Here in the Pacific Northwest of the USA (Washington State) there are some of the most incredible woodlands in the world. There are rainforest woodlands with trees over 300 feet tall such as the world's tallest Douglas Fir at 302 feet. In fact there is so much tree cover (52%) that the size of the timber industry - of this state alone - is almost seven times that of the UK.

But woodlands are not just about growing trees - they can be about improving quality of life. The State parks in the US actively encourage visits and they have created tracks/trails that are easy to walk along and that have easy parking. One woodland that I visited on the Pacific coast even had signs to promote wellbeing. Maybe these are preaching to the choir in that you had to be walking on a footpath to see them but they still offered useful and encouraging information along these lines: "being outdoors lowers your chance of developing short-sightedness", "outdoor breaks relieve more stress than indoor breaks", "forest air boosts your immune system", "physical activity in green spaces boosts your self-esteem".

Perhaps, too, Americans can teach the UK lessons about promoting camping in woodlands. The State Parks have plenty of places where RVs (Recreational Vehicles - camper vans) can stop for the night and they also promote "through hiking" which means doing a trek of several days and spending the nights sleeping out in a tent. The tradition goes back a long way but was given a huge boost by Theodore Roosevelt who camped out in the wilderness and learnt bushcrafting techniques: he subsequently directed this enthusiasm towards creating "National Memorials" which became some of the early US National Parks.

So, can the "health crisis" which is sweeping the UK and the US be averted with the help of getting more people into woodlands? In the US there is a long way to go as there were only around 150 million recreational visits to woodlands annually. Bearing in mind that many visits will have been by the same people, this indicates that only a small minority of the US' 333 million visits a woodland in a typical year. The pandemic effect pushed up the typical number of visits to a somewhat higher level.

Can Kamala Harris or Donald Trump push this up further? Indeed, will they even try to?

According to the United Nations, a forest is anywhere that is at least 20% trees.  As 21% of our capital city, London, lies under the canopy of trees - it is an urban forest*. It is estimated that there are some 8 million plus trees - nearly as many trees as people.  London is not alone, Johannesburg is a densely wooded city with some 6 million trees, planted throughout the streets and private properties. Tree Cities of the World is a programme that recognises cities and towns committed to ensuring that their urban forests and trees are properly maintained and  sustainably managed.

Urban environments can create difficult conditions for tree growth and development. The trees may be exposed to pollutants, high temperatures (heat island effect), drought and/or flooding, and challenging conditions for growth. . Whilst trees may be planted, their subsequent care / nurturing may be limited due to insufficient resources (money / care etc).  There needs to be long term maintenance to sustain not just healthy trees but also to make sure that the trees do not damage pavements / roads etc (for example, through root penetration).   Trees for Streets is a new national tree sponsorship scheme that some councils have partnered with, which gives local residents the chance to have a tree near them or in a local park.   It is a project run by the charity Trees for Cities which aims to support local communities in revitalising forgotten spaces, planting trees and improving the local environment.

Greenery in SE London. View towards St.Helier's hospital.

In the past, London was a much smaller city surrounded by countryside and woodland, but there are still areas of ancient woodland within it.  Some of this woodland remains such as the Great North Wood in South London (hence Norwood and Forest Hill). Other place names - Wood Green, Forest Gate, Nine Elms and Burnt Oak bear witness to the wooded landscape that was once prevalent across London. In fact, some 8% of London’s area is still woodland, and some of it is even defined as ancient woodland (e.g. Epping Forest).

Dulwich Park

There are also the many parks of London - Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, Richmond Park, Dulwich Park etc.  Add to these the trees found in school fields, private gardens, squares (like Berkeley and Portman Squares), plus the trees that line so many streets (estimated at 900,000).  Trees (like sycamore and buddleia) have also colonised areas of the built environment,  like railway lines / cuttings.  The most common London trees are sycamore (7.8%), oaks (7.3%) and birch (6.2%). However, the urban forest has a wide spectrum of species that includes native species, such as 

• ash, 
• hawthorn, 
• hornbeam, 
• field maple and 
• holly, 

but there is a wide variety of exotics and cultivars in parks, streets and private gardens. 

In some parts of the capital, the London Plane is a noticeable presence, due to its resistance to pollution and tolerance of root compaction. It sheds 'large flakes' or sections of its bark exposing new material of a variety of colours (brown, grey, yellow), and is sometimes described as ‘self cleaning’.  The London Plane is thought to be a hybrid of the American sycamore and Oriental plane. 

