WHAT'S HAPPENING TO OUR WOODLAND BIRDS?

'The Repeat Woodland Bird Survey', the most comprehensive survey of woodland birds in the UK for over 20 years, published by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), were unveiled yesterday by UK Biodiversity Minister Jim Knight,. Here are some of its key findings.

* 11 out of the 34 species surveyed [blackcap, blue tit, chiffchaff, coal tit, great spotted woodpecker, great tit, green woodpecker, goldcrest, robin, treecreeper and wren] showed large national increases in numbers (greater than 25%), while eight species [Lesser redpoll, Willow tit, Willow warbler, Spotted flycatcher, Tree pipit, Wood warbler, Lesser spotted woodpecker, Garden warbler, Hawfinch, and Redstart] showed large decreases (greater than 25%) [

* One of the most worrying trends was the decline in long distance migrants, confirmed for the first time in this survey. Among the declining species are: garden warbler, pied flycatcher, redstart, spotted flycatcher, tree pipit, willow warbler, wood warbler. Out of these, the tree pipit and spotted flycatcher showed declines of up to 70% in some areas.

* The report also highlights some resident species in decline: especially the hawfinch, jay, lesser spotted woodpecker (down 59%), lesser redpoll and willow tit. (down 70%). Success stories include the continued growth of more common birds such as coal, blue and great tits and a substantial increase in green woodpeckers [up 200%].

The report concludes that there is no over-arching hypothesis to explain the declines in woodland birds and a range of factors may be at work.

Changes in woodland structure were thought to be one of the key drivers to some of the changes, although factors behind this are unclear. Possible areas of research to develop this further include looking at changes in woodland age, and active management of woodland, and for some specific species further research into the impact and increases in deer browsing, and for some species the impact of grey squirrel populations..

The research was commissioned and funded by Defra, the Forestry Commission, RSPB, BTO, the Woodland Trust and English Nature. It was carried out with the support of the UK Woodland Bird Group – a forum that brings together a wide range of organisations concerned about the issue.

The study covered 406 woodland sites, and uniquely allows data comparison with similar surveys carried out in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. This enables the development of a comprehensive picture of the status and health of our woodland bird diversity, and to analyse trends and developing concerns. It also establishes a comprehensive benchmark for woodland bird population research. This is important because wild bird populations are one of the Government’s 15 headline indicators of sustainable development. The reverse of the long-term decline in the numbers of woodland birds is one of the key objectives of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan.

A PDF of the full report can be found here: www.forestry.gov.uk/woodlandbirdsurvey

The Woodland Birds conference will be held at the University of Leicester on 1 – 3 April 2006. Topics planned for discussion at the conference include the impact of climate change on populations, forest and woodland management, comparisons with European and wider international bird population developments, and specific species focuses on woodpeckers, willow and marsh tits, tree pipits and grouse. Further details of the agenda and events, and a booking form are available online at http://www.bou.org,uk/

WOOD RECYCLING UK

A Brighton-based wood recycling project, which recycles old timber from construction sites with the help of unemployed volunteers, has proved so succesful that it has become a national organisation.

The National Community Wood Recycling Project makes £100,000 a year recycling Brighton's estimated 30,000 tonnes of reusable waste wood and hopes to expand to 50 sites around the UK by 2007.

Here is their brief overview of Wood Recycling in the UK:

Although no definitive figures are available, estimates put the amount of wood in the waste stream at up to 10.6 million tonnes per annum.This is made up of wood from the construction, demolition, joinery and wood products manufacturing industries, wood packaging waste and pallets, green wastes and a substantial amount from the domestic waste stream.

The challenge is that wood recycling is generally concentrated around the few particleboard factories and is high volume and highly capital intensive. As there are only a relatively small number of high-volume wood re-processors, if it is to be recycled, waste wood has to be hauled long distances - in itself not a very good environmental option. In some parts of the country this is simply not economically viable so it ends up as landfill.

Unfortunately, at present, only a small proportion of all timber waste is recycled. Most is remanufactured into chipboard and MDF, although there is a growing demand for wood chip from some coal-fired power stations that are trying to reduce emissions of CO2 and other gasses by burning biomass to generate electricity.

There is also a growing mulch and animal bedding market that absorbs further tonnages and some wood is reclaimed by the demolition industry, sold to architectural salvage yards and is used to make traditional pine furniture, hand-built kitchens and for home renovations.And of course, more and more timber is being rescued by the increasing number of community - based wood recycling projects.

Recently the Government set up WRAP (Waste Resources Action Programme) to help create new and stable markets for waste wood, so eventually more of this versatile material will be seen not as waste but as a resource.

More details about this and affiliated projects around the country at: http://www.communitywoodrecycling.org.uk/index.htm

TREES OF THE WORLD: THE ARAAR TREE

The Araar Tree
(Tetraclinis articulata (Vahl) Masters)

It is called by various other names, including: Sandarac Gum Tree; Barbary Arbor-Vitae; Alerce; Mediterranean Alerce; Citron-Wood Tree; and African Juniper.

Maltese name: Known as Gharghar or Sigra tal-Gharghar.The origin of this name is Semitic, derived from the Arabic word 'ar'ar.

In Europe, this tree is confined to the island of Malta and the region of Murcia in Spain (in a small locality near Cartagena) but is widespread in North Africa (Morocco, Algeria & Tunisia, and reported from Libya).

On Malta where it is the national tree, it is found in the wild only on the main island and not on Gozo, Comino and the minor islets. It is very rare, with only some 100 trees still surviving in the wild, most in Northern Malta. Here the habitat is 'Mediterranean maquis', a type of community characterised by small evergreen trees like carob and olive. Also an evergreen, the araar tree has a reddish-brown scented trunk, bears distinctive cones and reaches a maximum height of about 15m, or 5m if it grows in rock fissures or on rocky slopes.

The resin of the tree, called sandarac has various industrial uses and is sometimes used instead of Canada Balsam in the preparation of microscope glasses It is also used as "toothpaste". Its wood/timber, called citron wood, is highly prized for fine woodwork such as cabinet-making and was extensively used by Romans as building material.

It was declared the Maltese National Tree from 16th January, 1992, and has been legally protected in the Maltese Islands since 1993.

Adapted from information compiled by Mr. D. Stevens, Environment Officer, Environment Protection Department of the Maltese government. Full text and references here.

TREE 37

Kerry Bennett, Community Projects Officer at the South Yorkshire Forest Partnership (SYFP) writes:

The Tree 37 project was inspired by the demise of a large root-damaged beech tree in public woodland in Sheffield, which was earmarked for felling as part of the City Council's sustainable woodland management scheme. The SYFP saw an opportunity: to create a working coalition of local independent artists and crafts people to use timber the tree to create furniture, sculptural pieces and other objects which will then be exhibited in a gallery - housed at a local authority owned sawmill - that the group has set up as a co-operative showroom for their work. Local people will be able to visit the gallery and order items made from locally sourced timber and the group has also created an online gallery at www.workingwoodlandsproducts.co.uk

It has been very exciting bringing together a range of creative individuals and seeing the development of a very supportive community that is bursting with ideas.! and also to connect local people with their woodlands. We hope to demonstrate the importance of using and managing trees as a sustainable resource and provide a fresh perspective on tree-felling, which can be a highly emotive subject. The launch event in Feb brought hundreds of local people into the woodland to watch the tree being felled and see wood-workers demonstrate their skills. Many even had a go at carving themselves!

