Living With Trees - Newsletter Feb 2022 |
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THIS TIME WITH CORRECT LINK TO REGENERATIVE FORESTRY Hi there, Welcome to the February Newsletter for Living With Trees. Do forward this to anyone who might be interested. Thanks Robin There have been some glorious days of crisp sunlight this winter so far, including this beechwood below at Melbury Wood. |
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REGENERATIVE FORESTRY A new report researched and written by me for the Soil Association is out today. I coined the term 'regenerative forestry' as a complement to regenerative agriculture, advocating a land use which not only produces timber and fibre for us, but which also brings benefits for biodiversity, climate and people. It can be done and there are many fine examples. Below is a venn diagram with overlapping sets for Forestry, Farming and Conservation. Regenerative Forestry sits where forestry overlaps with conservation. You can download the report for free HERE There is an accompanying Evidence Report (also available on the same webpage further down) with over 130 references to books, scientific papers and reports. Here’s a preview of a couple of pages. Let me know what you think. |
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LIVING WITH TREES My book has had some great reviews recently: The Royal Forestry Society carried a review in the January edition of their Quarterly Journal of Forestry. You can read it on my website HERE. It seems it appeals to professionals and non-foresters alike: “The book’s great strength is that it is written by a forester, whose pragmatic, honest, insightful approach says it as it is.” Resurgence Magazine carried an interview with me by Gary Cook, whose many credits include resident tree artist in Shaftesbury. You can see the review on my website HERE. Lots of great insights about the book and the author: “Finding empathy with every standpoint is what helped Walter develop his unique arboreal nous and an open-minded realism that we need more of today.” Here is a taster from the RFS Journal . . . |
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Once the main text of Living With Trees was finished, I wrote a poetic version of some 900 words, which was included in ‘Evolving The Forest’ (published by art.earth 2020). I have since been working with the artist Juliet Wimhurst (my partner Karen’s mother) to produce an illustrated version. Juliet’s pictures really express some of the mythic qualities of trees and complement the text beautifully. Here is a rough mock-up of page 1 with picture. I hope to publish this in the coming weeks. |
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Shaftesbury’s very own book festival is looming into view, so make a date in your diaries for Reading The Land on 11-13th March. There are some great speakers, including Isabella Tree (Wilding) and Brigit Strawbridge Howard (Dancing With Bees). See all the details here https://www.shaftesburybookfestival.com/ My speaking slot is on Sunday 13th at 16.30 in the Grosvenor Hotel, where I shall be giving a talk with slides about Living With Trees and some thoughts on the transformation of the British landscape with trees. |
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Meanwhile Shaftesbury Tree Group have been planting phase 2 of the Town Tree Plan. Last year our community involvement was disrupted by covid restrictions, but this year we we able to welcome a host of volunteers to a range of sites across town. |
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Buy a signed copy of my book Buy a signed copy of my book from my website HERE. Not only will you be supporting real writers and publishers, you will also avoid subsidising space travel for billionaires! |
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acorn sleeping but i have planned to span an acre of dreaming land and fill a millennium of fleeting time |
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Book a LIVE talk ! What better way to spend an evening than an entertaining talk about the wonderful benefits of trees and how we might have more in our lives. Book a talk for your community group, wildlife trust, U3A or business. On this link you can also see a 2 min taster video of the talk with slides, graphs, and commentary. |
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