Thursday 21 March 2013

International Day of Forests and Trees

I love forests and woodlands! Every week I walk through the wooded Dells along the Water of Leith and enjoy the richness of the plantlife and the birdlife in the area. I also love seeing the seasons change, which this year is totally fascinating as the weather is so cold for the time of year! It's strange to see the crocuses poking out through the snow and the birds singing when it's so cold!

Forests and trees are vital for wildlife and humans. The UN International Day of Forests and Trees (which I only found out about this morning) aims to highlight this importance and encourage the protection of our forests. They have an uphill battle ahead of them, given that we are losing so much of our forest cover while human population is increasing so rapidly.

You can find out more about The International Day of Forests and Trees by following these links:

International Day of Forests and Trees at the UN Regional Information Centre for Western Europe.

International Day of Forests at the UN

International Day of Forests at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

If you're in the UK you can find your nearest woodland or forest on the Visit Woods website, which also encourages you to share your photos of your nearest woods (they're currently running a competition, and all photos uploaded to the site count as entries!). 

Also in the UK, the Woodland Trust campaigns to save our woodlands and to investigate and prevent tree diseases (such as ash dieback). They also have a blog Woodland Matters.

I think conservation of the forests starts with appreciating their value, so put on your boots and go walking in the woods this weekend!

7 comments:

eileeninmd said...

Thanks for the heads up! I did not hear about the Int'l Day of Forest and Trees. Thanks for sharing the links. Have a great day!

Dartford Warbler said...

Some interesting links. Thank you.

Ms Sparrow said...

Yesterday, I turned the corner a block away from my house and discovered that three lovely ash trees were totally gone. They were infected with emerald ash borer. It made me so sad to see them disappear so quickly. It is tragic that so many trees, woodlands and forests are being destroyed world-wide when we need them so badly to keep our planet healthy. I'm relieved to hear that there are movements and organizations working to reverse that.

Optimistic Existentialist said...

I had no idea that this was the International Day of Forests and Trees. I'm going to post that on Facebook!

Kathie Brown said...

How I love forests and trees! I have planted many trees in all the various homes I have lived in, then sadly moved away before they matured! the nice thing about trees is everyone can enjoy them, as long as they don't cut them down! Thanks for this informative post!

RG said...

Good to keep people aware! Get out and enjoy them!

bunnits said...

A good thing. Thanks for sharing this information.