LUNGS OF OUR PLANET

“Put simply, without trees we could not survive,” states Andrew Swift, who, this month, looks at the devastating impact of deforestation and the vital role trees play in keeping our cities livable...

This summer’s drought and record temperatures, along with the wildfires that raged across the land, demonstrated once again – as if we needed further proof –the seriousness of our climate emergency. They also highlighted how crucial trees are in our attempts to turn things round.

Put simply, without trees we could not survive. Trees reduce pollution, absorb carbon dioxide, store carbon and produce oxygen. They also provide shade, lower ambient temperatures and, by providing habitats and green corridors for insects, birds and animals, help to slow the catastrophic decline in biodiversity.

While it is no longer possible to deny how vital trees are – not just for our wellbeing but also for our survival – the battle to halt their destruction is far from won. It isn’t just in tropical rainforests that war is still being waged; the felling of thousands of trees by council contractors, backed up by the force of law, on the streets of Sheffield in 2018 shows it is happening much closer to home.

Given the imperative to build new housing and the infrastructure associated with it, it seems inevitable that controversial fellings will continue. There is general agreement, however, that more trees need to be planted, not just to make up the losses, but also to ramp up Britain’s tree cover. What is at issue is the speed and extent of this reforestation. Recent spats over the drive to increase Bristol’s tree canopy have focused not on its necessity but on how quickly it can be achieved.

Time, however, is not on our side. Although trees are among our most important allies in the fight against climate change, some species are already falling victim to it. Ash dieback is caused by climate change, but milder, wetter winters allow the disease to spread more rapidly, while drought and high summer temperatures put the trees under stress, making them more susceptible.

In the longer term, it is feared that climate change threatens Britain’s beeches, whose shallow roots struggle to cope with drought and rising temperatures. The decline of particular species, although devastating, however, is compensated for by natural progression, as other species move in to fill up the gaps. It is the overall loss of tree cover that is the real problem.

It is estimated that, since we switched from hunter-gathering to farming the land around 12,000 years ago, the number of trees growing on our planet has fallen from around 5.8 trillion to around three trillion, with the rate of deforestation picking up speed over the past couple of centuries.

The trend in this country over the past century, however, has been in the other direction – not that we can take too much comfort from this. Only about 10% of England is covered by woodland, compared with 32% of France, 33% of Germany and 37% of Spain. A sizeable chunk of that 10% is also made up of commercial conifer plantations, far less ecologically diverse and far less effective in fighting climate change than broad-leaved woodlands.

And, although tree cover is increasing, the rate of that increase is alarmingly slow. The Climate Change Committee set up by the government in 2008 has advised that 30,000 hectares of new woodland need to be planted every year to 2050 if net zero targets are to be met. Between 2016 and 2020, however, only 7,720 hectares were planted.

In Bristol, too, the council has announced ambitious targets,

Oaks at Ashton Court

Avenue of Japanese cherries in Castle Park Leigh Woods from Bishop's Knoll

aiming to dramatically increase tree cover in the city and prioritising planting in areas where cover is low. An increasing number of people are taking matters into their own hands, however. Community tree planting is gaining momentum all the time, and organisations, charities and individuals have racked up some impressive achievements.

The brilliant thing about planting trees is that you’re not just helping to save the planet, but also reaping more immediate dividends. Cynics may scoff at the concept of ‘forest bathing’, but so successful has the healing power of spending time in the woods proved to be that it’s now a medical prescription in Japan, while an increasing amount of research shows a correlation between exposure to the natural world and increased health and wellbeing.

You don’t need to delve into the research, though. A quicker – and more enjoyable – way of putting the idea to the test is to get out and explore the fantastic range of woods and trees on our doorstep. Bristol is fortunate in having had a slew of wealthy landowners who nabbed much of the prime real estate around the city to create private parkland, much of which now survives as green spaces for everyone to enjoy.

