The Woodland Trust has appointed Eunomia as the lead consultant to co-create a tree strategy for Devon by next Spring, on behalf of the Devon Local Nature Partnership’s Trees for Devon Group.

The Tree Strategy will galvanise joint action to realise a vision for Devon’s woodlands and hedges to be sustainably managed and rich in wildlife through being further connected to the local economy and local communities. It will form part of the Devon Local Nature Recovery Strategy and respond to the Government’s call for increased woodland cover in the England Trees Action Plan.

This partnership project is being led by the Woodland Trust and supported by Devon County Council, with contributions from many stakeholder organisations including the Forestry Commission, district and unitary authorities.

A new tree planting project is about to start. There will be a team of 3 people working with partners, local communities and landowners to inspire and support tree planting, hedge and woodland creation schemes across Devon over the next 2 years. A team is being recruited now so watch this space for further news.

The project is funded by Defra and the Forestry Commission’s Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund (WCAF) following a successful bid. The £300,000 of funding will be used to develop, design and organise proposals for tree and woodland planting initiatives on public and privately owned land in Devon, Torbay and Plymouth. It sits under the wider banner of the ‘Trees for Devon’ initiative led by the Devon Local Nature Partnership.

Photo credit: Ian Bateman.

Exeter City Council will be playing a role in raising awareness of the benefits of plant-based foods for the climate.

A motion supported by Councillors asks the Council to transition to plant-based catering at all internal Council-catered meetings, showcase plant-based foods at Council-run events, ensure all Council-run external sites have plant-based food options available and more.

Devon County Council has received just over £580,000 from the Active Travel Capability Fund to accelerate walking and cycling schemes in the county.

The fund will be used to design walking and cycling routes, expand adult cycle confidence lessons, develop Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans, and monitor previous active travel schemes.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has awarded South Hams District Council over £1 million to help reduce emissions as part of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).

The funding will support targeted business and community support programmes spanning travel, the marine sector and the farming community, among other projects.

The Art and Energy Collective are taking on a new project called How to Bury the Giant, which will use mosses to inspire creativity and positive action for the climate emergency.

The project will focus on moorland, mires & peatland. These areas are important carbon stores in Devon - for example, Dartmoor’s peat soils alone store an estimated 10 million tonnes of carbon. Preserving and repairing local landscapes which are important for carbon sequestration is a key step in tackling the climate emergency.

Torbay residents can now give feedback on their local area’s new Climate Emergency Action Plan, which identifies a range of actions that can be taken to help make Torbay carbon neutral by 2030.

The Action Plan and survey is on behalf the Torbay Climate Partnership which aims to bring together communities, organisations and businesses from across Torbay to accelerate actions to tackle the climate emergency, build climate resilience and ensure Torbay thrives now and in the future.

Environmental consultants RSK continue to work with the Climate Impacts Group (CIG) on the development of an Adaptation Plan.

The Adaptation Plan is intended to help communities across the Southwest to better understand the risks their area might face in future, as climate change increasingly affects the UK. It will also help them to adapt to these changes, by identifying the parties responsible for ensuring community safety.

Building on workshops which took place in November, adaptation options and actions to respond to the identified climate impacts are being finalised during January 2023. Priority actions for regional collaboration will also be decided upon this month.

The Adaptation Plan is expected to be published for a public consultation in the spring.

Tree Planting Events with Moor Trees; Across Devon; Until the end of March

Free Tree Hubs; Across Devon; Until the end of February

As part of the Saving Devon's Treescapes project, the Devon Wildlife Trust are giving away free trees for people to plant in their gardens. The Tree Hubs aim to combat the threat to trees from Ash Dieback, which is estimated to kill at least 90% of Devon’s ash trees in the coming years.

You will be able to collect between 1-5 free trees along with protection and a free planting and aftercare guide. The trees will all be cell grown UK broadleaf species and will need to be planted within a few days of collection.

Free Tree Hubs in January include:

• Kingsbridge, Saturday 21st January, from 9:30am
• South Molton, Saturday 21st January, from 10:00am
• Axminster, Saturday 28th January, from 10:00am
• Ludwell Valley Park, Sunday 29th January, from 10:00am

Low Carbon Technologies Open Day; CobBauge Building and Sustainability Hub, University of Plymouth, PL4 8AA; Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th January

Improving Open Source Climate Change Knowledge; Online and in person at the University of Exeter campus; Thursday 26th January, 3:30pm – 6:00pm

In a time where understanding climate change can inform crucial decisions, ensuring the accuracy of information available online is essential. Wikipedia is one of the biggest sources of information on climate change in the world. As it relies on volunteer edits to stay up-to-date, this event will teach you how to edit Wikipedia and improve climate change information on the site.

This is also an opportunity to delve into a climate change topic, work on a literature review, practice writing for public audiences, and network with others in the climate space, while making a positive impact.

Exeter City Futures Connect: Net Zero Citizen-led Action; Magdalen Room, Exeter Community Centre, St David's Hill, Exeter, EX4 3RG; Wednesday 1st February, 5:30pm – 7:30pm

This event will celebrate net-zero citizen-led action in Exeter. Exeter City Futures want to hear from projects and initiatives which explore climate and environmental issues:

• Communities co-creating environmental projects in local neighbourhoods or across different city wards
• Projects addressing eco anxiety and wellbeing in Exeter
• Businesses declaring a climate emergency and working towards carbon-neutral aims
• Communities and young people working together on eco initiatives
• Academic researchers building community collaborations developing environmental responses.

Anyone can come along for free to hear or take part in project presentations, network, share best practice or simply learn more about climate action going on in Exeter.

If you would like to present a project, the deadline to register is Wednesday 18th January.