Month: Mar 2026

Why You Must Stop Cutting the Ivy

In the stark, grey woodlands of a UK March, Common Ivy (Hedera helix) provides the only dense splash of green climbing our trees. To a casual observer, it looks like a hostile takeover.

The greatest gardening myth is that ivy is a blood-sucking parasite slowly strangling the forest. In scientific reality, ivy uses its aerial roots purely for grip; it does not penetrate the bark or steal the host’s sap. Rather than harming a healthy tree, it acts as a thermal “scarf,” protecting the trunk from the severe freeze-thaw temperature swings of late winter.

Right now, its ecological value is peaking. March is the notorious “hungry gap” in the UK—a brutal period when winter food stores are depleted, and spring insects have not yet emerged. During this critical window, ivy is heavy with ripe, fat-rich black berries. These berries are an absolute lifeline for our resident Blackbirds (Turdus merula) and declining Song Thrushes (Turdus philomelos). Furthermore, its thick evergreen canopy provides the only reliable, weather-proof cover for early-nesting birds like the Wren to build their sanctuaries safely hidden from predators.

Ecological Action: Stop severing the thick ivy vines at the base of healthy, mature trees.

Ivy isn’t a weed choking our woods; it is the very architecture of spring survival.

Echoes of the Earth fb page.

The text is a famous quote attributed to the character The Lorax from the Dr. Seuss book of the same name, emphasizing environmental conservation.

Dr. Seuss (Ted Geisel) was inspired to write it after seeing eucalyptus trees being cut down near his home.

The book was written in 1971, just as the environmental movement was gaining momentum in the US.

The Lorax’s Appearance: The character was inspired by the patas monkey, which shares the Lorax’s mustache and depends on whistling thorn acacia trees.

The Lorax’s Role: The Lorax acts as a guardian, standing up against the Once-ler, who cuts down the Truffula Trees for business.

The phrase has become a slogan for environmentalism, but it also reflects the work of people like Diana Beresford-Kroeger, a botanist and author of “To Speak for the Trees,” who blends scientific knowledge with ancient Celtic wisdom to advocate for the protection of forests.

The full quote is:
“I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues.”