Most extensive is Ashton Court, where, if you head through the Clifton Lodge entrance, at the end of Bridge Road, you can walk through a magnificent avenue of limes before following the drive as it curves downhill past a succession of ancient oaks, including one known as the Domesday Oak, which was selected by the Tree Council in 2002 as one of 50 remarkable trees to commemorate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.

Another option is to follow the wooded gorge at Coombe Dingle before climbing to Blaise Castle, an 18th-century folly hidden amid ancient woodland on the heights above. Ancient woodland – or ancient replanted woodland – also survives at Kingsweston, Oldbury Court, Stoke Park and Badock’s Wood in Southmead, along with several other sites in Bristol.

A little further off the beaten track is Bishop’s Knoll in Stoke Bishop, where the abandoned terraces and kitchen garden of a longdemolished mansion lie alongside a Victorian arboretum. Left for decades to its own devices, restoration has been limited to improving accessibility while maintaining a glorious wildness and labelling some of the rarer and more impressive trees. The largest is a Monterey Cypress with a seven-foot girth, while the oldest is a pollarded oak planted over 700 years ago as a boundary marker.

The most extensive area of ancient woodland, though, is across the Avon in Leigh Woods, where the rare Bristol Whitebeam was discovered in 1852. Along with six other kinds of whitebeam –including the Observatory Whitebeam and the Leigh Woods Whitebeam – it is endemic to the Avon Gorge, meaning that it grows wild nowhere else.

Parks such as Eastville, Grevylle Smyth, St Andrews, Victoria or St George, with its magnificent avenue of London Planes, also richly reward exploration. Some parks – such as Brandon Hill or Castle Park, with its celebrated avenue of Japanese cherries and those enormous fig trees growing out of the harbour wall – even have specially devised tree trails.

Garden cemeteries, so beloved of the Victorians, now double as wildlife havens and are also home to some spectacular trees. Arnos Vale is the most celebrated, but others well worth exploring include Greenbank in Easton, Ridgeway Park in Eastville and St Andrew’s in Clifton, where the path leading through it is shaded by a pergola of pleached limes.

With an unmistakable whiff of autumn in the air, there is no better time, as the leaves start changing colour, to get out and explore the infinite richness and variety of Bristol’s trees and woods – and, perhaps, mindful that they are our closest allies in the fight against climate change, be inspired to get planting. n • akemanpress.com

CEO of The Big Lemon, Tom Druitt, is delighted to confirm that The Big Lemon has applied to the Traffic Commissioner for a licence to operate in the West of England and subject to that licence being granted it will be running four services in Bristol from 3 October.

The Big Lemon is a social enterprise based in Brighton focused on providing local community bus services using low emission and electric vehicles, with a strong emphasis on community engagement and providing an excellent passenger experience. Its drivers are famous in Brighton for the friendly and helpful service they provide, and the team are looking forward to bringing the same ethos to its services in Bristol.

The Big Lemon is working with the local transport authority to provide services on routes 505 (Long Ashton Park and Ride to Southmead), 506 (Broadmead to Southmead), 515 (Imperial Park to Stockwood) and 516 (Broad Walk to Hengrove Park). Fares will be in line with the requirements of the Combined Authority and will be announced prior to launch of the services.

• For more information, visit: thebiglemon.com or follow @TheBigLemon on Twitter and Facebook

Time2Share@WECIL has been offering a befriending service for 50 years and is one of a range of services at the Bristol-based charity WECIL.

The service links disabled young people with volunteers who provide 1:1 support and a short break to parent/carers. Befriending gives disabled young people with a range of disabilities the opportunity to build confidence and independence with their very own buddy. Links are based on shared interests and activities which can be enjoyed either in the family home or out in the community. Volunteers usually visit a young person for two hours a week and need to be friendly, caring and reliable.

