Why are trees so important?
Trees are essential for life and provide up to 28% of the oxygen we breathe. They have numerous benefits such as storing carbon, reducing pollution, protecting against flooding and are part of the solution in the fight against climate change. They also provide a home for wildlife and improve the biodiversity of the surrounding area.
Don’t we have lots of trees in the UK?
The UK has significantly less woodland cover (13%) when compared to the EU average (37%). To meet the government net zero targets the UK needs to increase tree cover by 19%, or 1.5 million hectares (Woodland Trust).
One of the issues we have at Wyre Council is that we don’t own that much land, so we are running out of suitable space to plant trees. To further expand tree cover, it is essential that we work with our partners like the Wyre Rivers Trust and our residents.
Not just trees
Natural solutions are not just all about planting trees, take our peatlands for example. Yes, they might seem like nothing special, but UK peatlands store the same amount of carbon as all the forests in the UK, France and Germany! Peat is also the UK’s single biggest carbon store, holding the equivalent of 20 years of all the UK CO2 emissions. The peatlands filter 70% our drinking water and is home to a range of diverse species. Once peatland is damaged, it begins to emit carbon, reducing drinking water quality, and decreases resilience to flooding, fires and drought.
Wyre produces a lot of emissions due to degradation of the area's peat deposits. This can be mitigated through supporting the recovery of peatlands and changes in policy (where applicable and viable) to reduce the impact of development on peat.
Did you know that our oceans produce 70% of the oxygen we need and store around 50% of carbon, keeping it locked away out of the atmosphere? How we treat these habitats has a knock on effect on the environment.
Wyre has a range of important biodiverse habitats, all which need careful management to provide essential ecosystem services to the borough stimulating better health and wellbeing, clean air, filtered water and so much more.
The whole picture
The UK is not only dealing with the climate crisis but also an ecological emergency, as demonstrated by being one of the most nature depleted countries in the world. Solutions must include actions across numerous scopes for successful carbon reduction. Planting trees is one way we can make a difference, but there are so many more ways to get involved, check out our how to help page for more details.