So the urban forest is quite diverse in terms of species when viewed across the capital, but there are parts of the city where species diversity is poor and the age profile of the trees is sometimes limited.  This homogeneity can favour pests and disease.  Diversity generally favours to resilience.  Currently, trees face diseases such as acute oak decline, Chalara ash dieback, horse chestnut leaf miner, Massaria disease of plane and oak processionary moth.  

London’s urban forest faces an increasing human population and the challenges of climate change.  The latter may bring substantial warming and changing rainfall patterns. Wetter, milder winters and drier, hotter summers may be more common in the coming decades. Some trees will be better able to cope with these changing conditions.  Future planting will have to follow the maxim of “right tree, right place”.

The value of London’s forest is difficult to quantify or to put a figure on. It is a major part of the ‘green infrastructure’ – that is the matrix of green spaces, parks, recreation grounds, lakes, canals, and rivers plus the street trees , green roofs and allotments that provides a range of economic, environmental, and social benefits. The importance of green, leafy spaces came to the fore during the early days of the Covid pandemic, helping with mental and physical wellbeing of Londoners. 

Mature oak in park.

The components of the forest offer valuable habitats for wildlife and also provide biological corridors /  stepping stones that enable birds and various animals to move through the urban environment. The ancient woodlands and veteran trees offer a home to a variety of wildlife such as bats, stag beetles, orchids etc.  In recent heatwaves, people have appreciated that trees also provide shade and cooling in streets and parks.

Another aspect of extreme weather is very heavy rainfall, trees and green areas can help reduce the risk of flooding, allowing more water to enter the soil rather than running off hard surfaces of tarmac and concrete.  

Trees also help capture pollutants, improving local air quality by capturing fine particles from the air (much of this is through deposition on leaf surfaces).  One source suggest that trees remove some 2241 tonnes of pollutants each year.  Trees and shrubs seem particularly effective in removing ozone, and through its photosynthetic capacity the urban forest can take up carbon dioxide into organic form. The amount of carbon taken up by London’s urban forest each year has been estimated at 77,200 tonnes.

To maintain and augment this urban forest, it is important  in the coming years that

• the threats of pests and diseases are fully assessed and controlled 
• The threats arising from climate change are recognised / mitigated
• Woodlands are properly managed (eg. coppicing); this may include the training of personnel.
• Create opportunities for planting of trees, hedgerows and woodland.

Tree nursery - 'ready for planting'.

* https://cdn.forestresearch.gov.uk/2022/04/21_0024_Leaflet-CC-factsheet-Urban-forests_wip06_Acc.pdf

"We're not out of the woods yet..." said Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in February 2023, warning that the British economy was still in danger.  It was widely reported by the BBC in ways that indicated the metaphor was apt and reasonable.  Hunt was unconsciously referring to the common idea that woodlands are dangerous and should be avoided, and that when we are out of the woods everything will be okay.

This is in the same vein as stories like Little Red Riding Hood where she is warned not to talk to strangers when she has to go through the woods, and "woodist" notions like this are conveyed when the storyteller says "the woodcutter was never seen again after he entered the forest.".  This fear of woodlands runs very deep in our culture and creates a genuine barrier to their conservation and enjoyment.  Unfortunately Jeremy Hunt reinforced this fear, probably unwittingly. Such prejudicial language is perverse for a government which has just tried to burnish its environmental credentials with the 2023 Environmental Improvement Plan, part of which aims to "Enhance beauty, heritage, and engagement with the natural environment".  It's also surprising to hear such woodist language when the Forestry Commission's tree planting grants are over £2,000 per hectare higher where public access is given. More positive language about woodlands will be needed to achieve the Forestry Commission's aim of "boosting the country’s woodlands and timber industry."

But Jeremy Hunt's prejudice and woodism is not new - for centuries people have feared the 'big bad wolf' lurking in the woods and the witch who is said to live in the forest.  Ideas of enchanted forests with traps and dangers are pervasive throughout literature and across the world.  In the past, people feared wild animals in woodlands that could attack and they knew that the forest is home to many dangerous plants and poisonous mushrooms, and in some cultures there are spirits of the forest which can be easily angered.  Many others in authority use similar imagery to Jeremy Hunt.  A Time magazine article by James Stavridis in January 2023 starts with a woodist stance: "Sadly, in these not-so-United States, we have found our way deep into a dark forest, and the question before us is how do we find the path out of this dangerous thicket into which we have wandered?".  Phrases like this which fight against nature are rife such as the expression that a report will be 'kicked into the long grass" implying to a place where no one wants to be.  Other anti-nature sayings are, "going feral" or "nipping problems in the bud".

