Sometimes people say it would be good if something could be invented to suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. The technology to do this is being researched but the solution already exists - it’s called a tree! According to The Woodland Trust, “Trees are the ultimate carbon capture and storage machines. Like great carbon sinks, woods and forests absorb atmospheric carbon and lock it up for centuries. They do this through photosynthesis. The entire woodland ecosystem plays a huge role in locking up carbon, including the living wood, roots, leaves, deadwood, surrounding soils and its associated vegetation.”
Blaze Cyan SWE, RE - The Dappled Oak, Petworth (wood engraving, 18/100, 35 x 29 cms framed, £245)
Sculpture, original prints and letter carving in Leaning into the Light, the current exhibition of contemporary art for interiors at RBC, call out to us to think about the value and beauty of trees. Visit the show, or the website, for sculpture by Sadie Brockbank MRSS, Sioban Coppinger FRSS and Joseph Hillier FRSS; wood engravings, woodcuts and etchings by Kit Boyd, Harry Brockway RE, Merlyn Chesterman RE, Blaze Cyan RE, Fiona Fouhy, and Flora McLachlan RE; letter carving for gardens and interiors by Lisi Ashbridge, Maya Martin, Jackie Perkins and Tom Perkins, and calligraphy by Gaynor Goffe.
Maya Martin - “The woods are lovely, dark and deep” (Portland stone, 40 x 20 cms, inscription from Robert Frost, £670)
Trees also help to prevent flooding, reduce pollution and temperatures in cities, and keep soil rich in nutrients. Just 13% of the UK is covered by trees (the average in the EU is 37%). So there is ample scope for planting more trees - in our gardens, school grounds and communities - and helping to protect established ones, increasingly vulnerable to building development. To reach the UK government’s carbon net zero 2050 target we need to plant trees on 1.5 million hectares of land, ensuring they are native species planted where they will thrive. ‘Native’ helps with genetic diversity and resilience to pests, disease and the effects of climate change.
So, please, visit Leaning into the Light, consider joining and supporting The Woodland Trust - and - plant a tree in ’23!
Thank you
Rachel Bebb
Kit Boyd - The Sacred Grove (hand-coloured etching, 15/60, 33 x 28 cms, £295)