FORESTS, WAR AND PEACE

Over the last 20 years forested areas have been a central staging ground for wars in some two dozen countries, which together house over 40 percent of the world’s tropical forests.

There are currently armed conflicts in the forested areas of Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Indonesia, Nepal, the Philippines, Pakistan, Ivory Coast and Uganda.

In other countries that have recently come out of war, such as Cambodia, Liberia, Myanmar, Nicaragua, and Sudan, the way forested regions are governed in the future will be a crucial factor in determining whether violence breaks out again.

Forest-related tensions also are a factor in the social violence that plagues areas of Bolivia, Mexico, Peru, Laos, Papua New Guinea, and Brazil.

“There is so much about forested regions today that makes them perfectly primed to play host to war,” said Hosny El-Lakany, FAO Assistant Director-General of Forestry. “It is in the forest where one often finds poor, isolated populations who are either ignored or mistreated and may need little encouragement to take up arms, and where there is usually valuable timber, minerals, oil and land that can easily be the source of tension. There is also the simple fact that forests can provide refuge, funds and food for fighters.”

According to the report by Centre for International Forestry Research's Director General David Kaimowitz , dealing with the destructive relationship between wars and forests requires attention to the issues that make them such centers of conflict. The report notes that it is in governments’ self-interest to address the political, economic, social and cultural concerns of people who live in forested regions.

To avoid violence in forested areas or secure the peace after troubles have occurred, governments should bring local ethnic groups into the political system, provide them with basic services and recognize their rights over forest resources.

Internationally, policies to prevent forests from fueling wars could include sanctions that block armed groups from using timber exports to finance their operations.

“When wars do break out, forest issues can offer a path to peace,” says Kaimowitz.“ Even in the bitter Rwandan civil war both sides agreed to take steps to avoid killing endangered gorillas. When Colombia’s government negotiated with anti-government rebels several years ago, forestry and related environmental issues figured prominently in the talks.”

The precise role of forests can vary from war to war. In Aceh in Indonesia and Mindanao in the Philippines, separatist movements have successfully tapped into the political disenfranchisement of forest dwellers. (In fact the Indonesian military often refers to the Aceh separatists as “friends of the forest.”) Local discontent over forest issues also played a significant role in the recently ended conflicts in the north of Myanmar and areas of Nicaragua, among others.

Sometimes the forest contributes to violence by helping sustain and prolong war. In Cambodia, the Khmer Rogue was heavily dependent on timber sales. In Colombia, the forest environment has proven ideal for cultivating and processing illicit crops such as cocaine that help fund anti-government militias. In several other countries international agencies have imposed sanctions on timber sales to keep them from financing the purchase of arms.

As for the effect of wars on the forest themselves, Kaimowitz said that while they are almost always terrible for people, their environmental impact is decidedly mixed. Relatively unsurprising is the fact that military conflicts can result in destructive forest clearing. But what gets less attention, said Kaimowitz, is the fact that “wars can be good for forests.”

“No one is saying ‘lets start a war so we can save the forest’ but the fact remains that in many areas of conflict, forest ecosystems fare better in war time than they do in peace time,” he said. “Wars can discourage logging and other resource depleting activities. No one wants to enter a forest full of land mines or where there is a risk of being kidnapped. Look at Colombia. Largely because of years of conflict it has more forest acreage than it did several decades ago.”

Ironically, the arrival of peace can be especially destructive for forests. In a number of countries the push for rapid post-war economic recovery has led to excessive logging. Governments routinely use forested areas as places to settle demobilized soldiers and war refugees who are likely to take up destructive farming and resource extraction practices.

The international community would be wise to invest heavily in forested areas during post-conflict periods since such spending can do double duty by preventing a recurrence of fighting and protecting the forest itself.

This work forms a chapter of FAO's State of the World’s Forests 2005 report, which can be found at:
http://www.fao.org/forestry/index.jsp

GOOGLE EARTH 2: TASMANIAN CLEAR-CUTS

Clear images of clear-cuts in Tasmania, using Goggle Earth. Remember you are looking at a real model of the real earth. A powerful new vision. There are more Google Earth images of deforestation and other environmental damage at SPROL

GOOGLE EARTH: SANTA CRUZ LOGGING

Google Earth view of proposed logging area (coloured red) in the Santa Cruz Mountains by Rebecca Moore, who lives in the area and prepared this presentation. She believes Google Earth "has the potential not only to raise people's environmental consciousness but to raise their consciousness of humanity."

'Rebecca Moore is an environmentalist who now works as a software developer who works on Google Earth. She says: "Suddenly ordinary grassroots environmentalists have a tool that up until now only government agencies or commercial interests had. It's leveling the playing field."

'Shortly after Google Earth was released, Moore had a chance to put [the programme] to the test. A company wanted to log in the Santa Cruz Mountains, expecting little interference from the community. "They sent out a one-page map that was just a grainy sketch," says Moore. "It did not convey what was at stake -- it was difficult to decipher and people didn't understand it. So I put together a model in Google Earth. I drew the region and filled in the watershed -- the source of drinking water for over a million people in Silicon Valley. I mapped the whole thing, annotating the whole canyon."

'At a public presentation of more than three hundred residents, Moore "flew" in from outer space to the Santa Cruz Mountains, then turned on the swath of red that represented the proposed logging. "There was a gasp from the audience," she recalls. "It electrified the room."

This sophisticated presentation -- including a low-elevation flyover constructed from Google Earth's imagery that shows individual trees that were going to be cut and dozens of layers of information -- took Moore only a couple of days to put together. And it got results: The logging plan was withdrawn. '

Read full account of this case and others in which Goggle Earth has been used in this manner:
'Green Eyes in the Sky: Desktop satellite tools are changing the way environmentalists work'
by www.dicum.com/list

You can download the model, a fly-through video sequence and the programme Googgle Earth from http://www.mountainresource.org/node/52

CLINT EASTWOOD AND THE MONTEREY PINES

Monterey Pines in the mist, Del Monte Forest, Monterey Peninsula, California [Photo: Sierra Club]

Film star Clint Eastwood is one of the major investors in a controversial proposed development in the Del Monte forest, on California’s Monterey Peninsula. If allowed to proceed, it will require the felling of 17,000 Monterey Pines from what is currently the world's largest stand of these unique trees.

The Pebble Beach Company's proposed project area is almost 200 acres and includes a new golf course, 33 luxury homes, 160 new hotel rooms, a driving range and a new equestrian centre.

This massive project is proposed for an area which is not only thickly forested with native Monterey pines also has multiple wetland habitats with healthy populations of wetland vegetation, defined under the Coastal Act as an Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area.

The plan would also threaten coastal dune habitat and rare maritime chaparral. Nineteen species of plants in the project area are considered to be rare or endangered, seven of which are State and/or Federally-listed.

For more than a year now, the controversy over the project has persisted. According to the Sierra Club: ‘When the project sailed through the approval process at the Board of Supervisors last March, for weeks domestic and international papers from as far away as London and Australia wrote scathing reports, especially concerning the chopping down of so many native trees.’

The Sierra Club, starting with John Muir himself, has worked for over 100 years to protect the Del Monte Forest, the largest natural forest of Monterey pines left in the world, and all the endangered plants and animals which call the forest home.

