Our cities need more trees for so many reasons, as well as towns and villages. Tree give out oxygen and take in carbon dioxide, so chopping down trees (considering climate change) could now be considered ecocide. Obviously if you have to chop a tree down to move it elsewhere for safety, that’s a different story.
But we now have a mad world where England’s second oldest pear tree was chopped down to make way for HS2, a high-speed train that will kill 22,000 wildlife a year, and all independent environmentalists says it won’t do anything to to stop climate change. The new stations will be airport hubs (?) while old rolling stock in the rest of the country needs upgrading.
If planting trees, see toxic plants to avoid near pets (also avoid cocoa/pine/rubber mulch and fresh compost near pets). Fruit trees & pips are toxic to pets, as are many trees (including oaks with acorns and yew) to horses. Never grow indoor trees/foliage near windows, to help stop birds flying into windows.
A Forest in the City discusses the problems that city trees face like abundance of concrete, poor soil and challenging light conditions. It traces the history of trees in cities over time, and how it was only after Dutch Elm Disease, that people values the trees. What we need are more trees, not chopping them down to build trains. Trees help in so many ways to make urban areas better:
- They help to prevent crime (proven fact)
- They stop heat island effect (higher temperatures lead to boiling hot pavements, not even safe for dog paws)
- They buffer the wind
- They help to prevent floods, by soaking up water
- It makes places more pleasant to live
- Give homes to native wildlife
Provide free fruit. Incredible Edible has volunteers plant free fruit and nut trees (started in Yorkshire, now worldwide). You simply pick up an apple from a tree, on your way home from work. London’s Orchard Project (also now nationwide) trains people to plant and maintain orchards, also to provide free food for the community.
It’s interesting that in Vancouver, they have a massively higher amount of trees per person than say Sheffield (a city with the same population). Over there, the trees are planted and then volunteers are chosen to maintain them, and reports are sent in of any issues. In Portland (Oregon), bioswales are built to help (along with trees) the run-off of water from heavy rainfall, and this helps stop pollution and prevent floods.
London Is a Forest, as it has as many trees (8 million) as people, and under UN law, this classes it as a city forest. You may beg to disagree if you live on a treeless housing estate, but it’s a forest city all the same. The most popular trees in London are sycamore, oak and silver birch. They not only are beautiful and help to clear the air, but they also reduce ‘heat island effect’, which means London is often hotter than most areas in high summer. This can make the pavement too hot for dogs to walk on (if it’s too hot for your hand, it’s too hot for their paws). In this book, Paul follows a number of trails through the rich diversity of London, to closely look at the urban forest, and discover the stories and secrets it holds. You’ll discover some of the species found here, and the people who helped to shape this remarkable environment over many centuries.
