‘Beware of the Tree Taliban’ I was warned recently by a well-regarded (and funny) ‘tree enthusiast’ Baffled by his meaning he explained that there is a small section of the environmental lobby that only want native woodland planted please and all other trees are a bit of a nuisance! To me it’s a bit Orwellian ‘Four legs good, too legs bad’ as I love all trees; what about the majestic beech trees that arrived here 400 years ago or the conker trees that I beat up with sticks every Autumn when I was a boy. Surely they have earned a place in our collective consciousness as Irish at this stage?
l agree that we need plenty of native woodland; these are beautiful still places, full of history, great for adventure and biodiversity. But the sustainability story of woodlands and forestry is much more complex than this. Commercial woodland plantations are critical in ensuring that there is a supply of timber locally produced for use in home building, forestry provides jobs to the local economy but also in practical ways like combating flooding. But like all things, we need a balance with land use; a balance between food production, raw material production and recreational use. Timber plays an important role in substituting away from using more carbon intensive products; imagine if pallets were made from plastic rather than wood; Halloween bonfires would be a lot more explosive!
Our Woodland Coffee plantation is a mixed plantation of broadleaf and confers trees with lots of hedgerow and open spaces for wild flower. We welcome the holly, the birth, the beech, the spruce and the oak. All are welcome. More trees please!
#sustainability #biodiversity #woodlandcoffee #forestry