This March 8-10, the California Coastal Commission met in Monterey and the Pebble Beach Company plan was on the agenda. The Commissioners were taken on a field trip to view the site. The Coastal Commission has the power to modify or deny the project. Over 20 private persons and organizations filed appeals with the Commission requesting that they deny the project.

We wait to hear news of their decision.

There is great concern about a tree disease called Pine Pitch Canker Fungus, which is threatening the survival of all the remaining stands of native Monterey Pine (Pinus radiata). Of these six remaining stands recognized as high quality native radiata forest, the largest and the one in best health is that part of the Del Monte Forest which will be destroyed by this development. See: Preserving Monterey Pine Forest Ecosystems

THE GREAT STAG HUNT

This summer, the People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) is putting out a nationwide appeal for members of the public to help with the third of its Great Stag Hunts, a survey it carries out once every four years, to try and map the distribution of stag beetles in Britain. The data can then becompared to the previous surveys (in 2002 and 1998) to give a vital insight into how the species are faring.


Experts are concerned that the species’ status may have changed in the past four years. “A number of factors, including changes in gardening practices (leaving less dead wood around and having tidier gardens), local environments and climate, may all have affected stag beetle populations, both at a local and national level” observed Jill Nelson PTES ChiefExcutive.

“We are also particularly concerned that some members of the public are labouring under the misapprehension that stag beetles will attack them or their homes, when in fact they are harmless to both. Consequently, it is essential that we raise awareness of the beetle and gather comprehensive information this year to see just how serious the situation has become.”


The UK’s largest insect, the species is currently listed on Schedule II of the EC Habitats Directive, as it is now very rare or even extinct in much of western Europe. It is known to have become extinct in Latvia and Denmark. In the UK, the beetle is classed as Nationally Scarce. In 1995, the UK Biodiversity Group produced a stag beetle Species Action Plan (SAP) and three years later, the Government placed it on Schedule 5 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act, making it illegal to trade the species without a licence.

The stag beetle is a large beetle so named because of the grossly-oversized mandibles of the male, which look similar to the antlers of a male deer or stag. They are used in courtship displays and to wrestle with other male beetles. The stag beetle has a very long life cycle, lasting at least four years and possibly up to seven. They spend most of their time as larvae living underground and eating rotting wood. “Spotting adult beetles is actually more unusual than you might think,” commented Matt Smith, one of PTES’s beetle experts, “Stag beetles are only in their adult form, above ground, for up to four weeks, during which time they search frantically for a mate in order to breed. This happens between May and August, which is why we run The Great Stag Hunt then.”

More information about the Great Stag Hunt, which runs from the beginning of may to the end of August, can be found on the PTES website at http://www.ptes.org/ and any sightings can be recorded online there.

LA VIA CAMPESINA

Wednesday, 08 March 2006: La Via Campesina women occupy a farm in South Brazil

'About 2000 women from La Via Campesina occupied the plantation of Aracruz Celulose, in Barra do Ribeiro, Rio Grande do Sul (sur de Basil), early this wednesday morning. The purpose of the mobilization is to denounce the social and environmental impact of the growing green desert created by eucalyptus monocuture. The Barba Negra farm is the main production unit of seedlings of eucalyptus and pines of Aracruz. It also has a laboratory for seedlings cloning.

“We are against green deserts, the enormous plantations of eucalyptus, acácia and pines for cellulose, that cover thousands of hectares in Brazil and Latin América. When the green desert advances, biodiversity is destroyed, soils deteriorate, rivers dry up. Moreover cellulose plants pollute air and water and threaten human health”, say the woman protestors.

The Aracruz Celulose is a business that owns the biggest green desert in the country. Its plantations cover more than 250 thousands hectares, 50 thousand just in Rio Grande do Sul. Their factories produce 2,4 million tons of whitened cellulose per year, generating pollution in the air and water, besides harming human health.

The women of La Via Campesina also protest in solidarity with the indigenous peoples who had their land invaded by Aracruz Celulose in the state of Espírito Santo. In January of this year, indigenous families were violently evicted by the Federal Police, who used machines from the company itself to carry out the eviction.

Aracruz is an agrobusiness company that receives public funds. It recieved almost R$ 2 billion in the last 3 years. However, a company like Aracruz generates only one job for each 185 hectares planted, whereas small scale farms generate one job per hectare.”If the green desert keeps growing, soon there won`t be enough water to drink and land to produce food. We just can`t understand how a government that wants to do away with hunger sponsors a green desert instead of investing in Agrarian Reform and peasant agriculture”, the manifesto declares.

The La Via Campesina mobilization is also occurring to denounce the environmental impacts of eucalyptus monoculture, that is making strides in Rio Grande do Sul with three large companies: Votorantim, Stora Enso and Aracruz. The eucalyptus deserts wear out the soil and consume too much water: each eucalyptus tree may consume 30 liters of water per day.

The women mobilization of La Via Campesina marks the International Day of Women. “ This March 8th, we express solidarity with rural women and urban working women of the whole world, who suffer violence of various kinds imposed on them by this capitalist and patriarchal society”, the text concludes.After the mobilization the women of Via Campesina will join the International Women Day march, which starts at 10, in Porto Alegre.'

Porto Alegre, 8 March 2006
Contacts en Porto Alegre: Igor Felipe : + 55 51 91858321 Isabelle Delforge : + 55 51 81789855 www.viacampesina.org

La Via Campesina is a global movement of peasants, small-scale farmers, indigenous people, landless, women’s and rural workers’ organizations.

GREAT BEAR RAINFOREST

(Left): Aerial view of part of the Great Bear Rainforest; (Right): One of the rare white 'Spirit' bears in the Great Bear Rainforest
[Photo: Ron Thiele. Courtesy Terrace Tourism] For more images and maps go here.


The Great Bear Rainforest, which runs along British Columbia’s North and Central Coast, covers 15.5 million acres (6.4 million hectares) - an area larger than Switzerland. It is the largest intact, unprotected coastal temperate rainforest left in the world.

The traditional territory of 25 First Nations it is also home to many unique plant and animal species including 1,000-year-old red cedars, Grizzly Bear, white ‘Spirit’ bears (a genetic variation of a black bear), bald eagles, wolves, steelhead and salmon including Coho, Chinook, Sockeye, Chum and Pink. Twenty per cent of the world’s salmon are found here.

Threatened and endangered species in the forest include wolverines, bats (Keen’s long eared myotis), birds (Peregrine Falcons, Marbled Murrelets and the Northern Goshawk), coastal tailed frogs and fish (eulachon and dolly varden).

British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest has been a site of global controversy, environmental protest and
widespread international media interest since 1995. Greenpeace, ForestEthics, Rainforest Action Network and the Sierra Club of Canada, BC Chapter came together to target destructive logging here.

The groups’ efforts culminated in critical pressure from forest product customers. Over 80 companies, including Ikea, Home Depot, Staples and IBM, committed to stop selling wood and paper products made from ancient forests. This marketplace pressure drove logging companies to sit down and negotiate with environmentalists. Meanwhile, key valleys in the rainforest were protected from logging while discussions took place. The main goals were to protect the most important areas of the Great Bear Rainforest (the Central and North Coast) and Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands), change logging practices and support a sustainable future for local communities.

