HEALTHY PLANET
Our planet’s future is dependent on the carbon capturing capacity of trees. In the UK, we need to plant 90-120 million trees per year to reach climate targets by 2050 (Committee on Climate Change, 2020).
Trees also improve mental and physical health, saving the NHS around £2.1 billion per year (Environment Agency, September 2020).
BIODIVERSITY
Wildlife and humans depend on trees for food and shelter - 80% of the Earth’s land biodiversity is found in forests (FAO, March 2020). Forestry provides jobs to many, yet we import around 80% of our timber from overseas (Forestry Statistics, 2021).
The UK has 13% tree cover compared to Europe’s average of 38%.
QUALITY OF LIFE
51% of the UK public experienced an increase in their level of happiness when in woodlands (Forest Research, 2021).
UK forests store around 1 billion tonnes of carbon, the equivalent of around 4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (Forest Research, 2021).
