ENVIRONMENTALISTS are calling for the biggest tree-planting programme since the Great Storm – using government and private-sector funding – after Storm Ciarán caused widespread destruction across the countryside.
Experts want ministers to set up a tree council – similar to the one which led the restoration project following the 1987 storm – and consider releasing money from the Strategic Reserve, known as the rainy day fund, which contains nearly £1bn.
Guernsey’s government announced yesterday that it would put £15,000 towards restoring its public woodland and green spaces, after around 350 trees fell in the 70mph winds.
The number lost in Jersey – which suffered far greater damage than the other islands – is expected to be much higher and could even eclipse that of the Great Storm, when an estimated 20,000 were brought down.
Conrad Evans, an arboriculturist who works with the National Trust for Jersey, said that the government’s tree map would help to calculate the number of fallen trees.
However, it is known that vast areas have been devastated, with large sections of the Island, such as the Railway Walk and Val de la Mare, still closed to the public as a result.
Mr Evans said: “I expect the government will fund some of the replanting phase, once the dust has had a chance to settle, after roads are opened and properties are as safe as they can be.
“The replanting happened last time due to the Tree Council. It will be interesting now to see if the government does the same thing. I think it should be considered.
“We also have a rainy day fund, and perhaps the government will put some money from that into tree-planting, care and management.”
The rainy day fund is valued at around £922 million.
Mr Evans continued: “It would be useful if the replanting was done at a parish level as well, because people know their areas and vicinities best.”
Alex Morel, chief executive of Jersey Trees for Life, said that she believed the Crown and the Lieutenant-Governor’s office was “very keen to support our efforts to restore the canopy and the trees that have been lost”.
She added: “It is early days, but we know the King loves trees. And Val de la Mare is part of the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy, which is a network of forest conservation programmes.
“Funding from the government is always greatly appreciated. However, I know that there are people who have lost their homes. I also imagine that the Bailiff’s Fund will cover things like tree replanting.
“We will need to have some funding, because it’s not just the cost of trees to cover but also the manpower needed to plant and maintain them.”
Bob Tompkins, an environmentalist who writes for the JEP’s nature pages, said that a “wide array” of species, including firs, oaks, chestnut and ash, had been devastated by the hurricane-strength winds.
“We’re going to rapidly need to put our heads together and start thinking about this in a serious way,” he said.
“There’s going to have to be a really major tree-planting programme again, as there was in 1987, and consideration is going to have to be made as to what is planted. We’re in a situation where we have a major climatic change, and we have to look at the species of trees to be planted to ensure that, with the coming changes in climate, they will be more suited to the environment.”
He said: “I’m sure that a council will be drawn up from interested parties to get some joined-up thinking. But the government should be putting something towards this. Some co-ordination is definitely going to be needed.
“There will also be funding attempts made through various businesses locally, such as members of the financial industry.”
Environment Minister Jonathan Renouf said there were “many options to consider with regards to supporting environmental recovery”.
He added: “We will, of course, consider those options and consult widely but, at this stage, it is important that our primary focus remains on immediate recovery and the clear-up process, with some roads still being attended to by our team.”
