Journal of the International Tree Foundation

“Whatever I’m working on, trees come first” Gardener and TV presenter Diarmuid Gavin on why he puts trees at the heart of all his designs

Andrew Cooper Finding our roots Matt Hancox Fruits of the forest John Chettoe Hope after Chernobyl Adrian Isaacs Boston tree party

Volume 68 December/January 2008/9 Free to members of ITF ISSN 1740-2395 www.ejpphoto.com A tree for every occasion

Give your family and friends a gift that grows through the Personal dedication International Tree Foundation, and safeguard Britain’s future Each site maintains its own heritage by helping to create new woodlands in the UK. record book in which all gifts For as little as £35, your gift will be marked by the planting are recorded. You also have of new trees in one of our woodland sites, many of which the opportunity to include are in community forests. The sites are open to the public for a special dedication to be recreation and enjoyment, while providing the habitat for more inscribed in the book. In than half of our wild creatures and many of our favourite plants addition, you will receive and wild flowers. a distinctive personalised card, which will include Perfect for Christmas and UK-wide woodlands your dedication – ideal as a a great gift for occasions keepsake. We have sites throughout throughout the year the UK to choose from, At certain sites you may be d Birthdays and the trees are specially able to attend the planting d Mother’s day selected for the woodland and, if you are considering a d Father’s Day in which they are planted. gift of £250 or more, it may d Easter They are mainly native be possible for an area of d Weddings species, such as oak, ash, woodland to be designated by d Births beech or Scots pine, and will a special name. d Retirement usually be planted out as d A special ‘thank you’ small saplings, which grow d To remember a loved one vigorously into sturdy trees.

To find out more about the work of ITF contact: The International Tree Foundation, Sandy Lane, Crawley Down, West Sussex RH10 4HS Phone 01342 717300 email [email protected] www.internationaltreefoundation.org

TREES volume 68 2008 |2| Contents In this issue… Finding our roots 4 Trees for Andrew Cooper Fruits of the forest 6 communities Matt Hancox Communities, and the benefits that woodlands and orchards. One man who Hope after Chernobyl 8 trees bring to them, are at the very has been using his popular fame with John Chettoe heart of our work. This issue of Trees gardeners and non-gardeners alike to Diarmuid Gavin profile 10 is dedicated to the variety of different promote the message that community Carrie Dunn ways in which trees enrich and support spaces need trees is award-winning communities around the world. gardener and TV presenter Diarmuid Boston tree party 12 Gavin. Having taken part in an ITF tree- Adrian Isaacs Having spent seven years living and planting to create a mini-orchard at Core issue 14 working in Malawi and Ethiopia, I have his local primary school in London, Kevin Croucher witnessed at first hand the vital role he explains why trees are crucial in that trees play in the health and well- urban spaces, and to children’s lives in Counting the costs of being of communities dealing with particular. Find out more on page 10. conservation 15 real poverty. The conservation and Charlene Watson restoration of forests has a twin local While London schoolchildren will be Book reviews 18 and global effect, benefitting individual learning more about apples, thanks communities on the ground and the to Diarmuid and ITF, how much do Supporting ITF 19 global community, by contributing to you know about the humble fruit? the fight against climate change. Kevin Croucher lets us in on some unexpected apple lore on page 14, and Throughout history, trees have raises a cheer for the renaissance of the played a vital role in the lives of our community orchard. communities. On page 4, Andrew Cooper offers a wide-ranging and If you’d like to take matters into your deeply personal overview of the value own hands, why not follow the example of trees to all of us, from the practical of Adrian Isaacs? Adrian set up the to the spiritual. Boston Woods Trust, and has helped make the fenlands of Lincolnshire a Trees continue to change lives all over more tree-friendly place. On page 12 Patron: His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales the world, and in this issue we focus he describes how he has created three Founder: Dr Richard St Barbe Baker OBE on two overseas projects that are community woodlands on his doorstep, President: Sir Ghilean Prance transforming communities in troubled and offers practical tips on how to do Vice Presidents: regions. On page 6, ITF volunteer Matt the same on yours. Cynthia Campbell Savours Professor Julian Evans Hancox describes how an ITF-funded E Green MBE project in Gambia is sparking a new Finally, I’d like to say how pleased I am Susan Hampshire wave of enthusiasm for a community to be joining ITF at this exciting stage Sir Bernard de Hoghton, BT, DL forest, while on page 8, John Chettoe in its development. I look forward to Satish Kumar explains how an orchard regeneration drawing upon the incredible breadth The Earl of Lindsay W E Matthews OBE scheme is bringing fresh hope to a of experience and great mix of skills Trustees: Terry Cann village in Belarus. among staff, volunteers, members and David H Gore the board. My priorities in the first six Tom Goss Meanwhile, in the Bale Mountains of months will be fundraising and working Kenton Rogers Bland Tomkinson Ethiopia, environmental economist with the board to improve decision- Chairman: Frances Neale Charlene Watson is looking at the making and sharpen our strategic Vice Chairman: Spencer G Keys ways in which rural communities in focus. If you have any comments, Director: Lorraine Dunk developing countries rely on forests for suggestions or ideas I’d love to hear Staff: Lyn Baylis shelter, fuel and food, and how those them, so please email me at lorraine@ Joanne George Sue Kipps benefits can be measured. On page 15 internationaltreefoundation.org. Sarah Leeming she provides an insight into her work, Alice Malaiperuman and describes how forests and the Lorraine Dunk The Journal is published annually by the communities that rely on them can Director, International Tree Foundation, a registered be better supported, with the help of International Tree charity (no 1106269). some incisive economic calculation. Foundation The opinions expressed in the Journal do not necessarily reflect ITF policy, and ITF does not Back in the UK, communities are hold itself responsible for any of those opinions. rediscovering the pleasures of local Editor: Michelle Pauli ([email protected])

Executive editor: Eleanor Stanley Front cover picture: Autumn colour at Westonbirt Arboretum in Tetbury, Gloucestershire by Anguskirk. See ([email protected]) more of Anguskirk’s photos at www.flickr.com/photos/27712868@N05.

Design and print: www.intertype.co.uk International Tree Foundation, Sandy Lane, Crawley Down, West Sussex RH10 4HS, UK Paper: Cover 170gsm Revive Silk, inside pages Telephone: 01342 717300 Fax: 01342 718282 130gsm Revive Silk Email: [email protected] Website: www.internationaltreefoundation.org

TREES volume 68 2008 |3| ITF voice Finding our roots

Through the ages trees have been intrinsically linked to community life. Andrew Cooper Andrew Cooper, award-winning wildlife film-maker and member of ITF’s Devon branch, describes the importance of trees to communities.

t may be Stone Age humour, but Timber also helped the first farming Above: A giant honeybee comb anyone who claims that trees do not communities to keep the wildwood colony in a ‘magic tree’ of Assam, IIhave an impact on us has obviously at bay. Once a tree is felled, millions India, illuminated by the moon. never been hit on the head by a of seeds are triggered by the new- wooden club. Most of us can think found light. To prevent woodland from of the ways that trees have had an returning, the land must either be swathe of taller trees had all been impact on our lives. For me, trees are grazed by domestic stock, contained evenly topped some four metres above special. Travelling around the world I by wooden fencing or cultivated by ground. When I enquired why, the have filmed the wildlife of many great the use of a plough – and the original answer seemed obvious – Christmas forests, and coming across a giant of its ‘ard’ plough had no metal parts. Timber trees! What puzzled me was why the kind is always a remarkable experience. not only supported the fabric of our local people had not taken the smaller There is nothing more impressive than communities, but also their rulers. ones we passed earlier, and how they standing beneath a large tree, its wide, Sitting upon wooden thrones, kings got up so high to cut them off in such a spreading branches reaching high into ruled their realms. straight line. My Russian host gave me a the sky. Self-supporting, bending only look of utter bewilderment – that was before the fury of a gale or sagging Trees also provide food. The fruits and the level of winter snow! beneath a heavy fall of snow, its sheer leaves of some trees are highly nutritious, scale dwarfs all other life around. while others can be poisonous, yet they A few days later, I experienced another all play an important part in the complex revelation. The great arboreal northern Trees for communities web of life. Some trees are especially forest stretches in a vast broad band Trees are intrinsically linked to the significant to people. As landmarks or around the world. No other trees grow history of our community life. Since ties to historical events, trees not only closer to the pole. But even these tough people first began felling the primeval create the pages that actually make up conifers are limited by arctic tundra forest that once covered the British our history books but often feature large – permanently frozen ground. Here Isles, trees have held a disproportionate in its text. their roots cannot survive, and beyond importance to our communities. For the so-called ‘tree line’ they become thousands of years, mankind and wood Personal memories increasing small and stunted. I had read have gone hand-in-hand through the For me, trees also hold many memories. many years ago that if the planet were centuries. Wood was once the essential More than a decade ago, my first visit entering a new Ice Age, then beyond the ingredient for human survival, providing to the Russian arctic provided many ‘tree line’ only dead and dying conifers us with shelter, food and fire power, experiences – some cherished and would be found. Yet walking out from whether as weapons of war or in etched in my mind forever, others I the forest, several hundred metres defence of our homelands. As tools of would prefer to forget. One humbling across the frozen tundra, I found many a trade it allowed the means to create occasion was a walk through a conifer young saplings growing strongly – and and build. It gave us greater mobility forest, the most northerly of its kind. not a dead tree in sight. The world was with the invention of the wheel, and it The track was wide and the trees not indeed warming, and an entire forest formed the structure of early ships and particularly tall. Then we came to a was on the move, spreading north in the even aircraft. section alongside the path where a wake of the retreating ice.

