Trees for Cities (an independent charity which plant trees and landscape public spaces in urban areas) is working with the Brenchley Management Association and Southwark Council to create new community gardens and orchards at the Brenchley Gardens Estate on Saturday 20 February.
Residents have been consulted on what features of the gardens they would best suit the area, and what species they would like to be planted. Through workshops and demonstrations local people will be given the skills to enjoy a tasty harvest from raised vegetable beds, orchards, fruiting bushes and shrubs. In addition new fruit and nut trees will be planted around the housing blocks. These will provide a vital home for wildlife as a shelter in cold weather, and will increase biodiversity on the estate. Trees for Cities will also be constructing new seating so that the residents will have the chance to relax in their new surroundings and enjoy fruit from the trees in this urban space.
The work is part of Trees for Cities’ mission to improve urban spaces for residents by increasing the number of plants and trees, bringing local communities together to learn how look after their trees and benefit from them, as well as attempting to lower crime rates by increasing the popularity of public spaces. In total, the charity has planted over 140,000 trees worldwide on streets, in parks, local woodlands and community projects nationally and internationally.
This project is supported by the London Tree and Woodland Grant Scheme, through Groundwork and the Forestry Commission, the London Borough of Southwark’s Grow Nuts scheme, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, the City Bridge Trust, and ITF. Please visit www.treesforcities.org / or email S.Gray @ stephen.gray@treesforcities.org for further information.
Our partner BIADA (Bagurugu Integrated Agro-Forestry Development Association) near Tamale in Ghana, West Africa has been given repeat funding following the success of previous work in the region. The project is located in Bagurugu, Tamaligu and Zankali Communities in the Karaga District of the Northern Region of Ghana and is primarily for biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction.
BIADA’s project currently supports 60 farmers and will target another 45 farmers this year. Four different species of economically beneficial trees will be planted including Mangoes, Cashew, Acacia and Teak. The project aims to tackle the extreme poverty in the area, widespread losses in crop production caused by bush burning, deforestation and intensive soil erosion and inappropriate farming practices have left arable land bare and have resulted in these communities becoming increasingly vulnerable to poverty with a massive urban drift of their youth to greener pastures to urban centres.
The project will promote sustainable land management practices together with natural resource management and tree planting activities where farmers are trained on preparation, planting and nurturing procedures. Rural communities will recover land and have an enhanced sustainable livelihood for their future and their youth.
Despite the continuing recession, we have renewed our agreement with WebHostingBuzz. Buzz provide web hosting services to over 100,000 websites of all sizes. WebHostingBuzz said:
“As a company, we are proud to support the pioneering work done by the ITF and this is a cause we hold close to our hearts.”
Learn more about Buzz here.
Additionally, media group EMAP will be supporting ITF through the donation of money received from sales of their magazines at the Ecobuild Exhibition from 2nd – 4th March at Earls Court London.
Find out more about this event.
Corporate supporters such as these are now able to use our “we plant trees” widget (above) on their websites to demonstrate their involvement and commitment to corporate social responsibility.
On 15/12/09 HRH The Prince of Wales appealed to delegates at the UN climate summit to set aside national differences and agree to a global warming accord before it is too late. Delivering the keynote address as the conference in Copenhagen formally entered its final phase, HRH told ministers and world leaders that:
“The eyes of the world are upon you and it is no understatement to say that, with your signatures, you can write our future.”
HRH used the speech to outline how critical tropical forests are to a successful climate deal and how a deal on forests could provide a valuable example of how climate change issues could be resolved:
“The simple truth is that without a solution to tropical deforestation, there is no solution to climate change. That is why I established a Rainforests Project to try to promote a consensus on how tropical deforestation might be significantly reduced.”
In his closing statement, HRH left the assembled ministers and leaders with a poignant call to action:
“As our planet’s life-support system begins to fail and our very survival as a species is brought into question, remember that our children and grandchildren will ask not what our generation said, but what it did. Let us give an answer, then, of which we can be proud.”
Read a full transcript of the speech here: http://www.rainforestsos.org/copenhagen or watch video of the speech here: http://www.rainforestsos.org/speechvideo . For general info visit: www.rainforestsos.org
Millions of trees should be planted to cover an extra 4% of the UK in woodland in order to tackle climate change, the Forestry Commission has recommended.
It said planting 23,000 hectares a year would make a “significant” contribution to meeting lower emissions targets. Trees suck carbon dioxide from the air and store it in wood, cutting the level of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said the government would work to ensure the planting programme happened.
‘Carbon locked up’
He said: “We cannot underestimate the role that trees will play in reducing our carbon emissions. Greater forest cover can help us achieve this either through directly absorbing CO2 or by providing more sustainable materials for construction and renewable energy.”
The recommended planting – equivalent to 30,000 football pitches a year – would bring the UK’s total woodland cover to 16%. Professor Sir David Read, chairman of a panel of scientists who carried out the research, said: “By increasing our tree cover we can lock up carbon directly.
The researchers said carbon storage declined as younger trees matured, so tripling tree planting could help reverse those declines. The study suggested planting a diverse mix of native broadleaf trees rather than replacing the dense conifer plantations which are now being felled. It is hoped the latest plan would absorb 10% of the UK’s target of slashing its emissions of greenhouse gases by 80% by 2050.
Sue Holden, chief executive of the Woodland Trust, said “The UK is one of the least-wooded countries in Europe. There is an urgent need to create landscapes that enable wildlife and people to better adapt to climate change”.
“New native trees and woodland would help make existing habitats more resilient and increase opportunities for wildlife to move in response to change. They would also substantially improve water quality, reduce flooding, counter air pollution and cool our towns and cities.”
Extract from BBC NEWS:
to read this in full visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk/8377827.stm
Published: 2009/11/25
© BBC MMIX
“A documentary about English conservationist Richard St Barbe Baker. ‘St Barbe’ (here aged 92) is interviewed at a South Island station where he presciently warns of desertification and laments the earth being “skinned alive”. The visionary tree-planting advocate founded the organisation Men of the Trees (now the International Tree Foundation) to promote reforestation and protect trees, from 5000-year-old bristlecone pines to giant kauri. Directed by acclaimed cinematographer Leon Narbey, the film includes the inspiring St Barbe’s tree-hugging exercise regime: two minutes morning and night.”
View the film here.
Subscribe by Feed
Subscribe by Email