To make these goals a reality, these four environmental organizations employed a sophisticated campaign that involved market engagement, government lobbying and civic action, participation in government-sponsored landuse forums, and negotiations with the coastal logging industry.

These efforts have led to The Great Bear Rainforest Agreement, made public on February 7, 2006. It means that 1. 5 million acres (2 million hectares) is protected from logging. This includes: Previously protected parks covering 1 million acres (443,000 hectares); Newly negotiated parks that stretch over 3.3 million acres (1.3 million hectares); No logging zones that equal 736,000 acres (297,000 hectares)

In addition, by 2009, any logging that does take place will be a better, lighter touch forestry, called Ecosystem Based Management. There will be comprehensive First Nations involvement in management over their entire traditional territory and the diversification of the economy based on conservation.

The size of protected areas in the Great Bear Rainforest is equal to 6,300 times the area of New York City’s Central Park. The portion of the Great Bear Rainforest protected from logging will cover: an area more than twice the size of Yellowstone Park, eight times the size of Luxembourg, three times the size of Germany’s Black Forest

A central component of the Great Bear Rainforest Project is an innovative $120 million conservation financing package to fund conservation management projects and ecologically sustainable business ventures in First Nation territories. To date, The Nature Conservancy, Tides Canada and several private U.S. and Canadian foundations have raised almost $60 million in philanthropic funds and the provincial government of British Columbia has committed $30 million to the financing package. However, without a $30 million commitment from the Canadian federal government, the package as a whole is in jeopardy. Conservationists, the provincial government and First Nations are working to secure this federal commitment.

For full details and press coverage of this historic agreement see: www.savethegreatbear.org/

WORLD OF WOOD

This strange and wonderful wooden globe is the work of Dai Edwards, Artist and Tree Surgeon, who runs a busines called Gnosis in Pontypridd, which carries out all aspects of Tree Surgery and Woodland Management, and converts timber into sculptures and furniture as well as planks and beams. He writes: ' I also carry out "Woodland Workshops", working with community and school groups, to improve their local environment, and their understanding and appreciation of it. Hoping to plant seeds in your mind as well as the woods.'

TREES IN THE CITY

THE REGREENING OF MANCHESTER
"The spread of the city, as is obvious in this image, and the 'cult of the urbanism' and all that implies for the environment as a whole has paid, for the most part, lip service to Green spaces. Here in this 'before and after scenario' the provinces return and there is a dramatic re-assertion of the rights of the Tree and so nature as a whole takes its rightly place, at the centre of things. '
Anthony C. Trebilcock is a visual/performance artist, based in Manchester, currently working with the theme of Nature in relation to the city. (tonytrebilcock@yahoo.co.uk)

Thursday March 10: 1.7 million pound investment to tackle North Manchester’s derelict land
The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and its partners announced that North Manchester’s Harpurhey district is to receive more than one million pounds of regeneration funding to create and manage a new community woodland.The 21-hectare site, known as Moston Vale, has been selected and approved for regeneration under the ‘Newlands’ scheme, a programme billed as ‘land regeneration for the 21st Century’.

The scheme is set rejuvenate more than 400 hectares of the region’s damaged land, boosting economic and social conditions across Greater Manchester and Merseyside. Moston Vale is the first Newlands site to be given the green light for work to start.Newlands at Moston Vale will also support and enhance the wider Irk Valley Project – a public and private partnership to establish a green corridor through the heart of North Manchester, which follows the river Irk and its tributaries, for the benefit and use of the local community.

The community woodland to be created at Moston Vale will be managed by the Forestry Commission with improvements undertaken by its partners; Groundwork, Red Rose Forest and Manchester City Council.

In preparation for today’s announcement, communities surrounding and users of Moston Vale as well as potential visitors to the site, like employees at Central Park, have been consulted about the changes they would like to see to the area. Including work to repair the damaged biodiversity of the site, the land’s regeneration will include the development of family-friendly spaces, a new sports pitch, wildflower area, solar-powered lighting and a recycled gravel footpath.

Newlands at Moston Vale will lead to the creation of thriving, durable woodland for the local community as well as increasing woodland cover in the region, which is significantly lower than national and European figures. Moston Vale as well as the other six Newlands Phase One sites currently under consideration were carefully chosen following an intensive and ground-breaking survey, which used region-wide aerial photography to highlight the Northwest’s areas of derelict, underused or neglected (DUN) land.

16 September 2005: MANCHESTER TREE CONFERENCE
On , The Manchester Tree Conference took place at the Manchester Museum in the city, aimed at providing a rallying call to everyone interested in protecting and looking after some of city’s most prized natural assets - from street trees to park woods.

More than 70 delegates attended the Conference including individual residents, community groups, developers, architects, planners and council officers. They debatedthe important role played by trees in shaping Manchester’s image and identity and the vital contribution that trees make to the quality of life of residents as the air conditioners of the City.

Speakers at the day-long event include writer, broadcaster and leading environmental campaigner Professor Chris Baines and Nigel Blandford, Red Rose Forest’s Operations Manager. The hope of the event's organisers was that delegates would shape a new strategy for the protection and management of the city’s tree population and help draw up guidelines for planting schemes and community involvement.

Councillor Neil Swannick, Executive Member for Planning & the Environment, told the conference : “ Our plans to make Manchester the greenest city in the country recognise that the quality of our environment underpins the quality of life in our communities. Trees have a major role to play in these plans. We want to have a wide ranging discussion at the conference to ensure that the views of everyone who lives in , works in and visits Manchester are included in our future strategy. “

Media contact
Chris Lee, Tel: 0161 234 4027

2nd September 2004: Thousands of Manchester trees dying to fatal ‘scab disease’
A disease, which was once thought to be almost non existent in Britain, is killing thousands of Poplar trees across Greater Manchester, devastating tree stocks and threatening the Manchester Poplar with extinction, announced Red Rose Forest, Greater Manchester’s Community Forest today.

The trees affected are the commonly known ‘Manchester Poplar’ – one of Britain’s rarest native trees and Greater Manchester’s own species. It is estimated that more than four thousand trees have already been attacked by the ‘Poplar Scab’ (as it is currently known), but exact figures are impossibly to quantify as the tree is very common within this part of the country. The effect of this scab is also extremely dramatic, as the vast majority of Manchester Poplars are now mature trees towering at around 75 – 100 feet high.

Experts fear that if this disease is left unchecked, it could spell the extinction of the Manchester Poplar.
Poplar Scab was a previously rare disease, which causes the tragic defoliation of trees in the middle of summer, meaning the tree weakens over a period of two or three years, eventually resulting in its death. Other symptoms include the appearance of unsightly black lesions on the leaves, and the overall ‘shriveling’ of the tree, which is noticable to even casual observers.

TREE PLANTING PHOTOS

(Top): Year 2 and 3 pupils at Pinner Wood First School, Pinner, Harrow, joined Harrow Mayor Cllr Paddy Lyne, Council Leader Cllr Navin Shah and Alupro representative Ross Sheppard at a tree planting ceremony in the school grounds. The event was part of the Trees for the UK/ Trees for Africa initiative the borough signed up to last year. The scheme donates a tree to the borough and one to a place in Africa every time a tonne of aluminium cans is recycled. (Left): Birmingham tree planting ceremony. Pictured (from left to right): Nick Temple-Heald (Managing Director - Glendale Managed Services), Ahmed Muhammed (9) - Adderley Primary School, Katrese Johnson (8) - Adderley Primary School, Lord Mayor of Birmingham - Councillor John Hood.