TREES volume 68 2008 |4| ITF voice Honey we were exploring by elephant, the No matter where in the world I go, local people simply watched their I find trees that are important to magic trees and waited. Each region communities. One valuable resource has only a few trees that the bees that is harvested from trees, with no might choose, and the honey hunter’s adverse impact on the tree or the local reward is reputed to be the richest and environment, is honey. sweetest in the world. The Asian giant honeybee Apis dorsata forms massive In Assam there is the Bombax ceiba, single-comb colonies that usually the so-called ‘magic tree’, a spectacular hang beneath the sturdiest horizontal colossus of its kind that provides branches. Although colonies seasonally this vital ingredient for which people migrate over hundreds of miles, they are willing to risk life and limb. Few often return to their original nest site individuals have the skill and nerve to – even after an absence of two years. How the bees do this is a mystery.

harvest wild honey – especially when Andrew Cooper it is protected by the giant Indian While a queen might survive that long, killer bee. This quest found me with a her workers live for only a few weeks, mad bunch of Austrian entomologists, and the colony sends out scout bees to travelling from the hot humid valley of locate the next tree. Each colony may the chocolate-coloured Brahmaputra to consist of 100,000 bees, and more than the clear blue glacial melt waters of the 200 colonies can sometimes be found The silk cotton flower has many uses, Manas in the foothills of the Himalayas. on a single tree. After occupying a nest from mattress stuffing to medicine. We were following the seasonal for a few months, the bees suddenly migration of millions of ferocious honey abscond and fly to an alternative site, All around the world, trees continue bees on their epic annual journey from which may be over 120 miles away. to be valuable to communities in the sultry lowlands of Assam to the numerous different ways. Felled trees borders of Bhutan. These bees are over Other resources provide timber and fuel for shelter 3cm in length. They are also dangerous, But honey is not the only product and warmth, but intact forests are with a large dose of venom, and they that communities harvest from trees, also harvested for products as diverse choose some very special trees in which and the towering Bombax ceiba is as essential oils, medicinal products to live. a particularly versatile species. Its and, of course, food. From the Brazil massive, buttressed trunk is armed nut of the virgin rainforest to the At certain times of the year in with devilishly sharp spines, and rises many varieties of apple, pear, plum especially big trees, millions of bees taller than a 10-story building before and cherry found on trees in our less make temporary homes building a branching out. In late winter, before the exotic climate, trees offer sustenance in comb the length of a small car. While first leaves appear, the tree produces uniquely delicious form. On the level of countless huge blood-red flowers, with the global community, trees have a vital hand-sized petals. Its synchronised part to play in climate regulation. blooming is visible from a considerable distance. The flowers produce copious Spiritual life nectar that is attractive to many However, beyond the purely practical, creatures, from birds to bats and hordes trees play a crucial role in the spiritual of ants. They all help pollinate the life of our communities. There is blooms, and its seeds eventually burst something very special about a out in white balls of fluff that float veteran tree, not only a vital home to away in the wind. innumerable creatures but an intrinsic part of our history and culture. Just This so-called ‘kapok cotton’ is imagine the life that has passed in a collected and used to stuff mattresses great tree’s shadow and the stories it or as tinder to light fires. The spines could tell. If that does not inspire your that grow on the bark are crushed and thoughts, then try seeking out the administered for stomach medicine, and UK’s oldest surviving single tree – an the bark is used for alleviating asthma evergreen yew in a churchyard near and kidney conditions. Even wild the shores of Loch Tay in Perthshire. elephants seek it out, perhaps to aid Reputed to be over 1,500 years old and digestion or help stomach ache. And, still bearing a large and healthy green finally, the freshly fallen flower petals crown, this living wonder is just two are used as a delicacy, fried and eaten trees from pre-history. Now that really by local villagers. is thought-provoking!

The magic tree of Assam is considered Andrew Cooper is one of Britain’s most Andrew Cooper sacred, and so is left to grow in peace, distinguished and influential television under legal protection. It is not producers. As a broadcaster, presenter, surprising that it is also known as the writer and international award-winning ‘tree of life’, as it easily outlives many wildlife film-maker, he is a familiar human generations – some of the face on BBC television through his An intrepid entomologist collects killer bees for biggest Bombax trees are thought to be documentaries and live reports on DNA samples. several hundred years old. wildlife and environment issues.

TREES volume 68 2008 |5| Gambia Fruits of the forest ITF is helping a village in Gambia to revive its forest after a year of neglect. MATT HANCOX is volunteering with the community to secure the renaissance of the forest and explains how the work is sparking a new wave of enthusiasm for conservation.

hmadou Jarjou is a member of the forest committee, and Ahas been involved with the community forest since the planning stages. He and his family have experienced the rise and fall of the community forest over the last few years.

Before ITF’s involvement, the Community Forest of Kartong had not been operational for almost a Kenton Rogers year, affecting the seven-member Jarjou family and the whole Kartong community. Ahmadou was left with no way of funding his children’s education, and no food for his family. Ahmadou Jarjou and the rangers who are helping to protect Kartong forest.

He managed to find some other work The Kartong community had become following much debate, three important – “It was only by chance that a friend disenchanted with the prospect of a documents were found: the old forest of mine was opening a video club sustainable and profitable community committee constitution, a three-year and I was able to earn money for my forest, and a few members of the management plan and the community family,” he explains, but his passion for community had begun to exploit forest proposal. These three pieces of the community forest still remained. “I the forest to pay for their children’s paperwork were the foundation from told my co-workers that although our education, repair their homes or provide which a new wave of enthusiasm arose, services are no longer required and we food for themselves. When I arrived which engulfed the Kartong community. aren’t being paid, we should continue in Kartong a high proportion of the our patrols as much as possible,” he hardwoods such as Bun-Kungo (red silk First, during the re-draft of the says. However, despite the valiant cotton tree, Bombax buonopozense), constitution, forest committee efforts of Ahmadou and those like him Sibo (rhun palm, Borassus aethiopum), members decided to include an who continued to patrol the forest, Keno (african rosewood, Pterocarpus annual membership fee to ensure without the support of the Forestry erinaceus) and Jallo (mahogany), had that only dedicated individuals were Department and the forest committee, already been removed from the forest. involved, and to make certain that the protection of the community forest The rhun palms have been most sought past events were not repeated. There was a vain hope. after, as they are easy to fell and was also a feeling from members who termite-resistant, and so are useful for had attended a responsible tourism How ITF is helping many building applications. workshop that the connection with the Kartong Association for Responsible Working with the Kartong Association First steps Tourism (KART) should be revitalised. for Responsible Tourism in Fajara, ITF It was clear that the disheartened With the support of KART, the is supporting a community-owned Kartong community needed to be community forest would be able to forest in Kartong. The benefits to encouraged to realise the benefits that a conduct walks around the forest to the local community are numerous successful community forest could bring raise money for purchasing trees for – replacing trees being felled, to themselves and their families. So, the next wet season and buy torches reducing fire damage, providing fast with the aid of Ahmadou, we embarked for night patrols and other essential growing trees for a wood lot, and on gathering the forest committee pieces of equipment. growing seedlings and trees for sale. members for a general meeting, to Villagers will benefit from the easier discuss what had happened in the past The forest committee saw this time as a availability of firewood, but the and to formulate a plan for the future. renaissance period, and wanted to mark project is also linked to an initiative the rebirth of the forest by changing to provide fuel-efficient stoves that From the general meeting, we the name of the forest to Kartong burn rice husks rather than wood. The managed to gather an abundance of Folonko Community Forest (KFCF), and project employs local people, and old documents. The members of the creating a logo for the newly named involves local schools by organising forest committee could not remember project. I put forward the idea that the seed collections and teaching the the majority of them, and there were logo design could be a contest for the children about the need for forestry others that were not relevant to entire community– especially involving preservation. the current forest committee – but the youth of the village. This initiative after sorting through the piles, and was a huge success, and a variety of

