Archive for the ‘trees’ Category
204 Trees Planted for World Record Attempt
Thursday, December 10th, 2009
On Saturday Richard Brooks and Malcolm Brooks planted 204 trees for the Tree O’Clock BBC tree planting world record attempt. The result of the attempt is not in yet but K International was happy to be involved and hope to plant another 100 trees very soon.
The process of planting trees is not easy; it takes care and a lot of hard graft to get the job done. Firstly, they prepared the ground by digging a trench 75 yards in length, 12 inches deep and 8 inches across. Whilst doing this they dug up all sort of interesting items.
“This was fun because there was lots of old stuff in there, under the ground, bit like being on Time Team.” Richard Brooks commented.
Next the baby tree had to be checked and trimmed. A protective wire/plastic was then placed around the small tree to keep it safe from animals. It is imperative that the trees are protected to survive. Then the tree was planted in the trench.
Everyone at K International is eagerly waiting to find out if the Tree O’Clock world record attempt has been a success. All contributions must be logged on the BBC Breathing Places website by Friday 11th December to count towards the world record.
People in Northern Ireland have already set a world record - the most trees planted by 100 people. This world record is for trees planted by hand, by no more than 100 people, at a single site, within a single hour.
Tree O’Clock teams at three sites set out to break the existing record of 18,124. Guinness World Records have verified that each of them achieved this.
So if you planted a tree get onto the BBC Breathing Places website, follow the instructions and be a part of this amazing tree planting world record attempt.
Tags: BBC, BBC Breathing Places, Environment, Guinness World Records, K International, Tree O'Clock, Tree Planting, trees, World Record
Posted in Charity, Environment, K International, Television, trees | No Comments »
Cathedral of Trees
Thursday, May 7th, 2009
Milton Keynes is known as the city of trees, despite being one of the UK’s most successful purpose built towns it has retained as much of the local greenery as possible.
In Newlands, opposite Willen Lake stands Milton Keynes cathedral it’s a little unconventional; it’s made out of trees.
The outline of the cathedral is based on Norwich Cathedral and was designed in 1986 by landscape architect Neil Higson.
Different species of trees were used to represent the character of each of the cathedrals sections: Hornbeam and tall-growing lime for the nave, evergreens to represent the central tower and spires, flowering cherry and apple as a focus in the chapels.
In the spring a wide range of colourful bulbs appear, these were put in to represent the sun shining through stained glass windows on the ground.
A poem by Steve Clark celebrates this unusual city feature.
Cathedral of trees
Among the arches of oak and yew,
Grown great on rain and dew,
I sense a lesson to be learned.
The northern wind in branch and bow,
Gives ministry to fawn and sow,
A quantum peace that I’ve not heard.
No font to wash away my sins,
But a rambling brook, who’s tumbling din,
Tells tales in tones of clarity and purity.
No stained glass here, depicts a life,
Of servitude and mortal strife,
First taken then risen to infinity.
Each branch it seems, a crafted beam,
Where prayers, the carriers of dreams,
Pass between, with no account of whispered secrets, not for all.
The leaves that gently kiss my feet,
Demand no thought for their upkeep,
But lie again anew each autumn fall.
The catacombs, silent below,
Are tended to by shrew and vole,
Who’s work I’ll never know, dutiful and patient.
Something else I never knew,
The tree that fell and is my pew,
Gave up itself, so I could sit in quiet contemplation.
Would man make such sacrifice,
That I find peace, give up a life,
When suddenly I laugh, I see it all.
My being here is meant to be,
This great design, is mine to see,
It brings me gently to my knees.
For here is God,
In his Cathedral of trees.
Steve Clark.
Tags: Cathedral, Milton Keynes, trees
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American Chestnut is Making a Comeback
Thursday, March 19th, 2009
The American chestnut was a magnificent tree which mainly resided on the east coast of America, dominating forests from Maine to Georgia. It grew to over 100ft and most had a diameter of up to 5ft. These trees were massive and incredibly popular.
They were strong, growing with a straight grain and were rot resistant. This meant they were perfect for making almost anything from railway sleepers to furniture. The American chestnut also provided an excellent food source for both humans and wildlife, producing a yearly crop of lovely brown chestnuts.
In the late 1800’s Americans introduced a new species of chestnut tree, the Asian chestnut. This was a big mistake as these trees carried a disease called Cryphonectria parasitica or chestnut blight, which would soon almost wipe out the good old American chestnut.
