Caplor Farm has strong links with Fownhope Carbon Reduction Action Group (CRAG). CRAG was set up towards the end of 2007 as local residents started to consider the impact of their own carbon footprints. We support each other in reducing those footprints, sharing skills and knowledge in lower carbon living and promoting awareness and practical action in the wider community.
CRAG’s most recent project has been undertaking the challenge of planting 350 trees within the village before the end of 2009. Trees were planted at the school, the doctors’ surgery, the recreation ground, on farms and in private gardens. Some of us were interviewed by BBC Hereford & Worcester, and Paul Keetch, our local MP, came to plant the final tree.
Why 350? We set the challenge of planting 350 trees as a symbolic gesture, because 350ppm is what many climate scientists consider to be the sustainable maximum level of CO2 in the atmosphere. We currently have about 383ppm, rising about 2ppm each year, so there is an urgent need to reduce emissions and lock up carbon.
Indeed, there were many good reasons for planting trees within the village. They look beautiful and enhance the natural environment, they provide habitat for insects, birds & animals, they lock up carbon, helping to control atmospheric CO2 levels and they can even provide a source of local food in the form of fruit and nut trees.
Local storyteller Lenny Alsop (from Brockhampton) has narrated a short poem entitled ‘Last Words of a Dying Tree’, which reminds us of the importance of trees.
Would you like to find out more about Fownhope CRAG? Would you like to get involved? If so, please visit our website or email info@fownhopecrag.org.uk
