One of the hardest things about my job is making the difficult
decision to have a tree cut down.

Sadly, due to the chronic spread of ash dieback disease, having
trees felled is something I have to do more often than I'd like to. If trends
continue, we are going to lose over 90% of our ash (the UK's second most
common tree) in the coming years, completely changing our landscape,
significantly reducing the carbon capture potential of our tree stock, and the
ecosystem services they provide. In urban areas, climate change, increased
pollution from vehicles, development, tree loss in private gardens, and a lack
of replanting in many parts of the UK are driving an overall decline in tree
health and canopy cover.   

For a long time, I've been wanting to do something to offset the
vast numbers of trees I'm having removed but had always made the excuse I was
too busy. That changed when, recently, I received this letter from an eight
year old boy from Somerset, telling us how valuable trees are and that we
should plant more of them. Sage advice from a very smart young man. After I'd
had a cry, I had a think about how I could do more. Having not been to my
office for over a year, I thought I could try and walk to work on my first day
back, from Torquay to Taunton. I was hoping to set out bright and early and be
there for 9am on the same day, but the 58 miles and 850m ascent means I'll be
doing the walk over two days.

I am raising money for Trees For Cities. A great charity,
working at a national and international scale to improve lives by planting
trees in cities, and empowering local communities to cultivate lasting change
in their neighbourhoods.

As my young tree champion said, "trees bring happiness,
oxygen and homes for animals". We need more trees and we need charities
like Trees For Cities to ensure the right trees are planted in the right places
to give the maximum benefits. I don't want to let this young man, or any of our
children, down and leave them with a planet in a worse state than the one they
were born into.

Please help me raise money for Trees For Cities and sponsor my
walk to work on the 21-22 July. Thank you.