Dig in and do your bit for the planet
WHETHER it’s a community veg patch, a local park or planting pots, gardens have brought joy during the pandemic.
For me planting wildflowers has been a source of solace and hope.
Now 30 million of us are gardening and that is very good news because nature needs our help too.
That is the message of this year’s Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival. It was awash with lovely plants when I visited to promote our Plant for our Planet campaign.
Ahead of our leadership of the
Cop26 summit I want everyone to take a small action of their own like filling flower beds, planting trees or restoring a community garden. You can share your efforts on social media with #PlantForOurPlanet.
I am delighted the Express will be helping more of you to get stuck in.
ENVIRONMENT Minister Rebecca Pow got her hands dirty as she promoted the Plant For Our Planet campaign yesterday.
She was at the Hampton Court Flower Show to plant geums – plants that can cope with the extremes of rain and drought expected from climate change.
She urged people to plant something, from a tree to a flower in a pot, to help wildlife, saying the gardens on display there were “an inspiration”.
Likewise, the Daily Express is calling on everyone, from Government to individuals, to make space for nature as part of our Green Britain
Needs You crusade.
At the same time
The Wildlife Trusts unveiled 12 major schemes which use nature to combat climate change by absorbing and storing carbon from the atmosphere.
The schemes, backed by cash from the People’s Postcode Lottery, include peatland restoration in several locations as well as saltmarsh restoration along the Essex coast.
Meanwhile, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight trust is restoring seagrass in The Solent, which should help seahorses.
The Wildlife Trusts chief executive Craig Bennett said: “Nature can be our biggest ally in limiting global temperature rises, but we have to give it a helping hand.”