‘I absolutely accept that the NWRR divides opinions, but I’m confident that it will make a huge difference to people, not only within the town, but also in the surrounding villages.’

The council has proposed to plant 345,000 new trees, one for each Shropshire resident, and says that the bypass will have a positive effect on the environment.

In a statement, Shropshire Council said the road will improve air quality by reducing traffic in the town centre and by creating a new network of cycling routes.

However, air quality consultant Mark Broomfield has previously warned that the council has not properly considered the impacts of the road on Hencott Pool which is protected under UK law.

This could lead to a legal challenge being brought against the council and the decision being overturned if it could be shown that the council had not sufficiently assessed the air pollution impact.

Fresh opposition to the decision has already begun to organise, with a petition to overturn the approval gaining almost 5,000 signatures in three days.

Rob McBride, a tree campaigner who launched the petition, told The Guardian: ‘It all ties in with Darwin’s theory of evolution, there’s too many dinosaurs on that committee.

‘It’s a majestic, impressive tree. You can see it straight across the meadow as you come near the River Severn.

‘It’s just a brilliant landmark tree that many people, many residents use … to find solace and to connect with nature.’

The Ancient Tree Forum has strongly objected to the road scheme.
‘on the grounds that it will result in an unacceptable loss of and or deterioration to an ancient tree T58, (the Darwin Oak) at least seven other veteran trees, and many mature and notable trees…. contrary to government policy NPPF para 175c…. Planting even many thousands of young trees is not an adequate substitute.

The news comes shortly after the famous Hadrian’s Wall Gap tree was felled between September 27 and 28. The 300-year-old Sycamore tree was cut down overnight in what the police believe was a deliberate act of vandalism.

Throughout the major cultures of Europe people have held the oak tree in high esteem. To the Greeks, Romans, Celts, Slavs and Teutonic tribes the oak was foremost amongst venerated trees. In each case associated with the supreme god in their pantheon, oak being sacred to Zeus, Jupiter, Dagda, Perun and Thor, respectively. Each of these gods also had dominion over rain, thunder and lightning. It is no coincidence that oak trees are more prone to lightning strikes than many other trees. This is because of the tree’s high water content and the fact that they are frequently the tallest living things in the landscape.

The Druids frequently worshipped and practised their rites in oak groves. The word Druid may derive from a Celtic word meaning “knower of the oak tree”. The Gaelic word for oak is darach and remains in place names such as Glac Daraich (oak hollow/small valley) in Glen Affric.

Mistletoe, probably the Druids’ most potent and magical plant, frequently grew on oak trees. Its presence was believed to indicate the hand of God having placed it there in a lightning strike.

Ancient kings presented themselves as the personifications of these gods. They took on the responsibility not only for success in battle but also the fertility of the land, which relied on rainfall. They wore crowns of oak leaves, as a symbol of the god they represented as kings on Earth. Similarly, successful Roman commanders were presented with crowns of oak leaves during their victory parades. Oak leaves have continued as decorative icons of military prowess to the present day. Oak leaves’ connection with rainfall also survived in more recent folklore. There are a variety of similar rhymes about which tree’s leaves appeared first, such as the Irish saying:

If the oak before the ash,

Then we’ll only have a splash.

If the ash before the oak,

Then we’ll surely have a soak!

The spiritual appreciation of oak did not cease with the advent of Christianity. However, early Christian churches supplanted many oak groves. St. Columba was said to have had a fondness and respect for oak trees and to have been reluctant to fell them. Even so, his early chapel on Iona was constructed of oak from the nearby Mull oakwoods. St. Brendan was divinely inspired to use oak boards instead of traditional hides to cover his coracle. Legend says this small vessel may have carried him to the New World some thousand years before Columbus.

Oak was also favoured for its strength and durability. It was a core part of the distinctive Tudor timbered houses, and artists used its even-grained, honey-coloured beauty for carving and turning. The bark was valued by the leather tanning industry as it contains a lot of tannin. During the Industrial Revolution large amounts were sent from northwest Scotland to Glasgow for this purpose. The bark also yields a brown dye, and oak galls gave the strong black dye from which ink was made. A tonic derived from boiling the bark was used to treat harness sores on horses.

Perhaps because of the oak’s size and presence, much of its folklore concerns specific, individual oak trees. Many parishes used to contain what became known as the Gospel Oak. This was a prominent tree at which part of the Gospel was read out during the Beating of the Bounds ceremonies at Rogantide in spring. In Somerset stand the two very ancient oaks of Gog and Magog. These were named after the last male and female giants to roam Britain. The trees are reputed to be the remnants of an oak-lined processional route up to the nearby Glastonbury Tor. The Major Oak in Sherwood Forest is purported to be the tree where Robin Hood and his Merry Men hatched their plots. It is now a popular tourist attraction although this particular tree probably does not predate the 16th century.

In Leicestershire the Topless Oaks in Bradgate Park were said to have been pollarded as a sign of mourning. This was due to the beheading, in 1554, of Lady Jane Grey who had lived nearby. After the battle of Worcester in 1651 King Charles II hid from the Roundheads in a large oak at Boscobel. In 1660 he instigated the 29th of May as Royal Oak Day to celebrate the restoration of the monarchy.

Children would wear oak leaves (or better still, oak apples) as part of a custom which officially lasted until 1859. In fact the tradition continued well into the twentieth century. Once again the symbol of oak leaves had royal connections. And so it won’t be a surprise which plant was the clan badge of the Royal Clan Stewart.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/science/2023/nov/01/darwins-oak-to-be-felled-to-make-way-for-shrewsbury-bypass

https://urbantreefestival.org/news/darwin-oak-shrewsbury

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-12701383/oak-tree-Charles-Darwin-felled-Shrewsbury-bypass-campaigners-environment.html

https://treesforlife.org.uk/into-the-forest/trees-plants-animals/trees/oak/oak-mythology-and-folklore/