Climate, trees and the Hunnington footpath

Dear Neil and Jenny

I must apologise for the tone of my email last week.

Since the 1980s, I have been playing my part in countering human-induced climate change with my guerrilla gardening landscape enhancement schemes.  These, with the knowledge of the landowners, are at Frankley Service Area and at Merry Hill Shopping Centre and are my two main ones.  Playing my part, too with cycling to and from work until retirement at 65 years in 2013 and, minimising my use of fossil fuels that, in our burning, is bringing climate breakdown.

The scientists began, more obviously, telling us about disturbed weather patterns and extreme weather events from climate change in the 1980s.  Now, we are hearing and seeing they are right.  That the planet is both burning and flooding.  Burning in the western USA and Canada and, last week hundreds killed from floods in western Europe and now, this week in China.

Only by walking and cycling more, cutting our prodigious consumption of everything and planting trees and shrubs and restoring our peatlands can we counter climate breakdown.  Hence, I work in my retirement in keeping public rights of way open and available for us all.  It is brilliant that you both walk the Hunnington path on your land.

Now, it is over to you.  Please do your civic duty, as I have been doing for decades.  On your own land, I am suggesting you plant your own shrubs and trees, with woodland management to increase biodiversity and improve our prospects during the challenging years of this century.  Growing trees and shrubs absorb carbon dioxide.  And, perhaps, water those six oak whips that are well spread out, in the brambles between the path and the steep bank down to the caravans.  They are likely to die unless you water them once a week until the end of August.  Summer showers are not enough for the water to penetrate to the roots in this first season.

I will continue to keep away but my curiosity will, no doubt, drive me back before the end of the year to see how the footpath is doing.

Very best wishes to you both

Tim

On Tue, 13 Jul 2021 at 18:55, Tim Weller <timweller1@gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks for writing, Neil.  I thought you were appreciating my work for you both.  How wrong I was!  Oaks have gone today and the bare-rooted whips will now die.  I'll do no more clearance of paths.  So over to you if you wish to carry on walking them.

Tim