All over the country, mayors, businessmen and young children are planting trees. Good thing too. We're thinking of having a photo competition for the best (and worst) tree planting pictures. The prize: a tree to plant (When we find one, we'll let you know what species it is). More details to come.

TASMANIA: NEW DEVELOPMENTS 1

Norman Baker MP on the stump of a felled giant, Styx Valley [Photo: Vica Bayley]

"Twenty years of campaigning in Tasmania by The Wilderness Society had produced some important, positive steps forward but much more needs to happen if the state's natural heritage is to be saved and its economy is to benefit from a restructure the forestry industry must inevitably undergo," says TWS spokesperson Virginia Young said.

An agreement struck between the Prime Minister and Tasmania's Premier in May last year allowed some protection for parts of the Styx and Tarkine rainforests, but Ms Young said both governments have failed to capitalise on the opportunity to place Tasmania in a leading position globally to benefit from the growing nature-based tourism market. Tragically, logging and clearing of other world-class forests has accelerated as a result of a massive injection of Commonwealth and State funding to the logging industry.

Instead of a bright future, a new threat is looming. Gunns Ltd, Australia's largest export woodchipper, wants to build a chlorine-based, native forest-fed pulp mill in the Tamar Valley. It could turn out to be an ecological, social and economic disaster. This proposal is one of the biggest threats to old growth forests in Tasmania, as well as having significant impacts on air quality and the marine environment. The proposed pulp mill would involve 30-years of access to Tasmania's native forests, driving ongoing destruction of high conservation value and old growth forests. Any pulp mill in Tasmania must be 100 per cent plantation-based, totally chlorine-free and appropriately located, Ms Young said.
Paul Sheridan/Environmental Media

'Tasmania's Greens believe they can use their likely balance of power after the forthcoming state election to change the state's biggest industrial project, a hotly disputed $1.5 billion pulp mill. Timber giant Gunns Ltd is poised near a critical milestone in the approvals process for the mill on the Tamar River north of Launceston.But Greens leader Peg Putt said yesterday it was possible to vary the approval in Parliament on the premier's recommendation. "There certainly is capacity for us to influence what happens with this mill," Ms Putt said.The giant mill would consume more than 2.5 million tonnes of woodchips, some of it from native forest, to produce 800,000 tonnes of pulp and would discharge 20 billion litres of effluent into Bass Strait each year.
Source: ''Greens pledge on pulp friction' by Andrew Darby, Hobart. March 8, 2006, The Age
Read full story here:
Thanks to Lin Heyworth

AIRKNIFE:TREE FRIENDLY EXCAVATION

The Supersonic AirKnife enables the excavation of sensitive areas without fear of damaging roots. This has opened up new opportunities in diagnostic work, soil remediation, and excavation close to trees. The danger of damaging tree roots or even underground utility lines is no longer a concern with this tool.

The AirKnifes we use have been imported from the USA where the tool is manufactured by Easy-Use Air Tools, Inc. The tool's design has been scrutinised for over eighteen years to perfect it in a multitude of real life circumstances, although it has only recently been adopted by a small number of arborists for use in the UK.

New techniques are being discovered and developed that will make these tools the next arboricultural frontier. In the near future, in order to offer ‘complete tree care’, arborist's will need to utilise Supersonic Air Stream technology.

The AirKnife opens a new world of tree care. For the first time we can work with the underground portion of the tree and look closer at the interaction between tree roots and the fungi living with them. It is common for us to think that fungi growing at the base of trees are evidence of decay in the trunk or main root system of the tree, without considering that they may just be living off the dead wood where the oldest tree roots have become dysfunctional.

Using the high pressure air stream to break up and blow away the soil from around the base of trees it is possible to look in more detail at the roots which might be affected by the fungi, while also being able to assess the effectiveness of the reactive growth being produced by the tree. By undertaking such a revealing investigation it becomes possible to make more informed management decisions without employing invasive decay detection equipment.

Working with utilities:
The AirKnife makes excavation around underground utilities much safer for workers and trees. It can be used to locate gas and power lines before digging with mechanical excavators. It can dig a utility line tunnel under a hard surface like pavements or patios as easily as under tree roots.

Where it becomes necessary to excavate a trench close to or under the canopy of a tree, the AirKnife can be used to expose roots that may then be either bent out the way of the trenching work or cut back using target pruning. This reduces the stress caused to trees by preventing roots being ripped out the ground by a mechanical excavator, therefore prolonging the trees life expectancy and enabling the retention of trees that may otherwise have been removed.

However, it is essential that all work to expose tree roots be undertaken by qualified arborists with knowledge of tree physiology and ecology, although, the AirKnife itself is easy to operate and could be used by groundwork contractors during other excavation works. Once exposed the tree roots will need to be treated with care and if left exposed for any length of time they should be sprayed with a hydro-jell to reduced desiccation as a result of water loss, while mulch can also be used to cover exposed roots during excavation work.

Remediating soil compaction:
Soil compaction is widely recognised as one of the most significant stresses associated with trees in urban environments, especially in association with development, while also being an issue in well used parks and gardens. The compacted soils have lost macro pore spaces that normally hold air and water. This has a dramatic influence on respiration and severe compaction can suffocate a tree.

The most effective treatments for compaction have been vertical mulching and radial trenching. Traditionally this has been done with spades, augers, trenchers and backhoes, balancing the increased pore space against root damage caused by these mechanical diggers.

Since the AirKnife does not damage roots, we can now double the treated area without overstressing the tree. Radial trenching to improve root growth is made easy when you can simply blow the dirt away and replace it with improved soil. In addition, vertical mulching with an AirKnife can be four times faster than with a petrol driven auger and with a lot less effort.

How the AirKnife works:
The AirKnife converts compressed air from a portable compressor to a supersonic jet stream by use of its specially engineered nozzle. The finely focused stream of air penetrates the ground to nearly a depth of up to 30 cm and can be aimed to crumble and blast the soil away as fast as the operator moves the tool. Since tree roots, rocks and pipelines are non-porous soil can be excavated quickly with no impact to roots, electrical, and gas lines.

Andrew Cowan
ArborEcology

THE PRINCE AND THE PRINCETON ELMS

(Left): The first Princeton elm on British soil, being planted by Roy Lancaster at Knoll Garden


A new avenue of 54 Princeton elms (Ulnus americana 'Princeton') has been planted on the Prince of Wales' estate at Highgrove - the first avenue of its kind since the advent of Dutch Elm Disease. The elms were provided by Dorset-based Knoll Gardens as part of a long-term project to restore the elm along the avenues of Britain.

“Over 20 million elms have been lost to Dutch Elm Disease since the mid 1970s,” said Neil Lucas, owner of Knoll Gardens. “This has caused a dramatic change to the landscape as well as removing the natural habitat of a unique community of organisms.”

The Princeton Elm is an incredibly disease resistant tree. It was originally selected in Princeton, New Jersey back in 1920 for its observed resistance to known maladies, classic elm shape and large leathery leaves. Despite the ravages of Dutch Elm Disease, roads lined with Princeton Elm planted in 1932 remain in perfect and picturesque condition today. In the early 1990s the tree was subjected to intensive modern testing for disease resistance and found to have a 96% survival rate. No other variety of Dutch Elm Disease susceptible, large-leafed elm can boast this combination of disease resistance and longevity in the landscape.