Unfortunately the American chestnut has been hit hard by blight in the past 100 years and is almost extinct. Blight spreads easily and very quickly, simply on the wind or by small animals. Also Oak trees, which are not affected by the disease, can act as carriers. The disease gets into the natural cracks in the American chestnut and spreads around the tree, the tree then dies from there up.
The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF), which was set up in 1983 is now working hard to bring the tree back. They are hoping to breed a blight resistant strain which will have the same attributes as the original American chestnut. The goal of the breeding program is to combine the blight resistance of the Asian chestnut with the desirable characteristics of the American chestnut.
Hopefully the cross pollination breeding program will work and American chestnut trees will once again dominate the East coast of America.
Tags: American chestnut, Asian chestnut, Blight, extinct, Forest
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Trees are Getting Bigger and Better
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009
According to Greenpeace rainforest trees are getting bigger, which is excellent in the battle against climate change.
A group of scientists who are reporting on a 40 year study of African tropical forests have found that over the past few decades each hectare of intact African forest has trapped an extra 0.6 tonnes of carbon per year.
Dr Simon Lewis, a Royal Society research fellow at the University of Leeds, and the lead author of the paper says that “we are receiving a free subsidy from nature,” because “tropical forest trees are absorbing about 18 per cent of the CO2 added to the atmosphere each year from burning fossil fuels, substantially buffering the rate of climate change”.
This study has been based on 3 major forests, the Amazon in South America, the Paradise Forests in south east Asia, and the forests of the Congo Basin in central Africa. Each one an essential part of the worlds eco system, slowly helping to remove some of the carbon monoxide we produce daily.
Dr Lee White, co-author on the study and Gabon’s chief climate change scientist, said: “To get an idea of the value of the sink, the removal of nearly 5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by intact tropical forests, based on realistic prices for a tonne of carbon, should be valued at around £13 billion per year. This is a compelling argument for conserving tropical forests.”
Rainforests are amazing they actually suck the carbon monoxide from the air, expelling oxygen. These rainforest are slowly being destroyed basically for human pleasure.
Unfortunately, at the moment we are not valuing these ancient forests for what they provide. Worldwide, rainforests are still being cut down and degraded at a staggering rate. They urgently need protecting. Charities like Greenpeace are doing all they can to highlight this issue to people in position of power so that something will be done.
Funding and education are essential to the cause so that the people living in these forests can understand their importance and see value in keeping the forests how they are rather than cutting them down.
We all know the world is changing perhaps this study will finally highlight the importance of trees. Forests have been destroyed all over the world and each hectare which disappears takes away some of our protection from Co2 and climate change.
It is estimated that 13 million hectares of the worlds forests are destroyed each year, 6 million of these have been largely untouched and undisturbed by man.
The result of this major deforestation is a loss of habitat for wildlife and also a reduction or complete removal of the ecosystem services provided by these forests.
Its time to stop, look and listen… we can not afford to keep destroying the planet in this way, no matter how much economic value is in the land and trees themselves.
Tags: Climate Change, Forest, global warming, Greenpeace, rainforest, science, trees, wildlife
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The Humble Christmas Tree
Monday, December 15th, 2008
Every year large evergreens invade our homes during the month of December. The Christmas tree is a long standing tradition around the world but what do we actually know about this family favourite?…
Traditionally the Christmas tree is an evergreen coniferous tree which is cut and brought into the house. Today it is the fir (Abies), which has the benefit of not shedding its needles when they dry out, as well as retaining good foliage colour and scent. The tree is then decorated with lights and decorations and a star or angel is placed on the top to symbolise the star of Bethlehem or a host of angels from the Christian Nativity.
Tags: christian, Christmas, Environment, evergreen, fir, Tree, xmas
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The World’s Oldest Tree
Monday, June 16th, 2008
Scientists in Sweden have uncovered a new record-holder for the title of “world’s oldest tree.”
Previously, the oldest tree known to the world was a bristlecone pine tree in California called the “Methuselah tree.”At 4,768 years of age, the Methuselah tree is indeed venerable, but compared to this spruce it’s still just a young whippersnapper.
The newly discovered tree is estimated to be 9,950 years old!
What Does it Look Like?
You might expect a tree this old to be tall, thick and majestic, much like a less talkative version of Treebeard the Ent in The Lord of the Rings. However, this tree is actually rather puny-it looks more like Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree than one of the oldest living organisms on the planet.
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