TREES volume 68 2008 |6| Gambia

Kenton’s tales from Before the involvement of ITF, new kid on the block Kartong people thought that this project Matt Hancox, a student from Cumbria Yesterday we took a ‘pirogue’, a small wouldn’t be successful. Now University, left for Kartong in June flat-bottomed boat, up river through “with the work being done we 2008 to join the project for six the dense mangroves to reach an area months. Matt will bring up-to-date of high gallery forest. Our guides, can succeed, inshallah. theory and knowledge to the project Alfa and Samba, were able to tell us Ahmadou Jarjou and will in turn obtain experience in a good deal about all the tree and the field which can be used later in shrub species we encountered, and that new information would have to his career. how they are used: bush tea, bark for be collected before any management” medicine and seed pods for flour. of the forest could be undertaken. We decided that the KFFC would conduct a We saw mature sito (baobab), from survey day to collect the required data, which we have some fruits to make a in order to propose a new management delicious drink, bantango (silk cotton) plan. The survey would be the first and the Saba senegalensis, whose fruit is step in a new scheme to encourage the much sought after. It provided welcome community to become active within the refreshment for our onward journey. KFCF. A variety of different activities Kenton Rogers would be conducted, from tree planting Even here, in this protected forest, to nature walks. illegal felling has taken place as it has in so many of the other areas we have Forest friendships visited. It is even occurring in Gambia’s Matt reviews forest plans. National Park, Abuko Forest, where we Over the past few months Ahmadou spoke to the forest director, Mr Jalang. and I have spent a great proportion of Matt explains: “In the past there Despite having not been paid since our time walking from one meeting to have been other volunteers who last July he still comes to work every another. We are seen together so often have stayed in a Kartong village day to try to motivate the rest of his that Ahmadou told me that when I have compound. During their time, these staff, all of whom are also working been away travelling he is frequently individuals have been given a local without salary and relying on tips asked “Where is your tobabo [white name. It was decided by the elders from visitors. person]?” When I had malaria he told of the village that I should also be me: “My wife thinks we have had an given a Gambian name, as I am now a Kenton Rogers, ITF Trustee, visited the argument – that’s why you have been resident of the village. project in June gone so long.” “The village elders asked me for my “Now that I am working with the ITF full English name, which I told them ideas were suggested. We are currently Gambia project my family are happy was Matthew Hancox. There was a working on variations of the logo in and hoping that this work will lead me small debate in Mandinka about what order to produce t-shirts to sell to back to being a forest worker,” Ahmadou name I should be given. After a few visitors to the forest. told me. Although the ITF Gambia minutes I was told that as Matthew project is still in its infancy, the work means ‘a gift from God’, I would be As we evaluated the three-year that has been done has paved a path named ‘Matar’, which is the Gambian management plan, it became apparent towards a sustainable and profitable equivalent. As for my temporary that the biodiversity data of the KFCF KFCF, that will help educate the surname, there was no need for was inaccurate and so a large proportion community about the forest, wildlife discussion because there is a local of the plan was unusable. This meant and responsible tourism. tradition that you take your surname from the kunda (compound) in which you reside. Since I am living in Jabang Kunda, my full Gambian name is Matar Jabang.

“Having a Gambian name while travelling around the country, combined with the little Mandinka I have picked up, is very useful for being able to haggle with taxi drivers and shopkeepers. The Gambians seem to enjoy the fact that a tobab has a Gambian name and is trying to learn a local language, and it has really helped increase participation at forest Kenton Rogers committee meetings.”

Read more on Matt’s blog: http:// journals.worldnomads.com/ matthancox86 Shelters protect rhun palms from animals and illegal fellers.

TREES volume 68 2008 |7| Belarus

Hope after Chernobyl A chance meeting with a Belarusian girl 17 years ago has led to a series of community orchard regeneration projects, supported by ITF, in the former Soviet republic. JOHN CHETTOE explains how orchards are helping to create John Chettoe sustainable livelihoods in Belarus.

t’s quarter to four on a bitterly cold from the Chernobyl-affected area Above: The tree-lined entrance to afternoon in early November 2007, of Belarus invited to Somerset for a Golovchitsy park leads to a restored IIthe sun is low on the horizon, and my month’s recuperation, fresh air and ‘English orchard’. wife and I are standing on the frozen, uncontaminated food. Over the years snow-specked earth of a fledgling we kept in touch with her and her orchard in the village of Golovchitsy, family, we invited her back to stay with once belonged to an absentee Polish southern Belarus. In the slanting rays us, and we visited her family home. landowner. Could we help the village to of the setting sun, we walk around the regenerate its orchard? orchard talking to our local partner, Something about that very first Vladimir Nikolayevich Khlopok, who connection ignited an abiding interest The park, with its impressive gates and manages it. As we do so, I struggle to in this part of the world. Many of wide entrance alley, still stands and take some photographs with my frozen the host families from that first visit is remarkable for the variety of trees fingers. “What on earth am I doing here,” became the core of a registered charity found there – unusual in a landscape I wonder, not for the first time on this focused on children’s recuperative dominated by graceful birches, solid firs trip, as the cold eats into my bones. visits and provision of basic medical and pine trees. The estate house, which aid to hospitals in the areas the dates back to 1820, is still there too Belarus is an independent country of children come from. (another unusual feature, as many were some 10 million people, between Russia burnt down during the Revolution), and and Poland, created by the break up of After several years’ involvement, we is now used as the local hospital. But the Soviet Union in 1991. Governed by felt that our contribution was like it is the scale of the old orchards that an authoritarian leader, it is marooned applying a sticking plaster: providing impress. The Polish landowner planted in a Soviet past, with a central planned temporary relief, but not tackling the 8,000 fruit trees, partly to provide economy, and is torn between a close root causes. So we started to look at pectin to the sweet factory in Narovlya. affinity to its Slav brother to the east more sustainable projects that could Now the trees stand barren and gently and the attractions of EU membership. have a more far-reaching impact on decaying – a constant reminder of a On top of this, it has had to cope with villages and communities. Initially, we more productive and congenial time. the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster, encouraged families to grow vegetables which occurred in April 1986, and that in polytunnels and sell their excess With support from ITF, we helped the contaminated land and affected the produce in local markets. co-operative to plant its first batch of health of its population – a legacy that 600 trees in October 2005. We used will live on for many years to come. Then, we were invited to work with a dwarf winter apple variety suited to the local council in the small town of the local conditions that would allow Our link with Belarus goes back Narovlya, on the edge of the Chernobyl the collective to sell them at new year 17 years and, like many things in exclusion zone, less than 40 miles from when prices for fresh fruit are at a life, happened purely by chance. the site of the nuclear reactor. Just premium. We bought a further batch Eleven-year-old Tatiana came into outside the town, in a small village of 500 trees, which were planted in our lives in September 1991. She called Golovchitsy, there is a co- November 2006, and our intention is was one of a group of 30 children operative based on an old estate that to continue to help them re-stock their

TREES volume 68 2008 |8| Belarus orchards so that they can produce and with his son Vasily (who is also doing a sell fruit for the village. distance learning course in accounting in his spare time) and wife Galina. Local people, including children and teachers, have taken part in the tree They have worked hard to prepare the planting, and the activity has helped land for planting an orchard and to the village regain pride in its orchards. protect it against a particular local According to Vladimir Nikolayevich pest – wild boar. Anatoly’s land Khlopok, “Golovchitsa without an borders a national park where the orchard is just unimaginable! We wildlife is protected. To try to keep couldn’t have restored it alone.” The these beasts out, the Zhilitskys have village has already dubbed it ‘the English enclosed their land with a homemade orchard’. electric fence (which they call their “electronic shepherd”).

