Trees help humans in so many different ways. Yet they still need defending – Philip Lymbery

It’s been a year now since my neighbourhood journey into standing up for trees began. It started as so many things do for me these days, on a dog walk.

My rescue companion, Duke, and I were out walking the woods and farmland when we came across the unedifying sight of chainsaws hacking down a dozen or more trees that had stood stubbornly dividing fields for a lifetime. Oaks and beech trees that had provided a welcome windbreak, held soil together and gave welcome habitat to the local wildlife.

The felling team were in a hurry. I watched as one of the chainsaw-wielding workers literally ran to make the next cut. Locals were near to tears. The onlooking landowner remarked, “It’ll look bloody lovely when they’re gone”. And soon they were gone. Another field bigger. And all so an intensive farmer could farm more intensively.

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The resulting controversy saw me appointed by the local parish council to be its first honorary tree warden. I’ve since been mapping out trees that look like good candidates for a tree protection order. I keep an eye out for local felling applications, have a dialogue with the local Forestry Commission, and have published a briefing called “How to Protect Trees in our Parish”. And so, my portfolio of causes has continued to broaden.

What I’ve come to see is that a healthy future for us all depends on joining the dots and seeing how things fit together. Trees are a perfect case in point.

Reducing anxiety and depression

Trees may be stationary, but they have tremendous superpowers, including making our lives healthier. They reduce the impact of climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide as they grow, improve water quality, alleviate flooding, and reduce soil erosion. They provide shelter and food for wildlife, and are important habitats for our own recreation.

Trees also make us happier. Research shows that trees not only clean the air, giving us oxygen to breathe, but also lift our feelings. According to Scientific American, numerous studies speak to the positive effects that trees have on our mental health. A study by the Nature Conservancy in the US showed that walking among trees in a city park correlates with reducing anxiety and depression. Professor Yadvinder Malhi, professor of ecosystem science at the University of Oxford, told the Guardian newspaper that “just seeing and smelling trees benefit health and well-being”.

In many cases, felling trees will require a licence from Scottish Forestry (Picture: David Cheskin/PA)In many cases, felling trees will require a licence from Scottish Forestry (Picture: David Cheskin/PA)
In many cases, felling trees will require a licence from Scottish Forestry (Picture: David Cheskin/PA)

Trees also eat greenhouse gases for breakfast – their ‘food-making’ process of photosynthesis involves absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in their wood. But more than that, a new study published in the Lancet reveals how planting more trees in cities could cut deaths from summer heat. High temperatures in cities can seriously impact our health, including causing cardio-respiratory failure, hospital admissions and even premature deaths.

Having looked at urban tree coverage in 93 European cities, an international team of scientists calculated that doubling it would cool cities by about 0.4 degrees Celsius, reducing heat-related deaths by 39.5 per cent, saving more than 2,500 lives.

Caledonian pinewoods in peril

Getting serious about urban tree planting is becoming increasingly urgent as fluctuations of extreme temperatures become more frequent due to climate change. Protecting and planting more trees in our locality is in all our interests. We rightly castigate the destruction of rainforests in countries far away, yet deforestation closer to home often goes unnoticed.

Across the UK, a staggering 14 per cent of tree cover has been lost in the last two decades. Scotland has the most tree cover in the UK but its globally unique Caledonian pinewoods are on a “knife-edge”, according to a new major study by Trees for Life. The research, the first of its kind for 60 years, shows that the pinewoods that remain are in danger of being the last generation in a line stretching back to the last Ice Age.

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Characterised by Scots pines, the Caledonian Forest of the Highlands used to be a vast wilderness, which was home to great herds of grazing animals preyed upon by lynx, wolves and other predators. Now, after centuries of deforestation, just some two per cent of this woodland remains. The spread of non-native trees, overgrazing by deer and rising temperatures due to climate change are all threatening the very existence of the remaining ancient forest.

Ecologist James Rainey, who led the study, told the BBC that “these pinewoods should be playing a key role in Scotland's fight-back against the climate and nature emergencies, but right now, most are on their last legs. It's not too late to turn this around, but that means seriously stepping-up restoration and rewilding action.”

Community action

Whether the once mighty Caledonian forest, the dense canopy of the Amazon far away, or stands of trees in our local community, all trees matter. In protecting them, a key thing to know is that felling may require a licence from Scottish Forestry. It is an offence to fell trees without a licence, where one would have been needed. There are some exceptions that can apply, but in many instances a felling licence will be required.

Yet, despite these measures, trees remain vulnerable to unsympathetic felling. Preserving them is increasingly being recognised as hugely important for our future happiness and well-being. Concerned citizens can play a big role in looking after our natural heritage trees by being their eyes and ears, looking out for their best interests and thereby creating conditions for a better future, at both local and global level.

Philip Lymbery is chief executive of Compassion in World Farming, a former United Nations Food Systems Champion and award-winning author of Farmageddon: The True Cost of Cheap Meat; Dead Zone: Where the Wild Things Were; and his latest Sixty Harvests Left: How to Reach a Nature-Friendly Future. He is on Twitter @philip_ciwf

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