Trees have been in the news over the December Christmas period.

As well as Christmas Tree Festivals, there have been Tree Dressing Ceremonies and Tree Planting Sessions during the 35th National Tree Week (November 29 – December 6). Such a dual event took place at Greenfield Local Nature Reserve on Sat December 5.

It was led by Tom Sharples and Sue Bryant-Lauder. They shared most of the following information to highlight the pre-eminent place trees have in our environment.

Trees are for life – “every tree counts”. They are crucial to life on earth. We depend on them for the vital balance in nature through their regular cycles.

Trees give us shade, coolness, cloud and rain through their “water cycle” – helping to maintain the climate at a stable temperature.

They provide wood for housing, furniture, paper and fuel as well as food like fruits, seeds and nuts.

They produce oxygen to breathe by absorbing Carbon Dioxide, through their “carbon cycle”. This process assists in controlling climate change, as CO2 is a very damaging greenhouse gas.

They shelter us from the wind, protect the soil from erosion, crops, animals, flora and fauna as well as creating nutrients like humus from rotting leaves through their “soil cycle”.

For all these reasons, it is essential that we care for our trees and plant more of them. Sadly, locally in Lancashire, the County only has between 3% and 4% cover of trees/woodlands - Pendle's tree coverage is less than 3% compared with 16% nationally. Globally, deforestation outstrips reforestation by about 7 million hectares or 17.5 million acres a year.

This situation is unsustainable. For human life to survive, we need to change the way we live and treat the earth NOW. The central and seminal role of trees in Ecology is illustrated by the old Celtic Prayer read at the Greenfield LNR event:

PRAYER OF THE TREE
You who pass me by and would raise your hand against me,
Hearken ere you harm me,
I am the heat of your hearth on the cold winter night,
The friendly shade screening you from summer sun,
And my fruits are refreshing draughts
Quenching your thirst as you journey on.
I am the beam that holds your home,
The board of your table,
The bed on which you lie,
The timber that builds your boat.
I am the handle of your hoe,
The door of your homestead,
The wood of your cradle,
The shell of your last resting place,
I am the gift of God,
And the friend of man,
You who pass by, Listen to my prayer
HARM ME NOT