The creativity of the local community John Chettoe can be seen in the technique its They are keen to plant an orchard, and members have come up with for have been doing a lot of research on protecting the young trees against the planting and care of trees – visiting both frosts and predators, mainly hares. a nursery and reading about it, as well They smear Vishnevsky ointment, an as researching it on the internet. It was Olga Petrovna Stasko hopes to grow antiseptic, on the trunks, and wrap pine at a local nursery that they came across fruit for her children to sell. branches around the saplings, and it has another ingenious way of preventing the proved surprisingly effective. young sweet bark of the saplings being themselves. It is a lack of confidence eaten by hares – taping together used rather than a lack of ability, but at times This project is intended to be self- fruit juice cartons to form cheap but it makes it difficult for us to move sustaining within five years. The village effective protection for the trunks. projects forward as quickly as we would has an old fruit storage building that like, and to get decisions made. is in need of repair, and we are hoping The second area we are working with that they will be able to do this for is the small town of Parichi, about 100 We have been fortunate to work as themselves from the income they miles south of Minsk. It is a place that partners with a very progressive couple, generate from the sale of fruit. In has seen better days and where, due to Eduard and Alla Voytekhovich, who addition they are interested in exploring a shortage of work, the local authorities have set up a Centre for Rural Small the production of value-added products are keen to find ways to help the local Business Development in the village of such as juices and jams. people discover alternative means Komarovo. While head of the Komarovo of earning a living. As a result, they Agricultural Lycée, Eduard became an Following our experience in Golovchitsy, support the idea of planting orchards. In MP, and was interested in changing we are now extending our work to two November last year we met the mayor, society from the top. However, with other areas: Konstantinova and Parichi. Galina Shkredyuk, and identified four the country reverting to a more In Konstantinova, about 80 miles north families to take part in the project. authoritarian Soviet model, he realised of the capital, Minsk, we are working The matriarchs, Olga Stasko, Valentina that this was not going to happen. with the Zhilitskys – a remarkably Khanenko, Nadezhda Dodarienko and Instead, deciding that change could only innovative and courageous family who Lyubov Savitskaya, all have experience come about from the grassroots, he have opted out of the collective farm of growing trees and want to be able to went back to his old job, and set up the system in order to try to establish their provide their children and grandchildren centre to do precisely that. He built it own small farming business. Anatoly, an with fruit to eat and to have some to with his own hands, by converting what engineer by training, works on the farm sell to provide an income. were pigsties on a former bankrupt collective farm, and helping to set up a The local authorities have offered to local bakery and workshop. help by providing suitable land, fencing for the orchard, and transport to take “The important thing is for us to the fruit to market. We will also have show by example how these things the benefit of advice provided by a can be done,” he says. “It’s Belarusians local ecologist, Anatoly Sokolovsky, showing Belarusians. It may be a slow whom we have known for several years. process, but ultimately it will have a transforming effect on society, because So where do we go next? We are it’s coming from the bottom up.” currently talking to ITF about the model they have used successfully in Africa for It’s a privilege to work with such inspiring setting up small-scale nurseries. This is people who, in spite of the odds, have a very good fit with our overall project an indomitable belief that life in Belarus aims of creating sustainable livelihoods. will get better. Standing in that bitterly

John Chettoe One of our main challenges is dealing cold orchard last November, I knew in with the legacy of Soviet times. Brought my heart that Eduard is right – and that’s up in a system where the overarching why we keep coming back. state provided everything from jobs to social care, many people find it hard For more information about the work Pine branches offer unusual protection to adjust to more uncertain times, and of Hope for Families in Belarus, email: against hares partial to fruit trees. to making decisions and choices for [email protected]

TREES volume 68 2008 |9| Celebrity interview “Whatever I’m working on, the trees come first” Gardener and TV presenter Diarmuid Gavin recently helped ITF plant a fruit orchard at a London primary school. He tells Carrie Dunn why he puts trees at the heart of all his designs.

iarmuid Gavin may be increasingly achieving popular DDfame as a television personality but he won’t be abandoning garden design to concentrate on the chat- show circuit just yet.

Though his spin around the ballroom in the popular TV show Strictly Come Dancing may have brought him to the attention of an audience without green fingers, his passion for horticulture remains uppermost – and trees play a particularly important role in his work.

“I begin all my designs with trees,” says the 44-year-old. “Whatever I’m working on, the trees come first. I select what kind of trees I’m going to use, and where they’ll be positioned, and everything else fits round that.”

Trees don’t just play a pivotal role in his design – he has a genuine affection for them for their own sake. If he had to choose one tree as his favourite above all others, he has no doubt which one he would select. “The oak,” he declares without hesitation. “It’s stately, it’s seasonal – in fact, I think it’s actually the coolest plant in the world.”

Gavin is famous for his eccentric approach to design. “I like to be bold and striking with my designs,” he admits. “I do have a contemporary mindset, and plan everything through thoroughly before I begin on creating the garden so I’m sure that everything fits together. I like to think I’m innovative, and I frequently use materials that people wouldn’t normally associate with domestic gardens. Garden design can be a very stuffy world, and I try to break out of those usual expectations. But of course the client’s wishes are paramount, because they’re the one who’s going to live with the garden day in, day out.”

It’s a strategy that has proved successful so far. After winning the Royal Dublin Society gold medal for garden Gavin’s contemporary designs have won him the Royal Dublin Society gold medal.

TREES volume 68 2008 |10| Celebrity interview design twice during the 1990s, he will grow up on estates or built-up areas subsequently displayed at the Royal where there are no open spaces for Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower miles around, or simply in a flat or house Show in 1995 and 1996, where his city where they have no access to a garden. garden brought him to the attention of My house in London is not too far from the media. Since his rise to prominence Middle Row, so it was lovely to be able he has presented ‘Home Front’ and to contribute something to my own local ‘Gardens Through Time’ for the BBC. area as well.” Not only that, he is also an author, with a number of bestselling gardening Gavin is depressed at the lack of books including Diarmuid Gavin’s Big attention that developers pay to Ideas, and Outer Spaces, and has just the landscaping and maintenance of published Outdoors in collaboration communal areas in estates: “It would with Sir Terence Conran – the first of a be so easy to do something innovative series of four books. That doesn’t mean and useful, even in limited space,” he he has neglected design, though. He sighs, “but more often than not you’ll returned to Chelsea in 2004 and was get sparse trees looking neglected and awarded Silver Gilt for his show garden, lonely, maybe a patch of grass, and the ‘A Contemporary Suburban Garden’. rest is concreted over. I genuinely think that a garden is as important as any Gavin’s increasing celebrity has given other room in the house. The fact that him a platform to talk about the causes this ITF project is giving city-dwelling closest to his heart. His love for trees children the chance to see trees grow means that he is heavily involved in and blossom on a daily basis makes it several initiatives to promote their even more rewarding for me.” The school was grateful to ITF’s Andrew use and well-being, particularly in Hawkins for his advice and guidance. the urban environment. Not content Working with, and improving the lives with running a 5,000m race to raise of, children is another draw for Gavin. food they eat comes from,” he says. “I’m awareness of the issue, he recently “From the moment I decided to go into excited about the spring already. It’s accepted an invitation to Middle Row gardening as a younger man, I knew always my favourite time of year in the Primary School in North Kensington what I wanted to do,” he says. “I wanted garden, when buds start to come out in London. Parent Angela Nutt had to change things and make gardens all over the trees, and every time you contacted ITF for help and advice and more appropriate to me. Now I have a go out there there’s something new to the result was a mini-orchard sourced young daughter, so I still enjoy designing look at. Come April, the students will and delivered by ITF’s Andrew Hawkins. gardens with young people in mind. It’s be able to watch the fruit growing and The planting was undertaken by pupils fun to put yourself in their position and a whole eco-system developing; it’ll be under the watchful eye of the experts. consider what they would like to see.” a rare chance to get close to nature in a Gavin firmly believes this type of genuinely urban setting.” project has a huge benefit for children. He believes that the types of trees planted at Middle Row Primary School Gavin feels passionately about the “Obviously, as a garden designer I will have additional educational importance of trees in the urban think the appearance of everyone’s benefits: “ITF donated fruit trees, environment – not just in schools, but environment has a massive impact on including an apple, a pear, a cherry and in open community spaces too: “It’s their life and health,” he says. “But I think a Victoria plum – so having that orchard easy for towns to become bleak,” he that’s especially true for young people. isn’t simply aesthetically pleasing, it also says. “Green spaces have shrunk hugely In London, it’s quite likely that children helps children to learn about where the in recent years, and I think it’s vital for people to have communal parks and gardens. Trees of all varieties make those parks and gardens more attractive for people to visit. And of course, there’s the environmental impact in

terms of trees’ CO2 consumption. The bottom line is that more trees just make places nicer.”

