What are books made of?

Trees, wood pulp, and lots of imagination...

… creativity, dedication and perseverance.

But what if there was no wood, or wood pulp, or grasses and other natural vegetation? Our lives would be very different without paper; and by extension, without the creation of books, we would lose that wonderful feeling of holding knowledge or experiencing escapism into every subject under the sun.

I recently responded to a Defra Tree consultation on the English Tree Strategy, and I was shocked to realise that fewer than 10% of our English native woodland is considered to be in good condition for nature. That means it can’t support the creatures that live in it. Not only are we not investing in planting more trees, but we’re also not even looking after what is left.

How sad is that?

Isn’t it funny how we all take everything for granted? Even though we know trees are vital to sustaining our environment, to help clean the air we breathe, to synthesise the colour into our world, we still don’t protect them. We don’t plant enough new trees. No one takes responsibility.

When I was a child, our garden had a rowan tree, lilac tree, oak and beech and a massive horse chestnut. I would stand beneath and look up into the branches, much as I imagine a Sentinal tree would hover protectively over us.  I wonder how many of those survive today? Not many, I’m sure. And how many children today would know the difference between all of them? It is our responsibility to ensure these trees are accessible for all, in natural spaces, of which many could easily sustain trees.

DEFRA Tree Strategy consultation for England

Have your say and respond to the Defra Tree Strategy Consultation for England.

Protect our woods, invest in regeneration and plant more trees. Help sustain the tree nurseries. Ensure we can continue to hold a book in our hands in the future, in a world full of magical creatures breathing clean air.

You can respond here, make sure you do by September 11^th 2020: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/protecting-trees-and-woods/campaign-with-us/england-tree-strategy/

Image credits: Top – Annie Pratt, Unsplash. Bottom – Dave Hoefler, Unsplash