“The Princeton Elm not only has an 80 year disease resistant track record,” said Neil. “It is also a very worthy tree, beautifully aesthetic, and like all elms amazingly tolerant of harsh conditions, especially in urban situations. Our hope now is that these handsome and noble specimens will soon be planted in sufficient numbers to start restoring the elm throughout the British Isles.

“Our trees are being shipped in direct from Georgia, USA by Roger Holloway of Riveredge Farms. Roger is well known is the USA for his drive and determination to re-establish the elm. He takes personal delight in his recent achievement of supplying elms for planting along Pennsylvania Avenue, in front of The White House.”

“Its unique qualities made Princeton the clear choice of the National Forest Service for Pennsylvania Avenue,” said Roger. “Around 170 trees were planted and I’m looking forward to watching them become an integral part of the landscape around The White House.”

In Britain, working in partnership with Roger, Knoll has already supplied elms to the National Trust and the Royal Horticultural Society Gardens at Wisley.

(Right) One of the new elms on Pennsylvania Avenue, with the White House in background.

THE TRENCH, THE TREE AND THE TROUBLE

The tree in July 2004 - its last leaves. [Photo: Archie Miles]

I came home one day about 9 years ago to find contractors from one of the larger national electricity providers busily trenching immediately beneath a large 120 year old ash tree in our hedge, at the corner of our garden, in order to lay a new supply to a house being built across the lane.

The bloke in the trench gave me a blank look & simply indicated that the straightest line from the existing pole to the new house ran directly underneath the tree, which was why his trench was about two feet from the base of it. I could see all the substantial roots that he'd cut through. I was furious. He didn't seem concerned.

We waited and, for a few years the tree seemed okay. Then, about 5 years ago the foliage began to look rather thin and weedy. This condition became progressively worse each year until last year there was no foliage at all - the tree was effectively dead. With a dead tree in our boundary we now had a safety hazard on our hands, and before it fell on someone or something we had to take action. I consulted the Tree Advice Trust, one of whose experts came to look at the tree and, given the background story, he was convinced that the trenching had almost certainly caused the tree's demise.

In November we contacted the electricity company to ask them to either do something about this hazardous
tree, which their irresponsible excavations had caused, or to pay for it to be removed - an expensive exercise which would cost over £1,000. Their first response was to tell me that they were not answerable to me since they were excavating on a neighbour's land and it was roots on that land which were damaged. They offered no compensation. I found this hard to swallow.

I wrote back to them suggesting that if, because of their trenching, they had damaged gas or water mains which had adversely affected us, or they had trenched on neighbour's land, but next to our buildings which had then subsided, then surely they would be responsible. How come this was not so with the tree?

At this point I also discovered, and mentioned to them, that there was an informal agreement, which all utilities have signed up to, that gives detailed directives of how to trench responsibly around large trees. I also discovered that the company had neglected to obtain permission to enter the adjoining land (belonging to a third party neighbour) - tantamount to trespass, and had also failed to obtain a wayleave for a cable to be laid.

They wobbled and offered us a 'goodwill payment' of 50% of the cost of removing the tree, still without admitting any liability. I was still not happy. I wrote again, reiterating the points I had already made as well as including a drawing which illustrated how there was at least a 10-12 metre distance away from the tree and into the field adjoining our garden where they could easily have trenched relatively safely. I also reported the upset caused to my neighbours who had no knowledge of the excavation works and stressed that if all parties owning property around the tree had known of the impending excavations before hand then we could have all made sure that correct procedures were undertaken. I once again requested full payment of the removal of the tree.

In mid January they wrote back to say that as a goodwill gesture" and "in recognition of the time and trouble you have taken to bring this matter to our attention" they would pay in full for the tree to be taken down. It took 4 or 5 letters and a fair bit of huffing and puffing, but I got there in the end.

The lesson being- don't put up with the brush off. If you really believe you are in the right pursue these people. I will never know who in the organisation was ultimately responsible for the bad trenching practice - the bloke in the trench or some suit behind a desk, but it's only when these companies are brought to book that they will start to be more meticulous about their operations. I thank them for doing the right thing in the end, although they never said they were sorry for the damage and loss to us of a fine amenity tree (that, I suppose, would be admitting liability).

The ash came down on February 28th. A sad day, but let's hope some of the timber can be used to make an enduring memorial to a beautiful tree.

Archie Miles

Feb. 28th, 2006 . After 120 years - down it comes. [Photo: Archie Miles]

SCOTTISH TREES

The arrival of the new copy of 'Reforesting Scotland' is always welcome. The latest (Issue 34) highlights issues to do with the land, land reform and community landownership. Of tree interest are pieces on one specific community woodland, Old Castle Wood, and a broader piece about control of land through community woodlands, giving the perspective of the Community Woodland Association. In addition there is piece on 'Forest Education in Lanarkshire,' and on how to construct and use a wood-fired oven and use it for baking. Full details on website here.

CONFERENCE:

The Future for Wild Harvests in Scotland

Seminar on Non Timber Forest Products

10-11 May 2006

Beauly, by Inverness

May10th will consist of site visits to Reelig Glen Wood and to Highland Natural Products in Beauly. The following day is the seminar and workshops. Speakers include Maria Emergy of the US Forests Service and Miles Irving, a Forager.

Details at: www.forestharvest.org , which also has a good database of products and suppliers.

'Many Scots go blackberry picking in the autumn or gathering holly and ivy at Christmas to decorate the home. For most people that's as far as their gathering activities go, but Scotland's woods and forests offer a great many other useful non-timber forest products for the enterprising visitor.There are hazelnuts to gather in the autumn, fruits such as wild raspberries and elderberries for making puddings and wines, dozens of species of wild mushrooms, and delicious herbs such as wild garlic and wood sorrel to make summer salads more interesting.The woods also provide valuable sources of wild and managed game, herbal medicines, foliage for floral decorations, craft products such as basketry materials and dyes, and seeds for planting more woodlands.'

Treefest. Edinburgh. 10th and 11th June 2006
An opportunity to publicise your business and sell your product. This year Edinburgh's highly successful 'Treefest' event will have a non timber forest product theme. If you are interested in booking a stand at Treefest please contact Four Winds (phone 0131 332 2229 or email Carole) before the end of March to ensure that you get a place.

Trees for Life are currently campaigning to raise funds to purchase the Dundreggan Estate and restore the wild forest.

Details here: http://www.treesforlife.org.uk/

URBAN TREES: OPPORTUNITY OR PROBLEM?

Amsterdam tree [Photo: John May]


TV Gardener Diarmuid Gavin, Broadcaster Jon Snow, Garden Designer Andy Sturgeon, Tony Kirkham from BBC’s 'A Year at Kew' and many more high profile speakers will be adressing the Trees for Cities conference : ‘Urban Trees – opportunity or problem?’ which will be hosted by HSBC at their Headquarters in Canary Wharf on Wednesday 22nd March.The day will be chaired by Pauline Buchanan Black, Director General of The Tree Council.

The conference aims to provide a clearer understanding of the value of urban trees, what works, what doesn't, and how we can all work together to achieve our vision of greener, healthier urban communities. We anticipate a wide-ranging audience that will include opinion formers, representatives from local and central government, businesses and local communities.