• If you are interested in becoming a buddy then please see WECIL’s volunteering page: wecil.co.uk/volunteering

Huboo –one of the fastest growing global fulfilment technology providers –has demonstrated its commitment to innovation through co-founder Paul Dodd taking up the new post of Chief Innovation Officer. Formerly Chief Technology Officer, the shift comes at a pivotal time in Huboo’s incredible journey, which has seen it grow from two members of staff and £20,000 in monthly recurring revenue (MRR) in 2017 to almost 800 staff and £1.7million MMR in 2022. To date, Bristol-headquartered Huboo has over 516,300.87 sq ft of warehouse space globally and operations in The Netherlands, Spain, Germany and the UK. Innovation has been at the heart of Dodd’s career, having worked his way up from the graduate scheme to Global Physical Distribution Manager at Proctor & Gamble, where he was responsible for managing transport and warehousing innovation across the globe. Dodd’s innovation expertise is what enabled him to devise Huboo’s unique micro-hub model. The hub system, each run by hub managers, allows both B2C and B2B customers to build strong relationships with their manager who looks after a limited number of clients to better meet their fulfilment needs, add personalisation and quality control. Meanwhile, ‘hubs’ also serve the Huboo team well and were designed with people at its core to create a warehouse system that is enjoyable to work in, without miles of daily walking.

Redmaids’ High School has recently announced that after attending an intensive two-day selection camp earlier this summer, Neve in Year 10 has been selected for the England Netball Roses Academy 2022 – 2023 squad. Neve was invited to the selection camp which consisted of court training, fitness testing, and match play after being observed on court whilst representing Severn Stars in the U17 National Performance League.

Neve received the news that she had been selected while on holiday and said “When I got the email to say I was successful, I was delighted. I feel very excited and proud as it will be a great experience and I've been training hard and challenging myself over the past few months to make sure I was ready. I'm so happy the hard work has paid off!”

Over the coming months, Neve along with the rest of the newly selected squad will travel to Loughborough for regular training camps, they’ll take part in friendly competitions and will have the opportunity to represent their country in the Europe Netball U17 tournament in early 2023.

• redmaidshigh.co.uk

Badminton School in Bristol opened its doors to a film crew working for children's television channel, CBBC, in March this year for their new 20-part series Our Boarding School. Over a number of weeks, the television crew filmed behind the scenes at the all-girls school in Westbury-on-Trym to tell the story of life in a boarding school. The twenty-episode series reveals the fun, friendships and challenges the boarding pupils face while living away from home.

Mr Dalley, Acting Head at Badminton School, said “It was a hugely exciting spring this year as the staff and pupils welcomed the production crew and their cameras onto site. Boarding schools are places that people don't always know a great deal about, often with endlessly intriguing stories attached to them, so it was a joy to take part in this series that will give viewers a real glimpse into boarding life.”

Joyt, a Boarder in Year 8 at Badminton, said this about being part of the series: “It was cool being behind the scenes, watching people film. I found it really enjoyable. You were even able to film bloopers sometimes! They made it [the piece to camera interviews] really fun because you were even allowed to sit behind the camera sometimes and ask the questions!” The series is available to watch on iPlayer.

Bristol-based footwear designer, Hannah Stiles, has won the title of ‘Footwear Designer of the Year' at the Footwear Industry Awards, a ceremony that praises the talents in the shoe business. Hannah Stiles, employed by family-run footwear and clothing distributor, Gardiners, was awarded the accolade due to her stylish range direction with comfort brand Hush Puppies. The Footwear Industry Awards represent an independent stamp of approval of both technical excellence and outstanding reputation among industry peers. Retailers and brands across the sector nominate and vote for professionals to be awarded at the live presentation at the Birmingham NEC. These coveted awards provide recognition and highlight how much creativity there is to celebrate in the industry. The 32-year-old from Bristol studied Footwear Design at De Montford University in Leicester and joined Gardiners in 2017. Since working with the fifthgeneration family wholesaler, her talents have grown from strength to strength.

• The Hush Puppies styles designed by Hannah, along with global favourites, are available to buy at footwear stores all over Britain and online at hushpuppies.co.uk