Many traditional stories indoctrinate children from a very young age such as the story of Hansel and Grettel who got lost in the woods leading to their being eaten by a witch.  And there were the three little pigs who were afraid of the wolf in the woods.  Stories make people fear getting lost and trapped in woodlands, having heard of Rapunzel who was trapped in a tower in the middle of the forest.   At least they were a place of refuge for Snow White who hid in the woods to escape the evil queen, or for Robin Hood and his band of outlaws who lived in Sherwood Forest.  And it's not just older stories that convey that impression - Maurice Sendak's 1963 bestseller, "Where the Wild Things Are", tells an allegorical story of a boy who misbehaves and is sent to his bedroom without his supper. But the tale is also about mood and behaviour: the woodlands which appear to grow in Max's bedroom are associated with him going onto a dark place.  Although it's sold as a children's book, it's just as much an adult's story, and it reinforces that strong link between woodlands and bad things.

Much of the recent work to reduce people's prejudices around race and sexual orientation are fighting long-held and widespread stereotypes.  Ideally "woodist" language like Hunt's should be called out in the same way that racist and sexist language is - and despite woodist language showing a prejudice against nature rather than groups of people, it still affects how we view our world and how we behave towards others.  Perhaps we need a new lexicon of more positive language around woodlands, encouraging terms like "rewilding" and "greening".  Even the more jargony terms like 'eco-services' and 'biodiversity' are positive although it's more than better language which we need as an antidote to the woodist expressions of Jeremy Hunt.  What is needed is to make politicians ashamed of using woodist expressions and ask them to spend more time, well, in the woods.

There are many reasons to plant trees, but lots of us may not have the resources (experience, time, money or land) we need to get involved with tree planting, even if the desire is very much there.  Fear not! 

Getting involved, a little or a lot, is easier than you might think. There are countless reputable tree planting organisations across the UK which provide opportunities and information to those who are keen to get involved, but may not know where to start.  It may be that you don’t have the space (or resources) to plant your own trees, or are a little tight on time but want to contribute where you can.  You may be considering buying land to plant a family woodland and are on the lookout for some guidance and experience beforehand.  Wherever you are coming from, volunteering for a local tree planting project or charity could be a good way to kickstart your tree planting journey.  It’s also a wonderful way to meet like-minded people and make new friends. 

Community tree planting is both cost effective and efficient.  Planting up large areas of bare land is not a quick job. Although people are utilising innovative methods for planting trees (such as dropping saplings from helicopters in remote regions), tree planting is generally speaking a labour intensive activity.  Lots of man hours can mean hefty costs too.  But as the saying goes, many willing hands make light work, and so is the case with creating new woodland.  Volunteering bodies can take care of the organisational and logistical elements of a planting project, allowing individuals to step in and learn new skills, connect with their communities and make a positive contribution to our climate. Fifty members of a local community could comfortably achieve the same as a far smaller team of professional foresters.  Of course the spacings may not be quite as consistent, or the stakes quite as straight in the ground, but in the grand scheme of things this doesn’t matter!  The process of planting a young tree can be learned by anyone, of (almost) any age, from any background!

Forest For Peterborough, a tree planting organisation in the UK, began with the aim of planting one tree per person in Peterborough, but has now planted over 100,000 trees to date and aims to plant 230,000 by 2030. They also offer education for young people so that they can learn how to make sustainable decisions and attempt to give people ‘opportunities to learn skills and connect with others.’ As well as the opportunities for socialising and meeting others, it is a great way to acquire new skills, confidence and a sense of fulfilment from engaging practically with the environment in which you live.  For those who may not have the time, will or resources to take on their own tree planting project, volunteering alongside others offers could be just the answer.  Getting outdoors and connected with nature is especially important since many of us have been working from home since the pandemic began, which has taken a toll on our essential need as humans to connect with other people and the natural world.

redwood seedling

As well as the social aspect of tree planting, there are a host of benefits associated with increasing the numbers of trees and green in spaces in the communities in which we live. It has been shown that people who interact more with nature are more likely to have a higher sense of self-esteem and be more resilient to stress, whilst reducing other mental health issues such as depression and dementia. For children, contact with nature can positively impact their affective, cognitive and moral development. Children who have views of trees are also more likely to succeed in school, meaning tree planting has both individual and communal benefits. Communities with more well-maintained trees have an involved social capital, too, whilst also reducing ‘violence and aggression in households, and limiting criminal activity in neighborhoods.’ Imperial College found that having high-quality green spaces in an area leads to its residents having a greater attachment to and sense of pride in their community. These all contribute to the overall cohesion of a community, something that we all want for the areas we live in.  

