CONNECTING HEAVEN AND EARTH – The tree of life [11Jul13]

To the Norse, it was the tree of life. Vikings called themselves, Aeslings, men of ash, believing that the first man was made from an ash tree. The universe, they believed, spins on an ash tree axis, Ygddrasil, the world tree, which has earth in its roots, and heaven in its canopy. Legend says that when the ash trees die, so will we. Little wonder therefore that when the ash dieback disease struck in Denmark, it caused deep fear about how much we have destabilised our life support systems on earth.

walkingwithpoets.wordpress.com/2013/07/11/ash-the-tree-of-life/

 

THE MYTH MAKER – The world-binding tree [04Jul13]

In Druid lore the ash is the world tree, which holds together this world (Abred), with the waters of the lower world (Annwn), the upper world (Gwynfyd) and infinity (Ceugant) beyond. The Celtic or Druidic magician Gwydion also bore an ash staff or wand.

In Norse mythology a great ash tree called Yggdrasil binds the world together. The name apparently means “Odin’s horse”, or even a gallows tree. There are many stories associated with it and it is full of various places and creatures. At the foot of the tree sit the three women known as Norns, who spin the destiny of men, like the Fates in Greek mythology.

While the basic “world tree” just links the above and below, Yggdrasil bound together not one world but nine, each a small pocket world. Perhaps like planets connected by wormholes.

http://squirrelbasket.wordpress.com/2013/07/04/ash-the-world-binding-tree/

 

20 YEAR OLD ASH ‘DECIMATED’ – Dieback ‘to change the look of the Exe Valley’

A seven-acre section of woodland near Bickleigh belonging to farmer John Greenslade has been decimated by the disease, and a major programme to uproot and destroy affected trees is under way.

Mr Greenslade began planting Byway Woods 20 years ago and has won awards for it.

http://www.thisisdevon.co.uk/Dieback-change-look-Exe-Valley/story-19494777-detail/story.html#axzz2YwlGWbro

 

KNOWLEDGE DIEBACK – Save the ash tree? Half of us can’t even recognise an oak [13Jul13]

a YouGov poll conducted for the Woodland Trust suggests.

Only 17 per cent recognised an ash leaf, despite the high profile of Chalara ash dieback, which experts have warned could be as devastating as Dutch elm disease. And 57 per cent could not identify an oak. Fewer than two-fifths (39 per cent) of young people could identify an oak and only one in 10 identified an ash. Older people did better: more than two-thirds (68 per cent) of over-55s identified an oak and almost a quarter (23 per cent) recognised an ash.

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/save-the-ash-tree-half-of-us-cant-even-recognise-an-oak-8704037.html

 

 

WORSE THAN #ASHDIEBACK! – Our ancient woodlands that could be lost to the bulldozer [10Mar13]

Ancient woodlands covering an area larger than 12,700 football pitches are threatened with destruction to make way for new building developments and the controversial high-speed rail link.

Analysis by the Woodland Trust has revealed that at least 350 woods, which have all been a feature of the landscape for more than 400 years, could be lost or permanently damaged under plans to build housing, roads, quarries and the £33 billion rail route.

The scale of the threat, which the group says is the greatest in the 15 years since ­it began recording ancient woodlands at risk,

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/greenpolitics/planning/9919768/Our-ancient-woodlands-that-could-be-lost-to-the-bulldozer.html

 

REPRISE – Ashes to Ashes [28Jan13]

this is why ash dieback breaks my heart: a sense that while they may be of little import to most of us on the surface, what we lose when they die runs deeper than we know. Many people – most, perhaps – couldn’t identify an ash; and I’ve heard some comment blithely that other trees will grow, it won’t matter, not in the long term. Do we need the old stories, long disproved, any more? And will a landscape without them, but richer in, say, sycamores, actually feel impoverished? They’re all just trees, after all.

It matters. Along with their unique physical presence in our landscape, along with the ecological benefits they bring as a major native species, there is a pool of myth and folklore and wisdom and learning at stake; a deep collective history that is our birthright and which, more than ever right now, can sustain us. Will the next generation even be able to call ash trees to mind – the shape their branches make in winter, the sticky black buds in spring, the sound their leaves make in a warm breeze, the feel of ash keys in the palm – as my parents could the elm?

http://www.nudgemenow.com/article/ashes-to-ashes/

 

BBC RADIO – Costing the Earth: Future Forests [13Dec12]

The crisis in Britain’s ash forests came as a shock to public and politicians. But is it a vision of the future for our woodlands? Stressed by climate change and vulnerable to pests and diseases crossing the English Channel the prospects seem grim.

In a special edition of Costing the Earth Tom Heap asks what our forests will look like in the future. Is there anything we can do to stem the flow of disease, can our native trees be made more resilient or should we consider planting a wider range of trees? Tom visits Lithuania where ash dieback disease first came to attention in Europe to find out how they’ve come to terms with new threats to their forests and meets the experts and enthusiasts with a fresh approach to protecting our forests.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01p9dcp

 

LAMENTATION – Plenty of reasons to mourn the loss of ash trees to dreaded dieback disease [26Nov12]

Their loss would be grim, not just for the lover of the landscape, who would miss their beauty and the way they help the observer to “read” the view and get his bearings on a country walk.

The farmers, for whom the ash is an important component of many stock-proof hedges, would certainly miss them.

They would be missed by the naturalist, too, who would regret the loss of the haven they provide to birds and insects.

Even the gamekeeper, who makes use of stands of ash in pheasant coverts, where they provide cover and roosting spots for the game, would mourn their passing,

http://www.thisisdevon.co.uk/Plenty-reasons-mourn-loss-ash-trees-dreaded/story-17425224-detail/story.html

 

NEIGHBORHOOD TREE WATCH – Ash dieback in Southwark [20Nov12]

There are over 3,000 ash trees in Southwark owned by the council, and many more on private land such as golf courses and gardens. We have called on the council to draw up contingency plans in case the ash dieback disease, Chalara Fraxinea, takes root in Southwark. You can read out press release for more information here.

This map shows the location of all council-owned ash trees in Southwark. Click on the colourful numbers to zoom in and explore the trees.

http://southwark.greenparty.org.uk/ash.html

 

HEART BREAK – Ashes to ashes [27Nov12]

And this is why ash dieback breaks my heart: a sense that while they may be of little import to most of us on the surface, what we lose when they die runs deeper than we know. Many people – most, perhaps – couldn’t identify an ash; and I’ve heard some comment blithely that surely other trees will just grow, it won’t matter, not in the long term.
It matters. Along with their unique physical presence in our landscape, along with the ecological benefits they bring as a major native species, there is a pool of myth and folklore and wisdom and learning and allusion at stake; a deep collective history which is our birthright and which, more than ever right now, can sustain us. Will the next generation even be able to call ash trees to mind – the shape their branches make in winter, the sticky black buds in spring, the sound their leaves make in a warm breeze, the feel of ash keys in the palm – as my parents could the elm?

http://mel-talesofthecity.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/ashes-to-ashes.html