That is why Gavin is now involved in so many initiatives to promote trees in towns, both as a figurehead and as a hands-on designer. “I’ve been working with councils to design new parks with gardens and playground space, and consulting with people in the community to take their wishes and needs into account,” he explains. “That’s how I know how much people value having trees around them – and that’s why I’ll carry Gavin, supported by ITF, helped to create a mini-orchard of apple, pear, cherry and on working to get trees into green spaces plum trees at Middle Row Primary School in London. whenever I possibly can.”

TREES volume 68 2008 |11| Community woods Boston tree party David Simpson Studio ADRIAN ISAACS of the Boston Woods Trust offers a personal account of the pleasures and pitfalls of creating a community wood, and provides practical tips for starting your own, from fundraising to planting.

he Boston Woods story association, amended the details to suit allowed the seed in the ground there to began in 1988 when I spotted our needs and received confirmation regenerate on its own. Tan announcement that the of our registration from the Charity Grantham-based Woodland Trust was Commission in February 2002. And so, by the end of 2001, we had to receive £6.4m to create ‘woods on three woods, comprising 45 acres in your doorstep’. I pleaded our case by We discovered that Boston Borough total, close to Boston. saying we must be the most deserving Council owned a derelict 9-acre doorstep in the country – in Boston allotment site adjacent to a notorious Plans for the future include a seven- two trees constitute a wood, and housing estate. During the summer of mile-long linear wood along the defunct three’s a forest! 2001 I spent hundreds of hours clearing proposed route of a Boston bypass. We the allotments of large quantities of believe the bypass will come one day Over the following 18 months we fly-tipping, along with 14 sheds and a and the route is likely to be close to the located a 23.5-acre field for sale, raised greenhouse, eight loads of rubbish and earlier abandoned line. At one point £58,000 towards the cost (around concrete, half a tonne of glass and three along the belt we have started to develop £120,000) and finally, one Sunday lorryloads of scrap metal. the Sir Joseph Banks Country Park and in December 1999, a team of local Arboretum. The park will cover 180 acres, volunteers planted around 15 acres with We persuaded the council to pay for an of which we have bought and planted 58 willow and alder. Although the willow agricultural contractor to cultivate the acres. In the adjacent arboretum we hope developed a virus and died after about land, which helped clear the bramble to build a visitor centre, with educational five years, the alder has grown well, thickets and nettles before creating facilities for local schools. with the largest specimens reaching 30ft a ‘dip and roll’ adjacent to the road, after almost nine growing seasons. We to prevent fly-tipping. This involved Tackling challenges have since interplanted with oak, which lowering the verge and using the soil to One of the major issues we have had to should enjoy the heavy clay on the site. create a bank so that no vehicle could face is damage to the trees by vandals, come on site (locals had been dumping both of the two-legged and four-legged Having seen the level of enthusiasm on the site after I returned home!). variety. Following discussion with the for the first wood, I was keen to Forestry Commission, we decided not continue and expand the project. After In the same year, we also purchased to cane and guard our whips in the two discussion with my fellow trustees a 12-acre field a third of a mile along woods adjacent to the housing estate, at the Boston Preservation Trust, we the same road. This was clean land into thinking the children would swordfight decided to set up the Boston Woods which we asked the farmer to drill grass with the canes and smash the guards. Trust in 2001. We obtained a copy seed. As the old allotments had a lot Six weeks after planting, 14,000 out of the Woodland Trust’s articles of of rough grass on them originally, we of 16,000 trees had been bitten off by brown hares. We immediately caned and guarded – and the children behaved as predicted!

Vandalism near the housing estate is a constant niggle but, thankfully, is declining gradually. We have had around 300 trees, mainly ash, broken off. The first year we planted many hundreds of wild daffodils along the path sides, and every one was thrashed off with canes. Now, finally, the novelty appears to have worn off.

Oliver Wilson Having three droughts in the first two years of planting our grange and beechwoods meant that the former arable field land cracked severely, leaving trees planted down the coulter Adrian Isaacs (centre), pictured with Chris Lowis (centre left), John Bird (centre right) line in fresh air. We had to replant and Ron White (far right) from the Boston Woods Trust, and Julie Green from donor around one-third of the trees after a Asda, install a welcoming sign for visitors to the Boston Woods Trust’s new woods. Just year and repeat this to a decreasing seven years later, the newly planted trees are 20ft high. extent over the next two years.

TREES volume 68 2008 |12| Community woods How to start a community wood

First steps to our annual open meeting, where they A community wood Planning permission is not required can learn more about our work and hear planting timeline to change agricultural land to from a guest speaker. Last year we had Tony Kirkham of Kew Gardens and this woodland but it is necessary check • Plan wood layout including all- year enjoyed a talk from ITF’s John Tuer. with the following: weather paths if required • electricity distributors – for We are currently coming to the end of • Apply to the Forestry overhead or underground services a 15-month appeal to local businesses Commission for approval/grant • gas suppliers and your local for help to purchase the 27.5-acre field we acquired last year. I believe it helps water authority – for possible • Construct paths during the if you have a specific target purchase in underground services summer months when the land view when starting such a campaign. • British Telecom – for cables is dry We tend to find that fundraising from • county archaeology department • Re-cultivate when the paths are national companies is almost impossible or their agents in case of remains complete in the land. unless their head office is local to you. Instead, try locally based enterprises. • Sow grass seed in early Ideally, make an appointment to go and Either contact the Woodland September Trust and create your woodland see them in person and be armed with a letter laying out your proposals with a in cooperation with them or set • Top off new grass in mid-late map of the site. up your own trust. Having taken a October 99-year lease on our first wood, we We have built bench seats using old now have the freedom to develop it • Contractor cuts, creating telegraph poles (free, from the energy as we see fit. planting lines and sprays off company E-ON) for the seat and back each side Talk to your local authority supports. The seats and backboards we buy as green oak planks, which I and persuade it of the value of • Volunteers plant trees on the season at home, then place up and bolt woodland – they may lease you old last Sunday in November and on when we have dug in the supports. allotment land (it can apply to de- cane and guard them register the allotments within two We can then raise £500 per bench years). Ask it to build the scheme by offering them as commemorative into its forward plans if it is likely to benches with a small bronze plaque for paths are very popular (some grant is take some years to complete. people to dedicate to a special event or available for them from the Forestry the life of a dear one. Commission) and have found lowest Raising funds quotes that were just half the price Landowners are currently asking Choosing trees of the highest ones. £5,000–£10,000 per acre, and £5,000 Once you have the land for your wood, is the most we have paid so far. you need to consider which species of Gaining publicity However, land prices appear to be tree to plant. Look around at existing Publicising the project is crucial to rising steeply. Raising money for woodland to see which trees do best. engage the local community. We projects such as these is always a Contact your local Forestry Commission try to ensure press coverage for any challenge, but we have had two office for advice. events, including our annual planting grants of £5,000 from Awards for morning, which is always held on the All (Lottery Fund). Boston Borough From our experience with the trees last Sunday morning in November. Council has donated around £30,000 we have planted, oak grows well in our We usually have 40–60 volunteers over eight years. heavy land as does ash, but the vandals each year. love breaking ash off. Silver birch, alder If you are planting around two acres and aspen all grow fast. Silver birch only The installation of bench seats or more, grants are available from lives for about 100 years (compared and owl boxes also creates some the Forestry Commission, and if you with oak at 400–600 years). Alder seeds photographic opportunities for the are allowing full public access and/ everywhere as can birch. Aspen grows press, and we also have three high- or using arable farmland you will get shoots from its roots everywhere, so profile patrons: Dr David Bellamy, supplementary payments. We find do not plant aspen near your paths! the Bishop of Lincoln, and Mrs that with careful use, the grant can Blackthorn is vandal-proof but again Lawrence Banks, a direct descendent pay for the trees plus grass trimming suckers vigorously, and is vicious to of Sir Joseph Banks, the British (and spraying in the early years) for remove. Hazel is fairly vandal-proof, explorer and naturalist. up to 12 years. being multi-stemmed, and the nuts encourage mice, which bring the owls. We find that 90 per cent of our We have a supporter group of visitors are dog-walkers, so we 300–400 people who pay £10 per If you are ordering several thousand make an effort to give them our year. They receive our spring and trees it is worth obtaining several supporters’ leaflet when they visit autumn newsletters plus an invitation quotes. We also find that all-weather the woods.

