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Tree of the Day – the English Oak

Saturday 23rd November sees the start of National Tree Week (23rd November – 1st December) and is the UK’s largest annual tree celebration, marking the start of the winter tree planting season.

To celebrate trees we are posting the ‘Tree of the Day’ with details of the trees you are likely to see if you are out and about in Greater Manchester.

The English Oak.

In 2018, City of Trees carried out a survey and found that one of the three commonest trees in Greater Manchester is the English oak, which is one of our longest-lived trees and supports the greatest number of insect species. This is also known as the ‘pedunculate’ oak, which means its acorns grow on stalks. The UK has another species of oak called the ‘sessile’ oak (no acorn stalks), but this is commoner in Scotland and Wales – one of these (in Liverpool) has been chosen as England and the UK’s Tree of the Year for 2020.

Trees play an incredible role in combating climate chaos by removing planet-wrecking emissions from the air around us. Despite their importance, just 13% of the UK’s total land area has tree cover (compared to an EU average of 35%).

Friends of the Earth has launched a #MoreTreesPlease campaign to double tree cover in the UK. We believe one of the best solutions to protect our environment and achieve net zero emissions (removing as many emissions as we produce) is to double UK forest by 2045, but government targets currently fall well short.

See Friends of the Earth’s briefing: ‘What’s so good about trees?

Manchester Friends of the Earth November newsletter is all about trees!

Wherever you live, trees have a wide range of benefits, which you can learn more about inside this newsletter. In our city centres, trees help absorb air pollutants and cool the air in heatwaves. In our suburbs, trees enhance the value of open spaces for exercise and recreation, improving our physical and mental health. In our countryside, trees retain moisture in the soil and thus reduce the risk of grass fires in droughts and floods after heavy rain. These are all important reasons for planting more trees here in Greater Manchester.

Manchester FoE Newsletter 2019-11

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