Westonbirt Arboretum at the forefront of reducing single-use plastic in forests

This spring saw the annual Arb Show descend on Westonbirt, The National Arboretum.

With over 3,000 visitors, many working in the forestry sector, the show provided a great opportunity to demonstrate how Westonbirt is pioneering new ways to reduce the need for single-use plastic when planting trees.

For many years, the answer to protecting trees from browsing deer and other animals whilst they get established was to use plastic tree guards. These guards can be difficult to retrieve and recycle once trees grow and foliage becomes dense, resulting in forests being littered with plastic guards. Plastic guards can also trap animals or break down into microplastics, polluting soils and water.

With more trees being planted in the UK to meet climate targets, the use of plastic tree guards in new woodlands could see an unprecedented rise. But there are potential solutions, and the Silk Wood Community Planting Project at Westonbirt aims to showcase what could be possible.

Three years ago, over 6.5 hectares of native ash trees had to be felled in Silk Wood due to Chalara ash dieback - a fungal disease which kills ash trees. Since then, over 3,300 native trees have been planted by over 600 volunteers, using new non-plastic and the more traditional tree guards.

More than 20 forestry professionals visiting the show joined Project Manager Oscar Adams on his informative talk, where he demonstrated what alternative materials are now available, and how they hold up to pressures such as bad weather and animal activity.

Seven different types of tubes are being used on site, including sugarcane, corn & starch; organic cotton & pine tree rosin; plant resin & recycled wood residue; cardboard; and even a mix of wood, corn, and potatoes!

This compliments other work being done within the Forestry Commission, testing different approaches to protecting trees, helping inform the choice of appropriate methods in future planting schemes.

The Forestry Commission has also helped launch a new app designed to map the existing plastic in forests throughout the country - ‘Plot That Plastic’ – which will allow old tree guards to be collected and recycled in the future.

In the meantime, Westonbirt hope the Silk Wood Community Planting Project will help foresters realise the impact of plastic in the environment and inspire new, more eco-friendly ways of working moving forward.

For more details about this project, see https://www.forestryengland.uk/westonbirt/community-planting-project and the Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum blog for updates https://fowa.org.uk/blog .

Information about the ‘Plot That Plastic’ app can be found at:

https://www.forestplasticsworkinggroup.co.uk/plotthatplastic