TREES volume 68 2008 |13| Nature’s bounty Core issue The domestic apple tree has long been part of our landscape and community life. Fruit tree specialist Kevin Croucher explores the origins of this humble plant, and suggests his pick of tasty varieties for cooking and eating.

ecent scientific research has and conserve varieties. The result is the traced the origins of the domestic National Collection at Brogdale in Kent RRapple to the Tien Shan mountains – home to thousands of apple varieties of central Asia. Relict fruit forests still but by no means a complete collection exist there, containing wild trees that of all Britain’s regional varieties. would easily be mistaken for domestic apples. From this remote origin, over Since 1960, about two-thirds of thousands of years, animals and people Britain’s orchards have been lost. have spread apples throughout the Devon, for example, was second only temperate regions, either by seed or as to Herefordshire in acreage of orchards grafts. While apples are known to have in the early 19th century. However, been brought to Britain by the Romans, between 1945 and 2000, the county lost Thornhayes Nursery recent findings suggest that they may 95 per cent of its orchard acreage. In the have been here even earlier than that. UK as a whole, this change can be put down to different farm management In the centuries since the Roman practices, changes to government settlement of Britain, different varieties grants, and the pressure on land for of apple were introduced, often with new buildings and roads. Recently, the the encouragement of the monarchy situation has improved somewhat, with The Paignton Marigold apple is ideal and, most notably, during the reigns greater public awareness, new planting for cider-making. of Edward I, Henry VIII and Charles grants and planning protection for II. This gene pool provided the basis orchards and fruit trees. No bad thing, Tips on choosing apples for the development and selection of when you consider that some of the thousands of varieties. This breeding nation’s rarest species of insects, lichen When it comes to saying what tastes carries on to this day, although it and plants are found in old orchards. good, I only have my own taste buds probably reached its height during the to go by. I can’t borrow those of the 19th century. Some of these varieties In many areas of the country, networks person seeking advice. became common commercial favourites of people are banding together to nationwide, while others never travelled create community orchards by saving There are a number of factors that beyond a couple of parishes. old ones or planting new ones. come in to play in appreciating the According to the charity Common flavour and texture of an apple. Apple growing was always a significant Ground, “In city, town or village the Having said that, I can suggest five part of community life and the local community orchard is becoming or six varieties that will consistently economy throughout the country, from the equivalent of the wood in the be marked highly by most people ancient times. Cider was a valuable countryside a century and more ago – in tasting tests held at the nursery. and healthy alternative to often foul a communal asset for the whole parish. However, you always find the odd water supplies. The fruit was stored But more than that it can be the focal individual who totally disagrees with in many ways, to take people through point for the whole village – the moot, everyone else. Just hope that person long winters or on sea voyages. With the open-air village hall. We could have never cooks you a meal. the growth of large urban areas and school orchards, city, museum, hospital the industrial revolution, some parts of and factory orchards open to all.” Kevin’s ‘safe’ suggestions: the country became major producers Cooking apples (all consistently rated of apples to supply the urban dwellers. As well as helping to revive an interest better for flavour than Bramleys): So often people associate apples with in fruit growing and providing a way of Don’s Delight Kent or Somerset, rather than Yorkshire sharing knowledge and horticultural Farmer’s Glory or Wiltshire. However, every county skills, community orchards are also a Newton Wonder has its history of apple growing, its place where young and old can come Nine Square own varieties, and a range of history together to share old apple traditions, Upton Pyne and folklore that has developed around such as wassailing and bobbing, and apples over the centuries. Just look newer celebrations such as October’s Dessert (eating) apples: at how many place names contain Apple Day. Ashmead’s Kernel reference to apples or orchards. Cornish Aromatic Kevin Croucher and his wife Pat Holstein Today, our diverse heritage of both established Thornhayes Nursery in Oaken Pin varieties of apples and orchard-rich 1991. It produces field and container- Pitmaston Pineapple landscapes have become increasingly grown fruit and amenity trees from Tidicombe Seedling threatened. In the early 20th century, whip to heavy standard size. Tel 01884 William Crump serious efforts were made to collect 266746, www.thornhayes-nursery.co.uk

TREES volume 68 2008 |14| Ethiopia Counting the costs of conservation Rural communities throughout the developing world depend on forests for shelter, fuel and food. But the rising global demand for agricultural land and timber has led to many being cut down. How can we place a price on the complex relationship between communities and the intact forests they depend on, asks environmental economist Charlene Watson. Charlene Watson

rawling out of my tent, pitched 3,700 and 1,500m above sea level, the organisations, seeks to reduce the in a glade of the montane forest, second largest stand of moist forest in current levels of environmental CCand making my way down to the Ethiopia is home to giant forest hogs degradation in the area. small river running from the afro-alpine (Hylochoerus meinertzhageni), lions and plateau, my field assistants snigger endangered African wild dogs (Lycaon This means that my research comes at my brightly coloured, ergonomic, pictus), as well as threatened trees at a critical time: establishing the super-grip, plastic toothbrush. More such as Prunus africanus. To the north dependence of local households on than content with their frayed twigs of the central plateau, juniper-hagenia direct forest products will assess what from the fig-like mettii tree to clean woodlands provide habitat for the they stand to lose if forest access is their teeth, I am ever reminded of the endemic mountain nyala (Tragelaphus restricted. Discovering local ambitions developed world’s shift towards an buxtoni) as well as antelope such as and concerns will allow better increasingly artificial environment. Menelik’s bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus mechanisms for alternative income meneliki) and reedbuck (Redunca generation to be designed. Finally, We’re in the Bale Mountains, which redunca bohor). With a high number of taking stock some of Bale’s forest lie in the Ethiopian Highlands, 400km rare and endemic species living in the benefits will identify markets through southeast of the capital Addis Ababa. Bale Mountains, it has been identified as which to generate economic incentives Topographically diverse, a central one of 34 global biodiversity hotspots. for conservation. plateau rises 4,000m above sea level. With giant Lobelia species and With few alternative opportunities to What ITF is doing in ericaceous heath lands, this is the generate income, households in the Ethiopia largest Afroalpine habitat on the African Bale Mountains are highly dependent continent. It is also home to half of the on forests for their well-being. In the Wuf-Washa Forest area, ITF global population of the rarest canid Although the traditional way of life is works with our partner organisation, in the world, the Ethiopian wolf (Canis agro-pastoral, every household also Sunarma, to help establish nurseries simensis) and the entire population gathers resources from the forest. and raise indigenous tree seedlings. of the giant mole rat (Trachyoryctes Households harvest a variety of forest This is an ongoing project with the macrocephalus). Go south of the plateau products, including those for shelter long-term objective of helping farming and altitude falls rapidly – between and housing construction, cooking families move from subsistence fuel, medicines, and food. Results from farming, with its unremitting pressure my research so far shows that two- on forest remnants, to a market thirds of this total harvest is consumed economy where income can be earned within the home, with cash savings outside the forest area. Alternative

Charlene Watson and income from sales amounting to income generation is an important US$407 per household, annually. part of the process of alleviating poverty. Community-based forestry However, Bale’s communities face management also takes the pressure changes in access to these resources as off the remaining indigenous forest regional government, heavily supported where this project is based. Bale is home to the rare Ethiopian wolf. by international non-governmental

TREES volume 68 2008 |15| Ethiopia Value judgements the global rate of deforestation in order Forests provide us with a wide array of to delay the impacts of global climate benefits, some more familiar than others. change. The reasoning goes that the Harvesting fruits, gathering wood for costs of conserving forests now are fuel, or getting pleasure from looking predicted to be significantly less than out across a tree-covered landscape are mitigating or adapting to climate change all direct benefits that are easy to relate in the future. The economic impact of to. Indirect benefits, on the other hand, declining soil and water quality along are much harder to observe. These can with the rise of climate change up include soil fertility, natural disaster political and social agenda have focused prevention, and climate regulation. more attention on these indirect benefits of intact forests. This means that the

In the developing world, human Charlene Watson wide-reaching effects of global forest dependence on forests is much more losses are becoming harder to ignore.

