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TREES
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Deforestation is a huge part of human destruction on natural environments and ecosystems.
"More than 11,000 square kilometres of rainforest was destroyed in Brazil in the 12 months to August" in 2020. This is a 12 year high for deforestation.
Estimates are, that we have 3 trillion fewer trees now than at beginning of human civilization. Half of the world’s rainforests have already gone – As rainforests are lost many species of animals are under threat as they are losing their habitats, including the Orangutans in Borneo.
Over 15 billion trees a year are being cut down each year (including rainforests)
Top 3 Reasons for Deforestation
Beef production: Brazil devotes 170 million hectares of land, 7 times size UK, to cattle pasture
Soy cultivation uses about 131 million hectares land, much of it in South America). Most of this soy is being used to feed livestock; livestock that are being raised for meat.
Oil Palm Plantations – mostly in South East Asia (21 million hectares of land)
UNITED NAtIONS
Sustainable Development Goal 15.3
By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally
Sustainable Development Goal 15.7
Take urgent action to end poaching and trafficking of protected species of flora and fauna and address both demand and supply of illegal wildlife products
‘I first came to hear about the Great Green Wall when directing the Rio Olympics opening ceremony, which had a segment about forests. I was amazed by the scale of the project. The Great Green Wall is an environmental and social project: support for it is very important. This is a hopeful documentary about a positive initiative.’
FERNANDO MEIRELLES
(EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, GREAT GREEN WALL FEATURE DOCUMENTARY)
As mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr is committed to addressing her city's challenges using an inclusive, data-driven approach to urban development.
Trees Share Vital Goodies Through A Secret Underground Network
The trees were sharing a huge amount – around 40 per cent of the carbon in any given root came from a neighbouring tree.
This means that, in a single hectare of forest, the trees must be swapping around 280 kilograms of carbon a year, equivalent to 4 per cent of the forest’s total carbon uptake.
The Benefits of Trees for Livable & Sustainable Communities
Trees play a critical role for people and the planet. Numerous studies have demonstrated that the presence of trees and urban nature can improve people's mental and physical health, children's attention and test scores, the property values in a neighborhood, and beyond. Trees cool our urban centers. Trees are essential for healthy communities and people. The benefits that trees provide can help cities and countries meet 15 of the 17 internationally supported United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The sounds of the rainforest include: the chirps of birds, the buzz of cicadas, the banter of gibbons. But in the background is the almost-always present sound of a chainsaw, from illegal loggers. Engineer Topher White shares a simple, scalable way to stop this brutal deforestation — that starts with your old cell phone.
What Can We Do?
Protect our current forests by:
- Eating Less Meat
- Buy only responsibly produced palm oil or avoid it
- Use Less - less tissues, less paper, less packaging
- Try recycled loo roll - we like "who gives a crap"
Plant trees in your garden or on a local farm
Organisations you can donate to:
Crann - Planting Broad Leaf
trees in Ireland
The Trillion Tree Campaign
Plant-for-the-Planet is a global children and youth initiative promoting Climate Justice. Since 2007 the children and youth have empowered 88,000 peers, called for the Trillion Tree Campaign (2011), have established a large scale tree planting project (2014), inspired the scientific community to prove that trees are one of the most effective natural solutions to slow down the climate crisis (2019) and are mobilising the planting of 1 trillion trees.
- Plant for the Planet // The Trillion Tree Campaign
Dream for Trees
Planting mini forests. Everywhere.
"We want to plant mini forests in cities all over the world.
Our aim is to make green and rich ecosystems in urban places. By inviting nature back into our lives we can make our cities healthier, happier places to live.
We plant mini forests of our own, and partner with other people to do the same. Get in touch to see how we can work together."
In The News
Aldi Ireland to plant 1m native Irish woodland trees by 2025
Photograph: Leon Farrell/ Photocall Ireland
The Irish Times, Tuesday 26th January 2021
"The supermarket group Aldi has committed to planting 1 million native Irish woodland trees around Ireland over the next four years under commitments towards the environment and sustainability.
The initiative is to be carried out in partnership with the Department of Agriculture’s Woodland Environment Fund (WEF) under which Irish businesses can partner with landowners and the department to establish new native woodlands – as opposed to non-native species such as sitka spruce. The Government’s target is to plant 22 million trees a year until 2040."
‘Forest Bathing’ Is Great for Your Health. Here’s How to Do It
Photograph: Getty Images
Time.com, Tuesday 1st May 2018
"We all know how good being in nature can make us feel. We have known it for centuries. The sounds of the forest, the scent of the trees, the sunlight playing through the leaves, the fresh, clean air — these things give us a sense of comfort. They ease our stress and worry, help us to relax and to think more clearly. Being in nature can restore our mood, give us back our energy and vitality, refresh and rejuvenate us.
But what exactly is this feeling that is so hard to put into words? I am a scientist, not a poet. And I have been investigating the science behind that feeling for many years.
In Japan, we practice something called forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku. Shinrin in Japanese means “forest,” and yoku means “bath.” So shinrin-yoku means bathing in the forest atmosphere, or taking in the forest through our senses."
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