The conference is free to attend, and open to all. Over the course of the day, speakers and audience will explore the many issues around the value that urban trees offer from a range of perspectives. There will be opportunities to ask questions, to share views, generate new ideas and move the debate on urban trees forward.

Space is limited and people are strongly advised to register their interest by sending an email to Stephan@treesforcities.org (please indicate your name, job title, name and address of the organisation you are working for and your contact details). Tickets will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

THE GLOBAL CANOPY PROGRAMME

Almost half of all life on earth may exist in the world’s forest canopies. They may also play a vital role in maintaining the planet’s climate, yet they remain largely unexplored owing to difficulties of access.
The Global Canopy Programme (GCP) seeks to link existing and new projects studying the world’s forest canopies into one integrated global programme of research, education and conservation, focused on the function of forest canopies in the maintenance of biodiversity and the influence of forests on climate change, especially in relation to sequestering carbon from the atmosphere.

Other projects will include capacity building and education programmes coupled to conservation efforts designed to alleviate poverty at these ‘biodiversity hotspots’ through community enterprise developments based on forest canopy products and services.

The GCP is an initiative derived from the Forest Canopy Workshop held in Oxford in November 1999 which called for the setting up of this programme and created the template for its implementation.

GCP will initially link the nine ‘canopy cranes’ already in existence for studying forest canopies, as well as other initiatives using hot air balloons, walkways and climbing ropes in the world’s first global co-ordinated effort to explore “nature’s last biological frontier.”

WESTONBIRT'S FESTIVAL OF THE TREE

Westonbirt's annual summer wood craft event - Sculptree and the Festival of Wood - have been re-launched for 2006 under the single title 'Festival of the Tree'.

This successful annual event has grown over the past 12 years into a week-long celebration of wood craft, with the internationally renowned Sculptree giant wood-carving event at its centre. Last year it attracted more than 30,000 people and international media interest.

The Festival of the Tree will open with Sculptree, on Monday 21st August 2006 at 10am. Exhibi-tree, the new name for the Festival of Wood craft event, will run each day from 25-28th August. The grand finale of the Festival will be at 3pm on Bank Holiday Monday (28th August), when the Sculptree sculptures will be auctioned on site. [For exhibition and sculpture opportunities contact Rachael Miller on 01666 881201.]

Westonbirt is the National Arboretum, renowned worldwide for its tree and shrub collection, contains some 18,000 specimens, including almost half of those woody plants known to grow in the world’s temperate climate zone, and covers 600 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds. English Heritage’s Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historical Interest list it as a Grade 1 Listed Landscape.

Established in 1829 by Robert Holford, it was later developed by his son, George. Much of Westonbirt’s renowned autumn colour can be traced back to Sir George’s plantings of Japanese maples between 1850 and 1875, some of which are still alive today. Westnbirt is now home to the National Maple (Acer) Collection, with 180 different types in the collection.

The Forestry Commission opened Westonbirt Arboretum to the public in 1961, so 2006 represents the 50th anniversary of its management.

Westonbirt Arboretum is three miles south west of Tetbury on the A433 (Tetbury to Bath Road). It is 10 miles north-east of Junction 18 of the M4 and south-east of junction 13 of the M5. It is open all year between 10am and 8pm, or dusk if earlier. The normal cost of admission for adults is £6.50, children £1, concessions £5.50. See: www.forestry.gov.uk/westonbirt or call the Arboretum on 01666 880220.

ITN VISIT AMAZON; SIAN LLOYD AT WENTWORTH

Lawrence McGinty, ITN's Science Editor, is currently visiting the environmental hotspots of the world in a global tour for a series of reports '3 Degrees from Disaster': He has just posted up three entries on his blog from the Amazon, accessible here




Weather forecaster and TV personality Siân Lloyd was on hand on February 27th at a tree-planting event to celebrate the success of the Woodland Trust's campaign to save Wentwood Forest - the largest ancient woodland in Wales. The Trust had to raise at least £1.5 million to secure the purchase of the site; the local public appeal alone raised over £100,000, while at least 30,000 individual donations were received from across the UK and the world.

The 1,100-hectare (2,750-acre) Wentwood Forest is the remnant of a vast woodland that once stretched from the river Usk in south Wales to the Wye Valley. It is mentioned in the 12th century Book of Llandaff and was once a royal hunting forest. As well as being the largest ancient woodland in Wales, it is also one of the largest ancient woodland sites in the UK. The forest and surrounding area is home to thousands of wildlife species, including dormice, 23 species of native butterfly, 75 species of birds and plants such as wild daffodil, wood sorrel and yellow pimpernel.

The majority of the forest is managed by Forest Enterprise (FE) and is mostly planted with spruce and larch, with remnants of deciduous oak and beech woodland. FE now plans to de-coniferise the site to achieve 60 per cent broadleaf cover.The 352 hectares (870 acres) the Trust has bought, was stripped of the majority of its broadleaves to provide valuable timber for the First World War and was subsequently planted with conifers. Yet remnants of the ancient woodland and flora survive and the Trust aims to restore it to 90 per cent broadleaf cover over the next 90 years. Further Details on: http://www.savewentwoodforest.org.uk/
Fiona Anderson

UK POTENTIAL FOR SHORT-ROTATION FORESTRY FOR WOOD FUEL

Short-rotation forestry (SRF), in which fast-growing trees are cultivated and harvested between eight and 20 years after planting, appears to have potential as a source of renewable fuel for heat and power generation in Great Britain, according to a study undertaken by resource management consultants LTS International of Edinburgh for the Forestry Commission and Defra.

The study looked at 10 species of trees: four native species - alder, ash, birch and poplar; one naturalised species - sycamore; and five non-native species - three of Eucalyptus and two of southern beech. It examined the potential impacts of SRF on biodiversity, soils, hydrology, pests and diseases, archaeology and the landscape.

The report recommends:
- establishing a code of practice as to how growers could establish and manage their SRF crops in ways that would minimise such impacts.
- further research on three main areas: the growth rates and yields that might be achieved in Britain from SRF; the economics of SRF, particularly for the grower; and the water use of SRF stands.

The latter is of particular concern as the high water use by some species, particularly eucalypts, could threaten water supplies in certain parts of Britain. The report recommends that there should be clear guidance for land-use authorities and growers defining areas where SRF would not be acceptable.

'A Review of the Potential Impacts of Short Rotation Forestry' [February 2006. Final Report. P D Hardcastle/Review Team Leader] can be downloaded from the Forestry Commission website: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/SRFFinalreport27Feb.pdf/$FILE/SRFFinalreport27Feb.pdf
Or the Defra website: http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/acu/energy/energy.htm .

FOOTNOTES:

Short-rotation forestry: the practice of cultivating fast-growing
trees that reach their economically optimum size between eight and 20 years old. Conventional forestry rotations in Britain vary between 40 and 150 years, depending on species. When felled, SRF trees are replaced by new planting or, more usually, allowed to regenerate from the stumps as coppice.

Short-rotation coppice (SRC): uses faster-growing tree species
such as willows and poplars that, after harvesting, sprout multiple new shoots from their stumps, that grow on to form the next crop in as little as three years. (Such practices have been used to produce ‘withies’ for basket-making for centuries).

