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Wouldn’t it be nice if London was surrounded by a ring of green trees, not just sucking up all the city’s fumes but also providing a home for wildlife? Well, one group of green campaigners wants to do just that, suggesting that an ‘M25 of trees’ should be planted all the way around the city’s outskirts in order to create a ‘super highway’ for animals.
A green ring around the capital, which is being called the Tree Ring Community Forest, would improve carbon capture and biodiversity, as well as act as a safe corridor for wildlife. Campaigners say it could also prevent London from growing into an enormous urban sprawl like Los Angeles or Tokyo. If London continues to grow outwards, its metropolitan area could eventually stretch across an area spanning all the way from Brighton to Cambridge.
It sounds like a grand plan, but in reality it could be relatively straightforward. Devised by the London branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), the group wants to fortify already existing woodland on London’s outskirts.
If you live in the outer belt of London, you can do your bit to help: the charity is asking locals in outer London towns to advise them on which areas need more trees.
CPRE London has already warned that vast areas of London’s green belt are at risk of losing their protected status, which would lead to more development. Areas like Ealing, Hounslow and Enfield are all earmarked for potential developments which would include tearing down much of their woodlands.
But by closing gaps in the green belt by planting more trees, the campaign says we could help more wildlife to survive. In order to do this, CPRE needs to map areas of existing woodland with the help of residents.
Anna Taylor, the Director of CPRE London, explained: ‘There is an urgent need for more tree planting - but this needs to be well-planned with plentiful community input in order to maximise the potential benefits of new woodlands and guard against the loss of other priority habitats or prime agricultural land.
‘We need to be creative in thinking about what London's community forest should look like. We need to ask ourselves: are there local green spaces near me where trees could be planted that would enhance rather than reduce their amenity value?
‘We are interested in the planting of native woodland, but also encouraging the creation of orchards and areas of nut trees, wooded margins for nature-friendly farming, and the establishment of new hedgerows in place of ugly fences.’
You can register possible areas for new woodland or the location of existing young woodlands by filling in a survey online or emailing woodlandcreation@cprelondon.org.uk.
ICYMI: Parliament Square could soon be completely pedestrianised.