Bringing tree benefits to an urban setting

摘要

Hugh Perry discovers how arborist groups are joining forces to push urban trees up the political agenda. The potential benefits of trees and woodlands in the urban environment were "significantly overlooked" by the Urban Green Spaces Taskforce. Thisis the opinion of a cross-industry group of arborists and other tree experts in their response to the taskforce's interim report, which was published last November. Taking the opportunity to have their say were experts from the Institute of Chartered Foresters, the Arboricultural Association, the National Arborist Association, the National Urban Forestry Unit, the North West Tree Officer Group and the Woodland Trust. They weighed in with an array of reasons why trees need to be pushed up the agenda when talking about green spaces. This could serve as not only a useful reminder to the taskforce - but could also be used as a useful document when dealing with planners. It is, after all, much easier to put across the case for more trees in urban landscapes when you have a long list of benefits to wave under noses.