This week we brought together Year 9 Rodborough school councillors with Milford and Witley Parish councillors to plant 15 little oak trees in Milford.
Before we started planting, we shared all the amazing facts about trees. Particularly important in urban spaces they improve air quality by absorbing air pollutants into their bark and leaves. Important on the busy road we planted near. They not only provide shade, but they cool the air through evapotranspiration, like a natural air conditioner.
They also aid learning, children who can see a tree outside their classroom learn better. So we thought about the classrooms where they feel they can concentrate the best, and whether or not that might be the proximity to trees. And while Surrey is the most heavily wooded county in the country and our borough of Waverely has the most trees within Surrey, we still need to plant for the future because 15 billion trees are cut down each year.
We also talked about top down and bottom up projects, so whether something is initiated by the government or the community. This project was bringing both the grassroots community (school councillors) together with local decision makers (parish councillors). We talked about how important taking local action is, and that these community level initiatives are at the root of combating the global issue of climate change.
The climate emergency can feel overwhelming, especially for the youngest in our society. When we hosted Hustings for your Future what we heard is that a lot of young people feel their concerns for the environment and the future of the planet go unnoticed. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health published a 2023 report revealing a staggering rise in eco-anxiety among younger generations. It states that 75% of children and young people want stronger government action on climate change, 64% of young people believe their government is not doing enough to prevent a climate catastrophe, and 64% of children and young people believe their government did not take their concerns seriously.
Practical action can help with eco-anxiety and a couple of hours outdoors in a local woodland has many health benefits – it can help regulate stress, boost mental health, and improve immune function.
In line with Roots for the Future’s “plant many to replace one” policy, the 15 oak saplings we planted are to replace the one very large ancient oak which had needed to be felled due to risk of sudden limb drop. In summer months some ancient and mature trees can suddenly drop large branches or limbs which in certain urban areas can be dangerous.
It’s important to replace one ancient tree with many because the more mature the tree, the harder it works to capture and store carbon and to improve air quality, especially near busy roads. Not all these saplings will grow to maturity but we hope over many future decades that at least one will thrive, growing to be hundreds of years old, outliving us all.
It was a lovely morning, the sun joined us and we all left the site feeling pleased about the contribution we made to our community’s future.