The Shires Go Carbon Neutral

In actual fact we’re using some club funds to buy trees from a group called Carbon Footprint. They do all the work of actually planting the trees and managing the woods and ensure that the trees planted will be there, absorbing CO2 for years to come. In fact the club has pledged to plant 100 native broad leaf trees in managed sites in Hampshire. We calculated we would need to plant around 50 trees, although estimates from different sources vary a bit. We caught Henry in a good mood and it was decided to round up and go for 100 trees. Each tree will absorb about 730kg of carbon dioxide emissions over its lifetime. By investing in tree planting, Shire Land Rover Club is also helping to create habitats for wildlife and helping to preserve biodiversity. Certainly our carbon neutrality will be something to fight the anti 4x4 brigade with, and maybe some of us will sleep a bit better at night, and there will be more trees around to winch from when we get stuck in the mud. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

Second Time Lucky

Although we are now the first Land Rover club to go Carbon Neutral, thanks to Carbon Footprint, we thought you’d like to hear about our attempt to do the same through the Woodland Trust. They are one of the major sources of “carbon offset” tree planting, and you’d think they’d welcome a group of “eco-terrorists” like us trying to do something positive for the environment. Unfortunately it was not to be, after much discussion they flatly refused to sell us any trees because: “Your landrover away days could contravene our ethical policy in as much you are likely to be damaging the land you are travelling across, which could be woodland. As our cause is preserving and creating woodland we can not risk being associated with any organisation that might be damaging the very environment we are creating.” Clearly they misunderstood what we get up to - but despite explanations that we don’t just go out and tear up random bits of woodland, they wouldn’t budge! You’d think being ecologists they’d know that a bit of churning up helps to promote a wider variety of plants and wildlife to flourish too...

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