I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas, Just Like the Ones We’re Going to Know

Britain’s Tree Health Challenges

Britain only has 13% forest cover, making it one of the baldest countries in Europe.

The UK’s current official target is to reach 16.5% by 2050, but it’s way behind schedule even for this modest target.

Why?

• Where: new woodlands need to be planted on what’s currently privately-owned, mainly agricultural, land.
• Forestry v farming: seen as separate, rather than complementary businesses. This culture gap means British farmers don’t see forestry as a diversification option.
• Money: current tax/subsidy incentives are weighted towards preserving hill farm smallholders, even though there’s little demand for their meat or wool.
• Biodiversity v tourism: British tourists like seeing forests when they visit France (29% forest cover) Germany (32%) or Finland (73%), but at home promotes images of bare hills covered in sheep. Sheep keep Britain’s once-forested hillsides as bio-deserts.
• Sapling supply: even when farmers are willing to plant trees on their land, Britain’s nurseries don’t have enough saplings to plant.

This last issue is a particularly frustrating bottleneck, as climate change means Britain has to change its planting policy for new woodlands radically and rapidly.

Trees take decades to mature, and temperatures and rainfall patterns are changing unpredictably.

Tree experts know not all Britain’s current native species will survive the UK’s future climate, but no one can predict which ones, or how soon our new climate will kill them.

Even for Britain to maintain its current paltry 13% forest cover, Forestry England says the UK must urgently plant a wide range of tree species adapted to hotter climates.

Ash dieback, which arrived with EU-grown imports, taught Britain of the dangers of importing foreign saplings. For biosecurity, Britain’s new trees must be nurtured in British nurseries before being planted in new British woodlands.

Our Proposal

Britain currently has nowhere near enough tree nurseries to safely grow them, but it does have around three hundred ready-made nurseries – Christmas tree farms. Giving up Christmas trees, used for a month and burnt or thrown away, seems a very small sacrifice for giving today’s children a chance of still having woods in which they can play with their children.

This would require the British government to:

• Pass laws incentivising Christmas tree farmers to switch from growing disposable single-use firs, to growing approved tree saplings from more southerly latitudes.
• Pay Christmas tree farmers subsidies to help them transition.
• If there’s no funding, pay for it with a tax on Christmas trees.
• Expand Britain’s ‘Native Species Only’ list to approve species adapted to more southerly latitudes.
• Train farmers in forestry.
• Switch subsidies from promoting bare hills, to reforesting them.

Sorry about that. Sometimes installed apps can mess up the handling of regular mailto: links. But don’t worry…

1. Copy and paste our subject and body texts below into your preferred email app, change [the bits in square brackets] and adapt its introduction to your voice. Whatever your opinion of your MP, please be courteous, and leave the bullet points between the dashed lines unaltered.
2. Please add a cc to our DEFRA Minister, stephen.barclay.mp@parliament.uk – or, if he is your MP, remove the line in brackets about Steve Barclay.
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Thank you :)

Email draft texts

Subject

Convert Christmas Tree Farms to Nurseries to Protect Our Precious Woods and Forests

Body

Dear [MP Name],

(Copied to the current DEFRA minister, The Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP.)

Britain only has 13% forest cover, one of the lowest in Europe. The UK's current official target is to reach 16.5% by 2050, but we're way behind schedule even for this modest target.

Trees take decades to mature, and we know that before I and my children die, many of the tree species currently being planted won't survive rising temperatures. We can't know which ones will survive our future climate, so to maintain our current paltry cover, let alone increase it, the Forestry Commission says we must urgently start planting a wide range of tree species adapted to hotter climates.

Ash dieback, which arrived with EU-grown imports, taught us the dangers of importing foreign saplings. We need Britain's new trees to be nurtured in British nurseries before being planted in new British woodlands.

The UK currently has nowhere near enough tree nurseries to safely grow them, but we do have around three hundred ready-made nurseries - Christmas tree farms.

For me, my family and my friends, giving up our Christmas tree, used for a month and burnt or thrown away, would be a very small sacrifice if we knew it would mean our children have woods they can play in with their children.

- - -

* I want you to immediately pass laws incentivising Christmas tree farmers to switch from growing disposable single-use firs, to instead safely grow approved tree species from more southerly latitudes.

* Pay Christmas tree farmers subsidies to help them transition.

* If there's no funding, pay for it with a tax on Christmas trees.

- - -

My family, friends and I will be paying close attention to your reply to this email, what you say in public, and your Parliamentary vote on this matter.

If you support it, we'll consider voting for you again at the next election.

If you don't, we definitely won't.

Yours sincerely,

[Your Name]