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Despite nature's recovery being impossible without them, just 7% of UK woods are in good condition for wildlife. Our new reports set out what needs to be done to restore our woods and trees in England, Scotland, Wales and North Ireland, for both wildlife and people.
Our reports, Trees and woods: at the heart of nature recovery in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, show the central role that native natural and semi-natural woods and trees must play in restoring nature. Despite nature's recovery being impossible without them, just 7% of UK woods are in good condition for wildlife, and many are a shadow of what they could be. The report sets out a raft of solutions, including adding more trees into housing estates with less than 16% tree cover, 30% canopy cover for new developments and access to greenspace within 10 minutes of everyone’s doorsteps. The report is designed to help councils and communities write their Local Nature Recovery Strategies, following the government’s recent announcement that it has made £14M available to the 48 local authorities tasked with leading on drafting the plans - of which Dorset is one. Since 1970 35% of species have declined in abundance. This means today’s children now have a 70% less chance of seeing a hedgehog than their parents did, while dormice populations have fallen by 48% since today’s primary school pupils were born. If we don't restore our damaged, degraded and disappearing woods and trees, nature will continue to free-fall. We must:
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Members of Extinction Rebellion Wimborne staged a colourful protest in Wimborne to raise awareness of Dorset Council spraying glyphosate on roads, pavements and SANGs. They held banners reading, ‘Stop Spraying, Save Our Bees’ and ‘Glyphosate Harms Honey Bees, Bumblebees, Humans’. They also unfurled a banner stating ‘Nature is Dying, Act Now’. Resident professor James Bullock said: “We live in one of the most nature-depleted countries on the planet.
“Glyphosate destroys nature. “It kills plants indiscriminately, harms bees and it gets into our waterways. Nature in the UK is under great stress, experiencing huge declines in insects, birds and wildlife in general. Nature needs a home and our towns and gardens must serve as a haven for wildlife. “And contrary to what you may have been led to believe, glyphosate does not break down into a harmless byproduct but into AMPA, which is toxic to aquatic life like plants and fish.” Local resident Joanna Bury said, “Glyphosate - also known as Roundup - is considered by the World Health Organisation to be a probable cause of cancer in humans. “Recent studies have found that 80 per cent of adults and children have glyphosate in their urine.” Protestyors say that the Pesticide Action Network is promoting ‘Pesticide Free Towns’. They say the first was Glastonbury which has been followed by dozens more. Dorset examples include Shaftesbury and Lyme Regis. Many councils across Europe have moved away from using pesticides, demonstrating that it is possible. On its website the Pesticide Action Network mentions many alternatives to the use of pesticides including heat treatment, mechanised hoes, strimming, hand weeding, acetic acid solutions, steel brushing, high pressure hot water. Sustainable transport experts, Beryl and scheme partners BCP Council are celebrating the impact of their e-bike share scheme, after it replaced almost 4,500 private road transport journeys in its first year.
Since being introduced alongside the region’s shared bikes and e-scooters on 26 July 2022, the vehicles have clocked up more than 20,000 journeys across nearly 76,000km. According to industry calculations, this has seen them save well over three tonnes of harmful Carbon Dioxide emissions, the equivalent of almost 1,500 litres of petrol. Research has also shown that, since the e-bikes arrived, riders in BCP are embracing the extra variety. The latest Beryl Annual Rider Report showed that the number of people riding bikes and e-scooters has almost doubled from 29% the previous year to 47% and the number of riders just using bikes has more than halved from 47% the previous year to just 20%. The anniversary coincides with the share scheme surpassing 200,000 unique users since it was first introduced. Wildlife expert and environmental campaigner Chris Packham is backing an event in Dorset aiming to speed up moves to tackle climate change.
BBC Springwatch host Mr Packham, who lives in neighbouring Hampshire, has given his support to Dorset COP 23, which will take place at Dorchester Corn Exchange on September 9. Dorset COP (Conference of the Parties) 23 has been put together by three climate action groups from the county with the aim of ‘spurring the local community into urgent action to combat the threats posed by climate change and ecological collapse’. Zero Carbon Dorset, the Dorset Climate Action Network (Dorset CAN) and Sustainable Dorset have joined forces for the event and hope to produce a ‘Dorchester Declaration’ outlining a commitment to tackling the problem. |
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