Whether you want to meet new people, get more exercise, contribute to your community or be a part of a lasting legacy to help combat a changing climate, finding local tree planting groups could be an excellent step in improving your health, as well as the health of your community and our planet. 

There are a huge number of volunteering opportunities across the UK, far too many to list exhaustively here, but please see a selection below which may be of interest:

Future Forests Networks: https://futureforestsnetwork.org/

Trees for Cities: https://www.treesforcities.org/get-involved

Avon Needs Trees: https://www.avonneedstrees.org.uk/volunteering/

Forestry England: https://www.forestryengland.uk/volunteering

Trees for Life:  https://treesforlife.org.uk/support/volunteer/

Trees for Shropshire:  https://treesforshropshire.org.uk/volunteer/

The Northern Forest: https://thenorthernforest.org.uk/get-involved/

The Heart of England Forest: https://heartofenglandforest.org/volunteer

Parks for London: https://parksforlondon.org.uk/community-tree-planting/

"Jenny was a very timid woman with very low self-esteem and confidence when she came to our Woman's Shed," explained Karen Little, the organiser of March Wood's "Woman's Shed" Project.  Karen got Jenny started on some whittling which she engaged with total concentration during some of the sessions.  She seemed to shut out everything, she became mindful of the task and was able to shift her focus to the here and now.  Jenny was transfixed by it but it also transformed her and she has since bought her own whittling knife and is pursuing a hobby that she's really good at and it's given her more confidence in every area of her life.  As Karen says, "she takes time for herself, has learnt a new skill and is making new friends."

Woman's sheds are growing as a way for vulnerable women to get outdoors in a safe space and build up their self-esteem and practical skills.  In Kent, near to March Wood, there are quite a few "Men's Sheds", where groups of men meet with shared interests such as boat building, woodworking, and recycling.  At least one of these is for ex-servicemen.  It's sometimes said of men that they don't share their feelings face-to-face but rather shoulder-to-shoulder.  Like Men's Sheds, Karen's Woman's Shed is about being active as well as social.  The Woman's Shed meet-ups are once a week for 12 weeks and the sessions last a couple of hours in the late morning after children have gone to school.  The women meet around a campfire (there is, in fact, no actual shed!) and recently they've been carving wooden bowls and making charcoal in tins.  They then use the charcoal for sketching. The group is about transforming the physical, emotional and social well-being of the women that attend.

Recently one woman who was very shy joined in with an archery course organised by Karen.  On her first shot, she hit the bullseye.  Even though this was probably beginners' luck, she persisted and has now joined an archery club in Ashford where she has an active social life through this.  This is exactly the sort of thing that the sponsors of the Woman's Shed, the Shaw Trust, are hoping for from the Woman's Shed Project.

"My Woman's Shed can be a very emotional place," warns Karen. "Once Women are relaxed and doing things together they start to share their experiences and build up trust in each other.  There are sometimes tears, but these women find strength in each other and great friendships have been formed.   It's not just me teaching them stuff - the women who come will share their skills. The group have learnt and shared skills such as traditional wood carving, cordage, willow weaving and natural art.  Whatever else happens we drink a lot of tea."

Last November vandalism and fire devastated the March Wood Project which is a therapeutic and educational project based in Kent, and the story of how the project was brought back to life is extraordinarily encouraging.

The project, set in woodlands near Ashford works with young people and adults affected by mental health and social issues, and it's a not-for-profit organisation. The attack last year meant that we lost equipment and use of an outdoor barn classroom.

Thieves stole vital equipment and then set fire to the barn and storage containers leaving the project completely unable to deliver its programmes.

One client and supporter of the project set up a Crowdfunding page to raise £250 to help replace some of the equipment. Through the power of social media, the story went to all parts of the country and people started sending messages of goodwill and donating money. Within three months the target had been smashed and a total of just over £3000 was raised - twelve times the original ambition. Other people donated equipment, time and labour to get the barn rebuilt which is pictured above.

