Little-Known London: It’s a Forest!

Every Londoner feels the need to escape the capital from time to time. We head out to the country to soak up some nature and recuperate in greener, cleaner spaces but it turns out that we don’t need to go anywhere to find forest greenery – we’re already in it.

The Urban Forest

It might not always look it but London is extraordinarily green. According to the Greenspace Information for Greater London, which keeps the capital’s environmental records, 47% of our city is green space and a further 2.5% of its area is “blue space” made up of rivers, canals and reservoirs. London also has important wildlife sites that make up 19.2% of its land.

That includes more than 22,500 hectares of woodland and orchards with 8.4 million trees from 126 species. Chances are you skipped past all those numbers but they’re really important because according to the definition of the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation it means London can be classified as a forest. That’s right – our biggest city is a woodland.

This was revealed as part of the i-Tree study in London, which was completed with the help of the UK Forestry Commission. The 2015 study was the most extensive urban tree survey in the world and it set out to measure the benefits of London’s urban forest and why we all need to protect it.

The Value of Trees

Trees are beneficial to both our bodies and our finances. i-Tree revealed that London’s urban forest removes 2,241 tonnes of pollution each year. It would cost an estimated £126.1m to do a clean-up like that by any other means but the trees do it for free. The overall annual financial benefit from our forest is estimated at a whopping £132.7m.

Further studies have shown that the sight of some leafy boughs in your street can raise house prices by up to 15%. Trees growing close to your property save energy as they add an extra layer of insulation, lowering fuel consumption. Importantly their leaves and roots also help the capital with drainage so they are massively important for our infrastructure – we’d be flooded without them.

Of course we don’t escape to the country to ponder nature’s financial benefits. Woodlands and forest are great for our mental health as they help reduce stress. There’s also remarkable evidence that the simple sight of trees and greenery – even if only through a hospital window – can speed up a patient’s recovery. Nature enhances our well-being and our wallets and we Londoners are lucky enough to have it right on our doorstep.

So next time you’re thinking about heading out for some green, don’t go anywhere. Simply step outside and experience London’s coolest feature – its very own living, breathing, working forest.

 

by Jo Davey

The post Little-Known London: It’s a Forest! appeared first on Felix Magazine.