Saving millions of forgotten Scottish trees
More Trees Now to introduce transplantation methods in Scotland on 1st of December
On the 1st of December More Trees Now and Leadburn Community Woodland organize a ‘harvest day’ to demonstrate the transplanting of saplings to areas where they are allowed to mature. Trees make hundreds of saplings a year, most of which do not reach adulthood. Many are removed in routine forest management to be disposed of or shredded. These trees are a source of sustainable, free, indigenous planting material which are free for any community member to use. Anyone who cares about nature need only to pick up a shovel, muster their enthusiasm, and will be able to save and (trans)plant 100 trees a day. All are invited to join the demonstration.
The aim is to accelerate tree planting initiatives throughout the UK to stop climate change and support biodiversity restoration. Trees and bushes are necessary to preserve biodiversity in both the countryside and in cities, mitigate and absorb waterflow, provide shade in hot times both in and outside of the city, as well as sequester carbon. The UK is currently not on track to meet climate goals, which would require 2 billion extra trees by 2050. The demand for trees is at an all time high, for both natural and commercial planting efforts, in a time when climate change threatens forests and trees with pests, drought and storms. Circular forestry could provide a simple easy solution. Saplings are abundant, and everyone in the community can participate!
What: Harvest at Leadburn Community Woodland
Where: Leadburn Community Woodland, Leadburn, EH467BE West Linton
When: 1st of December 12.30 – 16.00
What: Presentation at Eddleston Village Hall
Where Eddleston, Peebles EH45 8QP, Verenigd Koninkrijk
When: 1st of December, 17:00 – 19:00
Sign up: email leadburncw@hotmail.com
Leadburn Community Woodlands
The friends of Leadburn Community Woodland work restore a 100 acres of old production forest into a healthy ecosystem. When the production forest was considered too small and commercially not viable the authorities put it up for sale. The community bought the land together, after which they have replanted 9500 diverse and indigenous trees, converted old railway lines into walking paths and restored two old peat bogs. The community has seen butterflies and bird species return to the area and the new woodland has been a well-visited site among biodiversity researchers.
More Trees Now
Every tree creates hundreds of saplings a year. The majority of these saplings will not reach adulthood. They either disappear naturally due to competition, but quite often they are removed in routine forest management. They grow in a peat bogs, on hiking paths, in the heavy shade of mature trees or they are thinned due to the monotony of tree species in the area. This is a source of diverse, ecological, free and indigenous trees. By transplanting these saplings as part of a planned biodiversity strategy one can restore ecosystems and create forests and green areas elsewhere. More Trees Now is an initiative based on Meer Bomen Nu, a Dutch initiative which has inspired a mass volunteering movement that has transplanted over 1.4 million saplings in three winters in the most densely populated country in Europe. They have created an online tool which allows for a decentralized organisation where anyone can organize events and register and track saplings from their old to their new destination. The aim is to make tree planting accessible and free for all who are concerned about biodiversity loss and deforestation.