Most of the people that donated where unknown to the project, and were just people who wanted to see the project back on its feet as soon as possible. Some had suffered themselves from mental health issues and knew what an important resource it was. Eleven months later and a new barn has been erected. A sensory walk has also been created.

Every person that supported the rebuild now has their own name plaque in the barn at March Wood as a tribute to "the kindness of strangers".

Despite suffering insect bites, scratched legs, and a general lack of washing, this was an expedition which brought together ten women who shared their concerns - Jo had recently lost a baby, Charlene's mother had died of lung cancer, one was anxious about getting pregnant, another was a full-time carer and one woman had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.  Despite personal issues, or perhaps because of them, the whole experience of this survival challenge and sleeping under the stars left the group "mentally and emotionally on a real high".

"We only ate 541 calories a day, so it was no wonder..." explains one of the group of ten, a 67-year old who had never been camping before, "our conversations became increasingly about food."   

Mastering fire and water is essential to survival and can’t be taken for granted.  "Lighting the fire using only flint and steel on the first day took us two hours but once we got it going we loved the heat - despite the sunny days, the mornings in late April were remarkably chilly."  The women found that one member of the group, Katie, was much more effective than the others in getting the fire lit. Each quickly became adept at finding the best kindling. Long discussions were had on whether it was worth trying to keep the fire lit through the night - in the end, it would be best to relight it each morning.  

To get drinking water the group needed to boil water from the stream 200 metres away from their main camp. Although the plastic jerry can was large, they could only half-fill it because of the weight.  The water run (or slow walk) was a shared task.  "We discussed the importance of charities like Wateraid, knowing that around the world in many rural communities water has to be carried much further; usually by women and children."    

Another facet of water and survival is the loo. Every campsite needs a toilet - and the group found that digging hole in woodland is not so easy and for some, squatting can be hard on the legs.  

Throughout the adventure various specialisms developed. Initially the group considered whether to appoint a leader or perhaps select a new leader for each day, but in the end they opted for collective leadership. Every task got done. Nobody felt that others weren't pulling their weight.  

Between them, the group had quite a lot of knowledge of foraging and they found a patch of wild garlic which enabled them to flavour their rice rations. They identified green leaves to provide extra vitamins.  Lady's smock has a peppery/mustardy flavour but after several meals of rice, it’s hard work to liven it up with anything. 

On the first day they were grateful just to be eating but by day 5 they couldn't finish their meals. "We gave the left-overs to the dogs," Elizabeth explains. "We needed to avoid the temptation of getting Fran's birthday cake out of the car or digging into our emergency rations that some of us had in our rucksacks."

Woodlands.co.uk supports a number of initiatives encouraging women to get involved in woodlands, and this group used one of its woodlands near Chepstow which is mostly managed for conservation and timber production.  The project was set up by Bex Band of the project Love Her Wild.  Woodlands.co.uk is also working with Bec from HoneyWoods Camping who was one of this "band of ten" in offering support for vulnerable women and those recovering from issues like drug addiction and social isolation, and runs projects including The Hawthorn Project for women in recovery, www.thehawthornproject.org.

Steve's account : I have been volunteering at Tortworth arboretum for just over a year now, more recently joining the weekly Woodland Management group. Prior to my volunteering here I was struggling with alcohol addiction and mental health issues. These issues are ongoing, but I have been slowly and surely learning to manage them with more success. I am certain that my volunteering at the arboretum has been and continues to be instrumental in my recovery. Volunteering affords me the opportunity to join with others and contribute to the excellent work taking place here. Connecting with a diverse range of people - some of whom have experience of similar issues - in a welcoming and salubrious setting, has been key for me.

The work is varied - my tasks have included Japanese knotweed removal, preparing logs for step building, making silver birch brash parcels and helping to plant a pear tree - one is able to work at a comfortable pace and contribute whatever relevant skills they possess. It's an ideal environment too for developing and acquiring new and transferable skills. My interpersonal skills and ability to communicate effectively with others as part of a team have greatly improved, as has my general ability for problem solving and seeing tasks through to completion. Physically, mentally and spiritually, volunteering here has been very beneficial. Being close to and working with nature is therapeutic, and it's often a great release to get out of the frenetic urban landscape and into a living, peaceful and beautiful environment.

There have been some special moments as I think back over my time volunteering here. Last December, shortly before Christmas, we were treated to mulled apple juice (non-alcoholic!) and chestnuts around the camp fire, whereupon an impromptu festive singalong broke out. The eccentric gambolling of the goats often induces a raised eyebrow or two. One morning, after I had been taught how to start the camp fire using just flint and steel, one of the goats suddenly and inexplicably decided to take a running leap over the kindled flames. Quite recently, there was a short detour on the way to the arboretum to visit the ancient and renowned Tortworth chestnut.

