Rebecca Pow asked David Cameron to protect ancient woodland as heritage sites during Prime Minister’s Questions today:
Pleased to get ancient woodland and trees raised at PMQs today @WoodlandTrust @SomersetWT pic.twitter.com/BBzssaIwID
— Rebecca Pow (@pow_rebecca) April 20, 2016
The full exchange was:
Rebecca Pow (Taunton Deane) (Con): On a slightly environmental note still, woodland is much valued—not least for recycling much of our hot air—and ancient woodland is especially valued. With only 2% remaining, it is as precious as the rain forests and its biodiversity cannot be replaced. The Prime Minister has 331 ancient and veteran trees in his constituency; does he agree that this precious habitat ought to be protected in line with heritage sites and national monuments?
The Prime Minister: I am very lucky to have in my constituency an ancient forest, the Wychwood forest, which probably contains many of the trees that my hon. Friend mentions. I shall look carefully at what she says. Perhaps the most important thing we can do is to make sure that we plant more forests, trees and woodland, on which this Government have a very good record.
Which isn’t a yes, and might be repeating the mistaken belief that planting new forests in fields in any way makes up for destroying ancient woodland ecosystems that may be thousands of years old.
Plenty of people on Twitter get it though:
https://twitter.com/Rosey_St/status/722797464323919873