As the days begin to lengthen, Oscar (my Spaniel) and I have enjoyed listening to the Woodpeckers drumming out their territorial claims in Dulwich Woods.
So it is with concern that I read of plans to sell off hundreds of thousands of acres of British woodland. It seems I’m not alone, a new poll suggests that the overwhelming majority of the public are against it and a recent letter of protest in the Telegraph was signed by over ninety influential figures, including our own Archbishop.
Down the centuries, forests have served Britain well, from our Navy to our railways they have been a vital contributor to our island’s story. In their latest incarnation they provide green lungs to our communities, diverse habitats and much needed places for rest and relaxation.
The sacredness of trees may well sound a dubious, hippy or even pagan idea but it is worth remembering that trees also feature at vital moments in our Christian story. It was the tree in the Garden of Eden from which Adam plucked the fruit when humanity turned its back on God. Christian mystics have often remembered that first tree and seen the cross on which Christ died as a second tree through which we turn back to God. This ‘tree of beauty’ is one whose deep roots and spreading branches reunite heaven and earth, the world and it’s creator.
A similar connection may well be made when we stroll through woods, climb trees and look up at the sky through a hundred shades of green. At many levels, some of them barely understood, trees have a hold on us and we would do well to keep a hold on them.
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