Trees-by-Mail, aka our Climate Emergency Kit, is designed as a Personal Climate Emergency Response whilst at the same time being an Easy-Plant/No-Dig Willow Tree Planting Kit, all boxed up and ready to go under the Christmas tree or in a Christmas stocking.
One of the trees that captures the most carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere is Willow. During the winter when Willow is in its dormant state, it can be planted by just pushing a tree cutting (which looks like a stick) into the soil. Hundreds of trees can be planted by hand in an amazingly short amount of time without the use of any tools.
The price includes 1st Class delivery by Royal Mail.
What's in the Trees-by-Mail box:
- 20x living Willow tree cuttings (Salix viminalis)
- 1x planting & maintenance instructions
- 1x Climate Fact/Fiction Quiz to entertain family & friends over Christmas
Why we need more trees:
There is now a convincing body of evidence that we are facing man-made climate change caused by emissions of ‘greenhouse gases’ including carbon dioxide (CO2). The UK government officially declared a climate emergency on 1 May 2019, followed by many other countries. Planting trees is part of the nation’s response.
Globally, levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are still on the increase due to continued industrialisation and deforestation.
In the UK, emissions from the energy supply industry have started to decrease in the last couple of years, as greater proportions of our energy are generated from renewable sources. But since 2015, households have been the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, accounting for a quarter of the UK’s total emissions. Around 44% of fuel used by households relates to travel such as domestic car use and flights.
As individuals, there are lots of things we could stop doing to help with climate change… cut out short car journeys, stop buying petrol cars, don’t turn the heating on and maybe take less overseas holidays. But to be more proactive, we could all plant some trees…
Trees capture CO2 from the atmosphere and convert it to carbon compounds which are stored mostly in the branches, trunks and root systems. Even when trees die, or are felled, a lot of the captured carbon will remain in the ground.
A Guardian article in July 2019 explained that scientists believe that tree planting could contribute significantly to reducing emissions from the atmosphere. And this is something we can all get involved in right now!
Why you need the Trees-by-Mail box:
Tree planting might sound like very hard work, and something you’d need a huge amount of land for, but it doesn't have to be. We can nearly all do it on a small scale and every tree will help.
The Willow cuttings in the Trees-by-Mail box (Salix viminalis) can be planted individually and left to grow as trees which are slender and don’t require much space. Or you can plant them in rows or other patterns to grow as hedges for your garden, windbreaks, tunnels, domes and other living tree structures. It can be 'coppiced' to grow as a denser garden partition or can be ‘pollarded’ (having a haircut) to any desired height, which gives the tree a more managed look. The trees will grow to a final height of about 6 metres, and it is estimated that one tree can capture up to half a tonne of CO2 in 30 years, or up to 10 tonnes of CO2 by the 20 tree cuttings in the box.
Practicalities:
The trees in the box are living cuttings and must be treated correctly to be able to take root and grow in the spring. If you open the box upon arrival, simply follow the instructions in the box. If you want to give them as a present, keep them in a cold place e.g. an unheated garage, garden shed or a fridge, until presents are to be exchanged.
More information is available on the Royal Horticultural Society’s website: https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/16304/Salix-viminalis/Details
Happy Planting and Merry Christmas!
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