Forestry and Wildlife and Environmental Virtue Signalling

 

There is a DEFRA scheme to pay farmers for planting trees but if I recall that did not work that well last time. 

And some claim we are currently back to medieval levels of woodland and forestry. The Domesday Book, which was compiled for England's new Norman overlords recorded wood-pasture and woodland covering about 15 per cent of the country. 

These days about 13% of Britain's land surface is wooded. 

The country's supply of timber was severely depleted during the First and Second World Wars, when imports were obviously extremely difficult and the forested area bottomed out at just under 5% of Britain's land surface in 1919.

I have discussed how new forests were then planted in the late 1940s though it needs to be remembered that some ancient Welsh forestry survived.

It is important to remember that trees are important to the eco system and woodland/forestry encourages back wildlife -mammals, birds, insects etc. and to be honest I think that any fields or waste areas in cities and towns then local authorties should make it a priority to plant trees. 

Of course, certain authorities such as Brsitol City Council are constantly scheming and trying backdoors to build housing (much of it private) on Green Spaces vital to the City. As for housing the Council ought to be reminded that in the last ten years old buildings in the Central area as well as other parts of the City have had accommodation built -student accommodation run by private landlords.  Perhaps rather than catering for the rent hiking private landlords who have temporary tenants the Council ought to consider making the use of old buildings and waste areas within the City a priority to build housing on for Bristol residents? Just a thought.

The fakery of "virtue signalling" that the City Council are champions of the environment is not working. Using rodenticides that kill wildlife then clamping down on information or refusing flatly to respond to a simple question after five months -allotment tenants concerned asked whether the rodenticides used by some other tenants was illegal or not. Total clamp down and flat refusal to respond and that includes when I asked them as well as a member of the Council Chamber with specific environmental responsibilities.

Where ever you live if you can plant trees or try to get your authority to plant trees -do it and not just for the wildlife but the future of you chldren or grandchildren.

The UK is a small place.