Trees don’t cost the earth but they might just save it.
A Strong message from The Forest of Marston Vale and one certainly backed up by science. At Midas, we like to think of trees as super heroes.
Check out these facts to gain a little insight into why we are supporting our local afforestation scheme and how a little goes a long way.
For just £20 our local forest scheme can plant and maintain a tree for 5 years. It’s not a great deal of money, probably less than what you spend on coffee in a week BUT when you consider it takes one oak tree living to over 100 years to sequester up to 1.5 tonnes of carbon, we do need quite a lot of them to suck in all the harmful CO2 and greenhouse gases that we, as humans are constantly pumping out into the atmosphere.
Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) output has to be a key focus but increasing woodland is incredibly effective and buys time for technologies and human behaviour to adapt. Woodland and forests act as amazing carbon sinks but also have a fantastic effect on habitat, in some regions they can be a major benefit for flood defense and that’s not to mention the recreational benefits they offer.
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At present, the UK has approx. 13% tree cover but it is estimated that this needs to increase to 19% if the UK Government is to hit its pledge of Carbon net-zero by 2050. It’s hard to envisage numbers that span the entire 1000 miles of the UK but in simple terms, this is 1.5 million hectares of land, covered in trees. Remember, this is hectares, not trees required, and typically between 1000 and 2500 trees can be planted in a hectare depending on coverage and tree species.
One hectare is 100m by 100m so roughly one international rugby pitch.
According to the "Global tree restoration potential” report, there is enough suitable land to increase the world’s forest cover by one-third without affecting existing cities or agriculture. However, the amount of suitable land area diminishes as global temperatures rise. Even if global warming is limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the area available for forest restoration could be reduced by a fifth by 2050 because it would be too warm for some tropical forests to survive.
If, like Midas, you are thinking of mitigating Carbon for your business or just simply wish to support further tree management and planting, there are loads of Government supported schemes spread around the country. Always check out the scheme thoroughly and one of the best ways is to review the woodland carbon code. It is the voluntary standard for UK woodland creation projects where claims are made about the carbon dioxide they sequester. Independent validation and verification to this standard provide assurance and clarity about the Carbon savings of woodland.
For further reading, you can take a look at the woodland carbon code report.
Over the next 5 years, Midas has agreed to purchase 500 PIU’s per annum as well as investing in a further 500 trees every year with the Forest of Marston Vale. Will you join us in supporting our forests and woodland?
Each tree costs around £20 to plant and manage, over a 5 year period and you can support these efforts by donating and becoming Friends of the Forest.
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