This was followed by a visit from a tree expert who was interested in dating the sweet chestnuts in the arboretum and establishing a direct genetic link between these trees and the aforementioned Tortworth chestnut.

An aura of magic surrounded the day I encountered fly agaric mushrooms - the kind associated with fairies - and dragonflies for the first time. The occasional exploratory tree identification walks have been a highlight too. Jacob's knowledge of the various tree species and history of the arboretum is extensive, and the throng of volunteers are held in rapt attention. On one of these walks I caught sight of a muntjac deer, just for a fleeting moment.

Western Red Cedar

The National Forest scheme has celebrated its 25th anniversary.  It was and is a bold project, focusing on some 500 square kilometers of central England (parts of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire).  Whilst the area included farmland and some pockets of ancient woodland, e.g. Charnwood Forest to the east and Needwood Forest to the west, it also included many abandoned industrial workings such as opencast mines, quarries, clay pits and spoil heaps.

Some 8.5 million trees have been planted to date and now the area generates income through tourism - with some 8 million visitors (in 2014).  However, the rate of tree planting has declined.  The slowdown is planting is due to a number of factors

• As the forest matures, it needs greater management (thinning to give trees space to grow and open the forest / woodland floor to wildlife), which takes money from other things.
• Land prices are rising
• Landowners have more options - such as tourism
• The loss of the Tender Scheme - which gave landowners incentives to plant trees

The creation of a forest is not an overnight event, it takes a long, long time.  Over such a period of time, local and national needs can change.    In the post-war period, there was a need for timber reserves (which lead to the planting of many, large coniferous woodlands), then there was a move to promote public access to the countryside, more recently the importance of conservation & biodiversity has come to the fore.  There is also a focus now on jobs and growth - which puts wood production and tourism high up on the list and ecosystem services that woodland and forest can provide.  Ecological services include :

• Improving the visual and physical environment
• Interception of heavy rain / run off
• Absorption of carbon dioxide & acting as a carbon store
• Soil stabilisation

In additional to the planting of large areas with trees and shrubs, there is also a need for ecological corridors to link existing woodland areas to create a 'joined up' landscape in which plants and animals can move.   As the National Forest has matured,  it has become home to wildlife, for example, buzzards, red kites, butterflies, skylarks, owls and bats.  The landscape has been transformed and renewed.  This has been achieved at a cost of approximately £60 million - about the same as two miles of motorway!

Whilst Sheffield is renowned for its woodlands near to the city centre and its 36,000 street trees, it has now become the scene of conflict over their future.  A dozen people have now been arrested and the authorities have acted in ways that seem fairly heavy-handed.  Two older ladies each about 70 years old (Jenny Hockey and Freda Brayshaw) were arrested when they protested against the tree-massacre. They weren't actually charged, but others have been.

The battle over Sheffield's trees all started when the City Council signed an agreement with Amey to manage some of their infrastructure, although the terms in the 7,000 page agreement are secret.   As it contains commercially sensitive information Sheffield Council are not revealing the full contents of the 2012 PFI deal (Private Finance Initiative) and even some of those defending it haven't read the whole document.

It seems that the contractor, Amey, is planning simply to cut down thousands of the tress and has been chainsawing away since the end of 2016 and has apparently already felled 4,000 deciduous trees with thousands more threatened.  According to an independent survey only 1,000 trees of the 36,000 needed to be replaced but the contractors are reported to have said that the trees have to go because mature trees cost more to maintain than saplings and because the tree roots will get in the way of re-tarmacing roads and making other "improvements".

Several politicians and celebrities have weighed in with Nick Clegg suggesting this was something you'd expect to see in Putin's Russia rather than a Sheffield suburb.  Nick Hawley, of the band "Pulp" and a resident of Sheffield, said that Sheffield City Council had "dropped a colossal bollock".  The Green Party politician, Natalie Bennett, described the opposition as strong, determined and widespread and said that though Sheffield is known around the world as "The Green City" it is now becoming known as the city that cuts down trees.

The fight is continuing with a 5,000-person petition having been debated by the Sheffield City Council and further people being arrested.  This week, protester Alison Teal was detained for preventing workmen from cutting down trees - it does not look as if the tree protest that is about to end with either side giving way .....