The founder of the charity Another Way addresses stakeholders in Government, arboricultural trade, charities, developers with her message to fix the future of the planet
London, UK – 11th July 2019 – Today, 16-year old Amy Bray, founder of environment charity Another Way, addressed key stakeholders in the Tree Sector at The Tree Council’s Forum for Trees 2019 at The Lincoln Centre in London.
At the event Amy Bray, founder, Another Way, said: “I could say that I am going to be 27 years old when the climate breaks down. I could say that past generations have ruined my future. I could ask why our government and those with authority have not acted sooner to preserve our planet but all of that makes me sound powerless and I am not. We all have a responsibility to do everything we possibly can to live without negatively impacting our one and only home. We will reverse the ecological disaster our planet and humanity are facing, and we will find another way, a better way, to live our lives.”
The Tree Council’s Forum for Trees 2019 brought together over 60 national organisations such as DEFRA, Natural England, Friends of the Earth, Trees For Cities, the National Farmers Union, Chartered Institute of Foresters, Oxford Botanical Garden, Woodland Trust, Barcham Trees. The event explored questions and discussed ideas with clear actions on how to meet the government’s commitment to net zero carbon emissions for the UK by 2050 which includes the Climate Change Committee’s recommendation to plant three billion trees and 200,000 kms of hedgerows.
Opening the Forum for Trees 2019 event Sara Lom, Chief Executive, The Tree Council said: “Inspirational young people like Amy have laid down the challenge to all of us to tackle climate change. Planting, nurturing and celebrating trees in the UK and globally is at the heart of the solution – that’s why we’ve invited a broad spectrum of partners to come together to discuss how the UK can step up and take a lead to meet this challenge head-on.”
Sir William Worsley, England’s Tree Champion also spoke at the event: “Bearing in mind that we double tree cover in the 20th century, planting millions more trees across the UK now is both achievable and essential. It’s fantastic that stakeholders from so many sectors are coming together to discuss the challenges and the solutions, the results of which will be fed into the government’s National Tree Strategy.”
Amy’s charity, Another Way, was recently awarded a Tree Futures Grant from The Tree Council to plant over 1,700 trees in the Matterdale valley, Cumbria, during National Tree Week in November this year. As part of the charity’s launch event, Another Waynwright Day, on August 31st, Another Way is arranging for children to plant a tree for every event participant. Up to 1,700 trees will be planted in Matterdale during National Tree Week (Saturday 23rd November – Sunday 1st December) as part of supporting nature, relieving flood and drought problems and also helping to address the 2050 challenge set by the Climate Change Committee. A selection of the 20 schools and scout groups that Amy has given educational sessions and talks to in the last year will be invited to plant these trees and to learn more from specialists about the benefits they will bring.
Amy continued: “If a 16-year-old girl can influence the planting of 1,700 trees then imagine what an organisation of just 100 adults could do. That’s 170,000 already. If the entire British population each planted 45 trees, it would be mission accomplished. Of course, we need unity and a holistic plan. This Forum is where this plan starts to come together.”