Ethiopia However, with the majority of intact forest remaining in the developing • Ethiopia is Sub-Saharan Africa’s world, a way to convert indirect forest second most populous nation Forest honey helps to raise incomes. benefits into cash flows must be found with over 75 million residents. This if these countries are to be persuaded population is primarily agrarian, obvious than in the environmentally to forego lucrative timber revenues. with only 15 per cent living in urban disconnected developed world. Rural If we can capture values previously centres. It is also poor with 78 per communities use forests to obtain unaccounted for to generate alternate cent of the population living on less building and shelter materials, to gather revenue streams, communities will than US$2 a day. fuelwood, and to find medicinal plants have an incentive to preserve forest and edible products. For the poorest resources. Not only will this kind of • Biologically rich, the country is part households, as well as saving cash by preservation mean that forests can of two biodiversity hotspots: the harvesting forest resources, forests act as continue to provide food security for Eastern Afro-montane hotspot and a safety net by providing supplementary subsistence households, it will also the Horn of Africa hotspot. It is sources of food and income in times of conserve habitats, protect biodiversity, also home to a number of rare and drought or low crop productivity. and safeguard the less familiar indirect endemic species as a result of its benefits of forests. highly variable topography. Around 150 non-timber forest products • Protracted civil war and political reach international markets, including Capturing forest values involves creating instability in the 1970s led to rattan, bamboo, honey, nuts and markets for forest goods, often where degradation of natural areas and essential oils, but many more are sold no market previously existed. A simple neglect of national parks. The end on informal local markets. While it is example would be eco-tourism, where of political suppression in the early easy to observe and account for the visitors pay fees to enjoy an intact 1990s led to extensive economic economic value of internationally forested landscape and its flora and reform focused on alleviating traded products, those consumed fauna. Other examples are carbon poverty through increased within households or traded informally offsets or biodiversity offsets, both agricultural productivity. The do not appear in systems of national of which generate environmentally resulting large-scale conversion of accounting. Nor do the economic favourable behaviours through transfer natural areas to agricultural lands values of the indirect benefits of of wealth from a buyer to a seller. has exacerbated the degradation of forests, such as carbon storage or the natural ecosystems in Ethiopia. prevention of soil erosion. As a result, But the promotion of markets for the true value of intact, standing conservation is a delicate science. • In 1999 Ethiopia was 34 per cent forests, is under-represented in forest Competitive markets for forest forested. Now only 3.6 per cent management decisions. This makes products have been known to lead to of the country’s total land area alternative land uses and revenues overexploitation, degradation and social is forested. In response to this from timber appear more financially stratification. Harvesting and marketing dramatic decline in natural forest, attractive than intact forest, when the commercial quantities of bush meat, for severe woody biomass shortages long-term costs of the loss of these example, can have a negative impact on and water scarcity, eucalyptus benefits are not accounted for. the structure and dynamics of forest and cupressus have been planted animal populations. The challenge of to meet construction and wood It is true that when countries become making this market-based approach fuel needs. With short rotations richer the focus tends to move away to conservation successful is multi- and fast growth rates, these non- from the value of timber towards that staged. First, the true values of forests native species are preferred over of intact forests. This shift of emphasis need to be demonstrated. Second, a indigenous species. can be seen in the campaigns to slow complete market must be created for

The road that runs through Rira village, in the centre of the Bale Mountains National Park, is the highest all-season road in Africa, which makes it a good place to sell market produce such as cabbages, onions and eggs.

TREES volume 68 2008 |16| Ethiopia

Coffee coming to observe internationally rare animals, migratory and endemic birds, • Coffee is believed to originate or to enjoy sport-hunting, fishing, and from Ethiopia with Coffea arabica trekking. Research into the value of spreading across the globe after carbon storage is also underway, but being taken to Yemen in the 13th methodologies to place a value on century. all the indirect benefits of the forest ecosystem are yet to be developed. • Coffea arabica constitutes Despite the need for more research, it approximately two-thirds of the can already be seen that a traditional world’s commercially traded coffee ‘fence and fine’ restriction to the forest and is considered superior to other

Charlene Watson in the Bale Mountains will have an cultivated species such as Coffea adverse impact on communities if they canephora (robusta) that originated are not provided with alternative sources from West Africa. of income or livelihood generation. • The coffee ceremony is an important part of Ethiopian culture. Armed with an estimate of the income It involves the roasting of the green An Ethiopian woman conducts the that locals derive from forest products, coffee beans over hot coals, after traditional coffee ceremony. the next stage of my research will be which they are ground, boiled in to establish which forest values could a special clay pot and served. The traditional beehives constructed from be marketed to generate a tangible and process allows the appreciation of bark, climber and bamboo can be seen sufficient source of financing. A lot of the roasting coffee aroma which is tied high in trees. In Bale, the honey work will also be needed to explore complemented by burning incense harvest is used for local consumption which mechanism would distribute and cooking popcorn! and to brew mead. In one community payments most equitably and efficiently with maintained incentives for effective • Although domestic consumption the annual harvest is equivalent to resource protection. of coffee is high, accounting for US$155 for each household. At present, half of the crop, it is still Ethiopia’s although production more than The extraction and use of forest major export and the country is satisfies local demand, the honey is products has been practised for vulnerable to variation in world too crude to compete in international generations, with humans reaping coffee prices. markets. Increasing honey production or quality, through modern beehives or diverse and substantial benefits as a • Ethiopian government has plans purification methods, could increase the result. The rising global demand for to increase the value of coffee sales of this honey in the region. agricultural land and timber, coupled by finding new, high value outlets with the decline of cultural ideals that for the premium varieties that are Harvesting of forest coffee beans is once played a role in the management found in Ethiopia. The increasing another significant source of income of forests, has led to the valuation of demand for speciality and organic for communities at lower altitudes forests merely by the commodities coffee varieties is helping make this in Bale. Coffee was first discovered produced as they are cut down. By plan a reality. in the highlands of Ethiopia in the creating viable market opportunities ninth century, and drinking it is an for previously ‘free’ benefits of forests, important part of Ethiopian culture. we can create economic incentives to the providers of the benefits to capture In areas where the climate is suitable maintain healthy forests. Understanding these values and not overexploit for Coffea arabica to grow, this forest the relationship between people them. Finally, we must ensure that the product was found to provide US$550 and forests is crucial for this market- people whose habitual activities in per household. Coffea arabica is a based approach to work, but designed the forest are restricted – often local shade lover, and in rural forest areas and implemented carefully there rural communities – are provided with there are no fertilisers or pesticides are numerous benefits: protecting adequate livelihood alternatives or used on these plants. This raises the biodiversity, habitats, and indirect compensation for restrictions on their opportunity for organic certification forest functions; promoting sustainable forest use. of Bale’s coffee. And, with increasing development; and alleviating poverty demand for more speciality coffees, the through the transfer of wealth from rich Bees and beans opportunity to get a price premium for to poor countries. Back in Bale, forest honey and coffee uniquely flavoured Bale coffee could are two products that are notable for again raise incomes. Charlene Watson is an environmental their contribution to household value, economist at the Centre for and that offer exemplary opportunities Next steps Environmental Policy, Imperial College to raise incomes, thus reducing the So far, my research has provided a London. Her research, on the valuation household’s need to clear forests for better understanding of the economic of ecosystem goods and services and agriculture or grazing. benefits of the Bale Mountains’ forest, the creation of markets for ecosystem but there is still a long way to go. Not services, is funded by the Economic With a strong tradition for bee keeping, all values have been accounted for. and Social Research Council and Ethiopia is the fourth biggest producer Traditional medicines, such as Hagenia supported by Frankfurt Zoological of beeswax and tenth biggest producer abyssinica, used to treat tapeworm, Society and the Bale Eco-region of honey in the world, and Ethiopian hold significant value, as expensive Sustainable Management Programme, hive density is thought to be the modern medicine is beyond the reach both international NGOs promoting highest of any country on the African of most Ethiopians. Eco-tourism, too, sustainable resource management in continent. Bale is no exception, and is on the increase in Bale, with tourists the Bale Mountains.