Wood fuel: whether grown in SRF or SRC plantations or derived from traditionally managed woodland, could be used in different ways: in heating systems, electricity-generating plants or combined heat-and-power generating systems. Wood fuel is particularly suited to medium-sized buildings or groups of buildings that need a constant source of heat, such as schools, office blocks, factories, care homes, farms and hotels.

Sustainably grown biomass fuels: such as wood make only very small contributions to atmospheric carbon. The same amount of carbon that is released into the atmosphere when one crop is burned is reabsorbed by the plants grown for the next crop. The carbon emitted by the machinery used to establish, grow, harvest and transport the biomass is very small.

GLOBAL TASMANIAN PROTEST

RIGHT:LOGGING TASMANIAN STYLE

World citizens today protested at Australian embassies and consulates in America, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom to decry the destruction of old-growth forests and the undermining of democracy in the country's island state of Tasmania by Forestry Tasmania and Gunns, Ltd., a billion-dollar logging giant whose practices rank among the world' s worst according to recent reports. The IUCN compares Gunns' operations to rampant illegal logging in the Third World.

Demonstrators delivered a letter signed by leading international sustainability groups to Prime Minister John Howard demanding that the government act in accordance with scientific recommendations to protect Tasmania's virgin forests from a well-documented arsenal of logging tactics deployed by Gunns and industry-controlled Forestry Tasmania.

The worldwide call for action today echoed a dozen of Australia's leading scientists who signed a 2004 statement of support for the protection of Tasmania's forests calling for the 'urgent need for Australian government intervention.' The effort to protect Tasmania's forests is one of the largest environmental issues in Australian history, and according to a 2004 opinion poll by Newspoll, over 85 percent of Australian citizens favor full protection.

Gunns are currently seeking $6.3m damages in a writ against 20 environmental activists, claiming that their actions hurt the companies business. Included in the writ are the Green Senator Bob Brown, Tasmania's Green Party leader Peg Putt, along with Geoff Law of the Wildnerness Society and Lou Geraghty, a 60-year old grandmother for her role in local protest actions. The case is being likened to the 'McLibel' case brought by McDonald's against two British activists.

Websites like Gunns20.org and McGunns.com are indicative of the global support the campaign is attracting. The US-based Rainforest Action Network today launched TreesNotGunns.org to organize future worldwide action.

At the Australian High Commission in London today, British MP Norman Baker - the Lib Dem Shadow Environment and Rural Affairs Secretary - met with the Deputy High Commissioner to deliver the NGO letter and spoke about the scenes he witnessed on his visit to Tasmania last month. Over 100 members of the British Parliament recently signed a motion condemning Gunns' actions and calling for an international boycott of woodchips and paper sourced from Tasmania's old-growth forests.

The global outcry comes just days before a March 9th hearing when lawyers will argue for the third time that the Gunns 20 case should be thrown out of court. It is just two weeks before a March 18th Tasmanian election when an record Green vote may force the current government into a minority coalition or from office altogether.

Spearheaded by San Francisco-based Rainforest Action Network, the worldwide day of protest expands one of the largest environmental protection campaigns in Australian history to global economic centers including Houston, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Tokyo, Vancouver and Washington, D.C.

The letter to Prime Minister Howard was signed by coalition of US and European-based groups including Forest Ethics (www.ForestEthics.org), Friends of the Earth International (www.FOE.org), Global Exchange (www.GlobalExchange.org), Global Response (www.GlobalResponse.org), International Forum on Globalization (www.IFG.org), Native Forest Network (www.NativeForest.org), Pacific Environment (www.PacificEnvironment.org), Ruckus Society (www.Ruckus.org) and the Sierra Club (www.SierraClub.org).

With an annual revenue of over $700 million in 2005, Gunns is the largest logging company in Australia, where it holds a virtual monopoly in Tasmania. Gunns operations have resulted in convictions and fines for breaching the Forest Practices Code and causing major environmental damage to a Tasman Peninsula waterway. Under the legal protection of special exemptions from national and state laws granted by the government's Regional Forest Agreement, Gunns has routinely ordered the destruction of pristine areas identified for permanent protection by the United Nations World Heritage Bureau. Under current Tasmanian law, the company is not required to file environmental impact statements.

The revolving door between Gunns and the government includes former Tasmanian Premier Robin Gray who currently sits on the company's board of directors. RAN claim that Gunns collusion with Forestry Tasmania has essentially eliminated citizen oversight and has led to a breakdown of democracy in the state. Despite being Tasmania's largest landowner, less the 15 percent of the company's record profits stay in Australia's poorest state.

Gunns largest customers are Japanese paper companies Nippon, Oji, and Daio and major recipients from products of its old-growth woodchips with US markets include Fuji-Xerox, Ricoh and Canon. As a result of NGO pressure, Mitsubishi Paper Mills, another major customer of Gunns, recently adopted a new wood-chip buying policy which rules out sources from old-growth forests.

For more information see www.ran.org.

AUSTRALIAN TREE STAMPS

Three out of a set of five postcards produced to advertise a new set of Australian tree stamps. Pictured are the Australian Boab, the Moreton Bay fig, the Snow Gum. In addition, there are stamps for the Wollemi Pine and the Karri. Photos by Peter McConchie. [Thanks to Australian reader Lin Heyworth]

The stamps have been issued to celebrate the 22nd International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) World Congress will be held 8-13 August 2005 at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre.

The theme is 'Forests in the Balance: Linking Tradition and Technology'. Its aims: To create an interest amongst not only scientists but also the full range of stakeholders with an interest in forests and process technology; to reflect the importance of tradition and technology, including the increasing importance of indigenous knowledge; to recognise the role of indigenous peoples, not only as residents but also increasingly as future land managers.

SMALL WOODS MARKETING GUIDES

These recently published booklets offer straightforward marketing advice to owners of small woodlands and the makers of wood products.

Produced by The Small Woods Association in partnership with the Forestry Commission England, The Countryside Agency and the England Forest Industries Partnership, the two guides aim to enable the effective marketing of sustainable wood and woodland products, to help create and strengthen the market for such products, and encourage sustainable woodland management.

The booklets take the reader step by step through the marketing process from business planning to final sale. They are available free of charge from The Small Woods Association, The Old Bakery, Main Road, Pontesbury, Shropshire. SY5 ORR Tel 01743 792644 or email enquiries@smallwoods.org.uk
Free PDF’s from http://www.smallwoods.org.uk/236_Free-Marketing-Guides.asp
or from www.forestry.gov.uk/england-woodmarketing

TESCO TREE PROTEST

The Guardian 28.2.06

The main protester, Oliver Carter (24) lived in a tree house in a giant Scots Pine for 11 days to protest the loss of the trees, despite the fact that he had a fear of heights. He spent seven months on a similar protest in Winchester, three years ago.

The BBC reported on 3rd March: New tree-top protesters move in
They claim that a new group of six demonstrators have set up camp just outside the security fence put up by Tescos. The company began work on its new store earlier this week. It said had no plans to cut down the occupied trees. Tesco said in a statement: "We are aware that there are still protesters in the vicinity of the site. Our scheme provides a great opportunity to regenerate a brownfield site that houses two disused factories. We are committed to the local environment and consulted the local community on the scheme."

A nationwide protest group website called Tescopoly has been established. Its slogan: 'Every Little Hurts.'
See: ' Every little protest helps: campaigners unite in bid to cut Tesco down to size' by Paul Lewis (The Guardian Feb 22 2006)