Woodman, spare that tree!

02 September 2010

beechtree They’re under threat, big trees, and it’s bad for sustainable development, bad for the built environment, climate change, drainage, biodiversity. That’ll do to begin with! Trees are increasingly important to the places we live and they’re in decline. We need to act now to preserve adequate levels of tree coverage. So, Council Woodman (and that’s who it often is?) spare that tree and plant another.

When it comes to trees, big is beautiful. Many of the large, mature canopy trees in our streets and parks are getting old and will need to be replaced soon. Many have already been lost, to housing and commercial developments, to roads and parking schemes. Some councils are particularly chainsaw-happy and delight in destroying trees – sometimes citing dubious reasons like health and safety, subsidence, and light-blocking. There is a growing tendency in urban areas to cut mature trees down and replace them with smaller ornamental varieties, while the big ones provide more benefit – more shade, better shelter, more rain caught in their leaf canopies.

Here’s some of the benefits of trees in our built environment. Remember, the bigger the tree, the bigger the benefit!

In New York, studies show that trees provide $5 in benefits for every $1 spent on planting and maintenance.
Trees help create a sense of place and local identity.
Urban trees improve the health of local people, reducing healthcare costs.
People are willing to travel further, visit more frequently and pay, on average, 12% more for goods and services in commercial districts with trees.
Trees intercept heavy rainfall and help reduce the effects of flash flooding
Trees create focal points and landmarks.
Trees create a positive perception of place for potential property buyers.
Trees can increase property values by 7-15%.
Trees provide food and shelter for wildlife and help increase biodiversity.
Trees are an integral part of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS).
Trees make our cities cleaner by removing dust and particulates from the air.
Shading from trees can reduce heating and cooling costs by 20%.

The information in this article comes from CABE, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, “the Government’s advisor on architecture, urban design and public space”. At least it is at the moment – with the benighted Cameronian Government intent on abolishing lots of useful quangos and agencies, maybe not for much longer! If you doubt any of the assertions above about the benefits, you will find proper references for these at the end of a short presentation, The Benefits of Urban Trees, downloadable from the CABE website, and also in the report cited below.

No trees, not future: trees in the urban realm. This is the full report by CABE, not too long and written in non-technical language, which will give you fuller and vital information on: Why urban trees are so important; Why urban trees are under threat; Putting a figure on the value of trees; ncorporating trees into new developments; Subsidence and risk: overcoming perceptions, preventing problems; Trees and planning. Download directly here:No Trees - No Future (1.25 MB)

You don’t miss them, you don’t realise how important they are till they’re gone. Do feel free to harass your local authority if they themselves are planning to destroy, or permitting others to destroy, big handsome trees for no good reason. Just think how long it will take to grow a tree as big again – a hundred years? more than a hundred years?

Woodman, spare that tree!The original version of the poem and song, Woodman, spare that tree! was written by American editor, poet and songwriter, George Pope Morris, in 1837. It has been quoted by environmentalists. Here’s the full poem (it’s not too long) with the last lines seeming to support direct action to protect and save the tree.

Woodman, spare that tree!
Touch not a single bough!
In youth it sheltered me,
And I'll protect it now.
'Twas my forefather's hand
That placed it near his cot;
There, woodman, let it stand,
Thy axe shall harm it not!

That old familiar tree,
Whose glory and renown
Are spread o'er land and sea,
And wouldst thou hew it down?
Woodman, forbear thy stroke!
Cut not its earth-bound ties;
O, spare that aged oak,
Now towering to the skies!

When but an idle boy
I sought its grateful shade;
In all their gushing joy
Here too my sisters played.
My mother kissed me here;
My father pressed my hand --
Forgive this foolish tear,
But let that old oak stand!

My heart-strings round thee cling,
Close as thy bark, old friend!
Here shall the wild-bird sing,
And still thy branches bend.
Old tree! the storm still brave!
And, woodman, leave the spot;
While I've a hand to save,
Thy axe shall hurt it not.