Opinion... Focus on trees that are fit for purpose
(from Horticulture Week https://www.hortweek.com/opinion-focus-trees-fit-purpose/arboriculture/article/1661525?fbclid=IwAR3Mal1ZKKQcjQNSAl1KgB57ntCcazzKK9QR_9Dk-GaCUKTKEPM5eNaNsBQ
originally posted in green left facebook by Jon A. Meek)
4 October 2019, by
Jeremy Barrell
Attending tree
conferences around the world, the thrust is always the same — lots of spin
showcasing project successes and creating a pervasive impression that
everything is fine. But it’s not. Everywhere I look I see the natural
environment in crisis. Industrial farming and fishing are degrading nature on a
breathtaking scale, fuelled by visionless politicians oblivious to public
opinion.
The scale of
international climate protests demonstrates how far behind governments lag, and
it’s the same for trees. It’s obvious that
high-quality trees are good for people, yet the politicians still cling to sound bites and shallow gestures focused on numbers instead of outcomes. I am heartened by the Government pledge of £10m for new urban trees, but it is not bold enough for the unfolding climate crisis. It is too little, too late.
high-quality trees are good for people, yet the politicians still cling to sound bites and shallow gestures focused on numbers instead of outcomes. I am heartened by the Government pledge of £10m for new urban trees, but it is not bold enough for the unfolding climate crisis. It is too little, too late.
Many nurseries
continue to produce trees unfit for purpose and buyers continue to accept
defective products, despite a British Standard (BS 8545) designed to stop the
rot. It is encouraging that many new trees are being planted, but the lack of
maintenance funding means few will reach their full potential. So the numbers
game wheel keeps turning — low-quality trees, poorly planted, die after a few
years and the cycle restarts. Politicians and nurseries win, the people lose,
every time.
Although new planting
creates a comfortable sense of progress, the real gains are in preventing the
loss of existing trees to development. Established trees are already in place
and delivering benefits right where they are needed most, close to people, so
it is intelligent to work around the best ones. The planning mechanisms exist
to do this, yet incompetent planners and local politicians consistently fail to
deliver sustainable development.
We have the
expertise, technology, and capacity to put this right, but the mindset is
missing. Government must legislate based on outcomes, not numbers. There must
be a focus on growing trees fit for purpose and planting them properly. All
local planning authorities must have a written tree policy and dedicated tree
officers to implement sustainable tree management.
The historic
Government approach of passive persuasion isn’t working. Instead, we need
political leadership to drive positive change — and legislation in the
forthcoming environmental bill is the way to do it.
Jeremy
Barrell is managing director of Barrell Tree Consultancy
