Government Can't See The Wood For The Trees

Photo by josef.stuefer

Last night BBC Scotland started showing a new series called Making Scotland's Landscape. Beautifully captivating, the first episode was about trees and the loss (and regrowth) of Scotland's natural forests.

I don't know anyone who is a fan of the Sitka Spruce, those fast-growing, straight-line abominations which the Forestry Commission insists on planting in squares on the hillsides. (In fact the programme last night managed to find a former Forestry Commission warden who used to do a bit of "guerilla gardening" and rip up any Sitka which were planted on his patch!)

Having said that, I'd much rather see a square of Sitka Spruce than a new housing estate or an industrial estate. Those are the fears in England & Wales as the government gears up to announce that they'll be selling off 150,000 hectares of forest to the highest bidders.

As Caroline Lucas says:

"It will be an unforgiveable act of environmental vandalism"

The Scottish Government have already rejected privatising the Forestry Commission here, so hopefully they won't now think twice. And if they do, maybe someone could strap Alex Salmond into a chair and make him watch last night's programme?

If you missed Making Scotland's Landscape, or you live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, then you can see it on the BBC iPlayer here for the next week.