On Saturday 11 February and Sunday 12 February climate charity Possible, in partnership with the Nature Friendly Farming Network, will be hosting a weekend of tree-planting at Williamwood Farm in Kirtlebridge, Dumfries and Galloway, with the aim of aiding the regeneration of hedgerows in the area as part of a national project encouraging the public to plant trees all over the UK. Last year, the project helped volunteers around the country plant over 20,000 trees and start 4km of new hedgerows.
Date(s): Saturday 11 February and Sunday 12 February
Timings: 1000-1600
Location: Williamwood Farm, Kirtlebridge, Scotland, DG11 3LN
Sign-up link: www.wearepossible.org/kirtlebridge
With climate change and biodiversity high up in public priorities, it’s essential that the 2020s are a decade of rapid, far-reaching climate action in order to avoid climate breakdown.
While the agricultural sector is a vital part of the UK’s economy and rural life it is also a sector that has struggled to reduce its contribution to UK carbon emissions – flatlining at almost 10% for the last decade. In order to successfully achieve the UK’s legally binding net-zero 2050 target and NFU’s ambition for UK agriculture to be net-zero carbon by 2040, it’s essential that this changes.
Alongside the climate crisis is a growing nature crisis, with report after report identifying a deeply worrying decline in British wildlife. It is clear from the evidence that the way in which the UK countryside is managed must change. Hedgerows are a key component of the UK’s landscapes, offering practical utility to farmers, habitat for threatened wildlife and the ability to lock up 500,000 tonnes of carbon according to NFU estimates. This potential for hedgerows to benefit farmers, wildlife and the climate is not yet being fully realised. Possible wants the public to change that.
Climate charity Possible exists in order to provide the general public with meaningful opportunities to take climate action that also give rise to other benefits. With these events they are looking to give the public real opportunities to take action on climate and wildlife – something that can feel monumentally difficult. These activities will also provide practical utility to farmers, increase carbon drawdown and wildlife habitats, create opportunities for the public to access the countryside, nature and green space and enable engagement between the wider public and farmers about their work, as well as their mutual responses to the climate and nature crises.
Possible has been working with local communities to help deliver local tree planting since 2018. Delivered through public planting weekends, Possible links up local community members and our supporters from around the country to volunteer to plant trees and hedges. There is an opportunity to apply this approach to hedge restoration and planting work more widely to unlock further benefits for farmers, the public and the environment alike. The farmer working with Possible for this event, Michael Clarke, is the chair of Scotland’s Nature Friendly Farming Network.
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