Tree-planting for Flood Defence....

Global warming is creating a world where bizarre weather is becoming the norm, and aid agencies have been watching the increase in the number of extreme weather events with extreme alarm (intense hurricanes are 40% more frequent than they were in the 1970s, and 100,000 people have died in "natural" disasters in the past 3 years). More dramatic climate change is already in the pipeline (the delaying effect of the world's oceans means that we are only now experiencing the full effects of the much lower level of emissions from 30 years ago). Here in Calderdale, we've had a possible foretaste of things to come with the devastating floods this Summer, which left a trail of destruction and havoc in hundreds of homes and businesses in the Upper Valley. Both Mel and Barbara were affected.

We believe the ecological solution to the flood risk problem, is to plant trees on the steep valley sides, near the source of the Calder and its tributary streams. The trees would help to minimize the "run off" of water when the moorland tops become saturated after heavy rainfall, and they would also act against soil erosion.

We are buzzing with excitement as we have approached a farmer who owns a bare, steep, eroding hillside, opposite the Planet Earth centre, to ask him if we could reforest the site, and whoopee!! he is favourable to the idea. This is a big project - the site will accommodate at least 20,000 trees!

The immediate practicalities are that we are going to have to do some serious fund-raising for this specific project - maybe over £50,000! We have already put out feelers to the Environment Agency and the people at the White Rose Forest and the next steps will be sorting out a Forestry Grant (by the end of September), talking to local councils and businesses, and getting together a business plan and formal funding application toYorkshire Forward (for consideration in Spring next year).  Ideally, we would be able to start planting in October 2001 - perhaps using the first crop of tree seedlings from the polytunnel!