.... Not this one though! The General Sherman in the Sequoia National Forest in California, is the largest
and oldest living thing on earth. It is over 2000 years old and weighs over 1500 tons. Awesome!
Woodenwidget are in the process of buying 150 trees and will plant one for every
set of dinghy plans we sell. The trees are grown by
Alba Trees Ltd
and will be managed by the Buccleuch group. Your tree will become part of a new 8 hectare wood in Berwickshire, Scotland,
on a site adjacent to the historic 16th century Greenknowe Tower on the west edge of Gordon village. Half of the trees planted will be
Oak, the rest will be made up of Ash, Birch, Cherry, Alder and Willow.
The Tree. What a fantastic invention!
Trees are amazing.
Not only do they provide us with essential clean
air and a stable water table protecting us from climate change, they also
provide us with food, medicines, cork, rubber, building materials, charcoal,
paper, card, cellulose, matches and furniture for our homes, fertile soils
and somewhere pleasant to walk the dog.
They provide employment through woodland
management and natural craftwork, as well as supporting local communities
through tourism. Trees also provide an abundant habitat able to support a
wide diversity of flora and fauna.
The broadleaf woodland that you will be helping to create through Woodenwidget.com will provide shelter to a wide array of plants and animals. Flowers such as snow-drops, bluebells, wood anemone and wild garlic as well as brambles, ferns bracken and grass can often be found under broad leafed trees. Wild deer, boar, badgers and foxes often make their homes in deciduous woodlands because there is a lot of food – berries, seeds, nuts, invertebrates and small mammals, as well as squirrels and doormice. Many hundreds of types of fungi and insects also flourish in this kind of habitat, supporting a large and varied population of bird species.
Birds are
apparently having a hard time adjusting to climate change.
By planting trees and expanding their natural
habitat we are giving them a bit of breathing space.
Blue tits, great tits, siskins,
woodpeckers, spotted flycatchers, nut hatches, tree creepers, greenfinches,
robins, chaffinches, wrens and owls all use woodland either for shelter and
protection during the winter or to breed in the summer.
Woodenwidget.com is proud to be taking part in this tree planting project. Given that trees provide us with so many valuable goods and services, it seems only right that we help to protect them and the animals they support. We hope you agree.