Why do we let so many new trees die?

Along the front verge a row of young trees was planted. These trees were several feet tall and, given time, would have made an attractive feature in the surrounding urban landscape.

But as soon as I spotted them being placed in the ground I knew their days were numbered. Surely enough, once the long, hot, dry spell came upon us, they wilted. With no tenants in the new unit, I felt so sorry for them and took it upon myself to give them a little water from small containers filled at home.

“That won’t do any good at all, they need gallons every day,” my husband told me. Predictably, as summer came to a close, most of the trees appeared lifeless.

Also local to my home, a line of trees was planted along a link road near a shopping centre. Many have now died.

Newly planted trees need maintenance and regular watering

Whether it’s a factory unit, a housing estate, a shopping centre or along a road, trees planted to supposedly enhance the environment are never maintained. They are simply stuck in the ground and left to die. I see it time and time again.

It did not surprise me this week to read how thousands of trees planted in communities across England as part of a Government, taxpayer-funded, initiative to increase woodland and fight climate change, died.

They were hurriedly planted and at least 80 local authorities have so far failed to record if any of the trees are surviving, despite the huge amount spent on them.

Like on my local industrial estate, most of these trees will have been planted then neglected. Newly-planted trees need tending, in particular watering, to survive.

Often, developers offset their carbon footprints through tree planting schemes. It looks very commendable on paper, but in reality it’s all smoke and mirrors.

Rubber tree bands can cause damage if not removed

Visiting my dad in hospital in Middlesbrough last year, a number of trees planted in a new regeneration zone had all perished. Only dead stumps remained. They were still in their protective guards, no one had even bothered to remove them.

Even when they do survive, many newly-planted trees are strapped to stakes with thick rubber bands which are never removed and over time cut deep into the bark. Such examples are all over Britain. I’ve cut through and released many myself. It’s sad that so few people care.

In other news this week a developer who cut down 19 protected trees to clear space for a 760-home estate in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is trying to 'save face' by promising to use the wood for community benches.

On the first day of work, the developers behind the Dorset scheme felled 19 trees and felled 300ft of hedgerow in error.

They offered a list of reparations which included reusing the wood to build benches and hedgehog houses with local schools near the site. They also committed their workers to picking litter and promised to replant the hedge and fallen trees with semi-mature alternatives.

This is so typical of what happens nowadays. Hedgehog houses, bat boxes and benches are all very useful but don’t go anywhere near replacing mature trees which have been growing for decades, enhance the landscape and offer havens to many species of wildlife. Semi-mature trees don’t cut the mustard and without care - which won't be given - will die anyway.

Any developer committing such vandalism should be fined several thousand pounds per lost tree.

I can’t understand why, as a nation, we place trees way down our list of priorities. They are the lifeblood of this planet and should be at the top.