TREES volume 68 2008 |17| Book reviews Leafing through From the high life 300 feet up in a redwood tree to a practical guide to starting your own community orchard, the International Tree Foundation highlights some this year’s top tree-related reads.

The Wild Trees impressions, feelings and observations. and constitutions, planting, by Richard Preston Presenting an optimistic view of our conserving and attracting wildlife, Penguin, £9.99 changing world, Deakin muses on the and celebrating the fruits of your natural world that surrounds him, labour. It also contains contact Open The Wild Trees and enter the making surprising, charming and often details for support groups, nurseries extreme world of elite tree climbers humorous connections between the and equipment, offers tips for and their fascination with the giant events he witnesses. funding, and features 90 colour redwoods on California’s north photos of community orchards and coast. Preston gained access to the their harvests. small group of specialist A World Without Bees climbers by Alison Benjamin and Brian who venture McCallum up the Guardian Books, £9.99 largest and tallest Albert Einstein said that “if the organisms bee disappeared off the surface of the earth the globe, then man would only has ever have four years of life left. No sustained, more pollination, no more plants, and no more animals, no more man.” describes This is the terrifying prospect that the world Benjamin and McCallum tackle in they this very accessible book as they discover Community Orchards investigate the reasons behind as they Handbook the rapid decline in the numbers explore an ecosystem 30 by Sue Clifford and Angela King of western honeybees. Colony storeys up in the sky. Told in the Common Ground, £12.95 Collapse Disorder is the honeybee style of an adventure story, Preston ‘plague’ that has already killed follows the husband-and-wife team Offering both practical advice and the millions of bees worldwide, and of Steve Sillett and Marie Antoine. philosophy behind the burgeoning the authors explore some of the Suspended on ropes, they navigate community orchard movement, many explanations suggested from the deep redwood canopy, a vertical this handbook is a must for anyone the condition – from pesticides Eden filled with mosses, lichens, contemplating becoming an orchardist. to climate change – and examine spotted salamanders, hanging It’s produced by Common Ground, the possible solutions to the crisis. gardens of ferns, and thickets of arts/environmental charity that has huckleberry bushes, all growing out pioneered the revival of the community of massive trunk systems that have orchard, and the organisation has fused and formed flying buttresses. packed 20 years of knowledge and experience, Notes from Walnut shared by Tree Farm community by Roger Deakin orchardists Hamish Hamilton, £20 all over the country, Roger Deakin is well known for into this his powerful and lyrical nature resource. writing in the books Wildwood and From Waterlog. Completed just before adopting an Deakin’s death in 2006, Wildwood’s old orchard journey began with the walnut to creating tree at the writer’s Suffolk home. a new one, This latest offering is compiled it provides from the notebooks Deakin kept guidance for the last six years of his life, in on how to which he wrote his daily thoughts, get started, choosing legal structures

TREES volume 68 2008 |18| Supporting ITF Green benefits

ITF is delighted to share the success of our corporate sponsors – the more they grow their business, the more we grow the trees!

• Echo Research provided four staff from its Godalming office team who travelled to Mottisfont Abbey, Hampshire to help return the banks of the River Dun to its 17th-century glory by planting oaks and maples. Volunteer Emily-Jane Ellery explained: “We are pleased to have been able to make a positive impact on this landscape by restoring the valley to the way it was. I am also grateful that as a company we are encouraged to support schemes such as the International Tree Foundation, to reduce our long-term impact on the environment and offset our carbon footprint.” The trees planted by Echo are expected to absorb almost 11,000kg of the climate-changing gas CO2 in their lifetime.

• CHEP, a global pallet company, has supported ITF’s work since February 2007. By giving ITF a contribution In good company every time a customer signs up for an electronic rather than paper The work of the International Tree Foundation is made possible by the generosity of invoice, CHEP also demonstrates its members and supporters. Working with companies that understand how supporting ITF’s commitment to environmentally work helps them to fulfil their corporate social responsibility is a crucial element of that friendly working practices. CHEP is support. particularly supportive of ITF’s work in Eastern Europe, and its donations By becoming an ITF partner, a company can help to offset its carbon footprint. By have enabled a new project in supporting ITF’s overseas projects, businesses also contribute to improving the lives of Kosovo, where trees will have a role communities which rely on trees for food, shade, fuel and building materials. in bringing about reconciliation as community members work together ITF is a unique organisation. No other tree charity works both in the UK and in so to improve the environment. many countries overseas, and at such a micro community level. Through individual and corporate support, ITF projects have a real impact on the daily lives of ordinary people • Rackspace, a web hosting company, in need. gives ITF a donation for every new server it signs. Last year alone, this How can your company help ITF? enabled ITF to plant almost 3000 ITF recognises that companies are like people – every one is individual. So the first step indigenous trees in the UK – and with to becoming a corporate sponsor is to talk through your business’s needs and wishes Rackspace’s business doing well, there with you so that we can draw up an agreement to suit your company. This may involve: will be even more in 2009.

• A regular annual donation – which enables ITF to commit to longer-term planning • Westinghouse Rail Systems’ staff chose ITF to benefit from its Green • Donations tied to transactions – so the more sales a business makes, the greater the Transport day this year – and ITF was support it gives to ITF’s work able to arrange tree planting with • Payroll giving – where staff can opt to donate regularly from their salary the proceeds. Westinghouse chose six sites near its regional offices • Planting days – ITF is happy to arrange for a team of employees to bring their wellies around the country for planting trees. and plant trees at a UK site. It’s a great company day out and a valuable team-building Westinghouse staff took part in the exercise planting at Borde Hill, West Sussex • One-off fundraising events – where ITF is nominated as the beneficiary charity. and at Burngreave, South Yorkshire.

To find out more about the work of ITF contact: The International Tree Foundation, Sandy Lane, Crawley Down, West Sussex RH10 4HS Phone 01342 717300 email [email protected] www.internationaltreefoundation.org

TREES volume 6867 20082007 |19| Not yet a member of the International Tree Foundation? Join today!

We are all custodians of our planet. Today, the need for a commitment to planting, protecting and promoting trees has never been more urgent, with climate change one of the greatest threats facing us all. By supporting the International Tree Foundation (ITF) and its tree-planting programme, you can become part of the solution. Plant for the future When you join the International Tree Foundation, we will dedicate a recently planted tree to you and give you details of where it is planted. You will also: • receive regular ebulletins updating you on events in your local region • receive a directory of ITF's commemorative planting sites • be the first to hear about events and talks of interest, both locally and nationally • have the opportunity to take part in local tree-planting events • meet like-minded people interested in protecting the environment • be part of an organisation working for a greener future. As a membership organisation, ITF is unique in that it plants trees in the UK while also increasing the numbers of trees in developing countries. Your support means that ITF can do more of both. To pay by credit/debit card please visit our website www.internationaltreefoundation.org ✁ Alternatively, complete this form in block capitals and return it to: The International Tree Foundation, Sandy Lane, Crawley Down, West Sussex RH10 4HS or phone 01342 717300. Membership rates h Single adult/double adult: £20/£30 h Family membership (two adults and all children under 15 at the same address): £30 h Concession rate (student or senior citizen): £15 h Concession rate (double senior citizen): £20 h Overseas membership single/double: £25/£35 h Life membership single/double: £500/£750 Optional donation to tree planting: £

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To find out more about the work of ITF contact: The International Tree Foundation, Sandy Lane, Crawley Down, West Sussex RH10 4HS Phone 01342 717300 email [email protected] www.internationaltreefoundation.org