2009 National Tree Week
EDM number 478 in 2009-10, proposed by Simon Hughes on 15/12/2009.
Categorised under the topic of Environmental protection.
That this House congratulates the Secretary of State for the Environment on planting the first tree to celebrate the launch of the Tree Council's 35th National Tree Week with its theme of Grow Your Own; hopes that many more people across the UK will follow his lead and plant trees for food crops, trees for fuel sources, trees for wildlife, trees for biodiversity, and not least, trees for future generations; commends the actions of tree wardens, community groups, schools charities and other Tree Council supporters who are planning tree planting events in the weeks to come; recognises, in particular, that traditional British orchards have become a nationally scarce resource over the last 50 years and regrets that Britain now imports nearly twice as many apples from abroad as are grown in the UK; acknowledges that better varieties can be grown throughout Britain, even in small back gardens, and the UK can thereby benefit from free food for years to come and help preserve some of the wonderful native varieties that are peculiar to different parts of the UK; suggests that more trees are also needed to create shade in streets, around buildings, in open rural spaces, to provide a habitat for biodiversity that is threatened by a changing climate and to further beautify the landscape; further acknowledges that wherever the right tree can be planted in the right place, communities come together and think about their environment, increasing awareness of the impact of their own actions; and encourages everyone to get out their tree planting boots, wield a spade and grow their own.
This motion has been signed by a total of 44 MPs, 1 of these signatures have been withdrawn.
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