Climate Change and Air Quality Progress Report 2023 to 2024

Over the first three years of our Bucks Tree Mission to plant 543,000 trees within a decade we have planted 192,994, meeting our annual and cumulative tree planting targets for the first three planting seasons. To date four new woodlands have been established across the County:

• Billet Field – 3,450 trees in Iver (in ‘21/’22)
• Bury Farm - 14,300 trees in Amersham (in ‘22/’23)
• Grange Farm - 14,700 trees Hazlemere (in ‘22/’23)
• Wing Wood - 132,000 trees in Wing (in ‘22/’23 and ‘23/’24)

During the last 12 months, a total of 23,000 trees were planted in Wing Wood, including over 600 planted by willing volunteers from the local community. As shown in Figure 11 below:

In addition, following a successful bid to the Forestry Commission’s Local Authority Treescapes Fund resulting in the council securing over £264,000, a further five “Tiny Forests” were planted on Council owned land (adding 3,000 trees to our total). These were planted at sites in:

• Hamilton Academy, Wycombe
• Booker Park Rec. Ground, Wycombe
• Totteridge Park, Wycombe
• Cannock Rd., Aylesbury
• Walton Ct., Aylesbury

In June 2024, Cllr Broom, Cabinet Member for Climate Change & Environment and Cllr Jordan, Deputy Cabinet Member for Climate Change presented an update on our Tree Planting Programme to the Transport, Environment & Climate Change Select Committee. You can view the session or read the presentations here, please see agenda item 6. Cllr Bill Chapple OBE, Chair of the Committee said “The planting progress is good news. The initial target was ambitious and achievable, and it is being delivered.”

As our new woodlands are planted, we register them with the UK Land Carbon Registry, ensuring they are compliant with the Woodland Carbon Code on the official registration list. After initial establishment and within 3 years, the woodland is then required to be validated in order to progress on through further regular verifications and ultimately official carbon credits made available. As the 3 year deadline is approaching on our first woodland, at Billet Field Wood, we have submitted this for validation with SA Cert Ltd (part of the Soil Association organisation and one of 2 official bodies who can provide this validation service). Billet Field Wood has now been validated and a report is being prepared.

All of our sites planted on our own and either by contractors or in partnership with Forestry England are registered with the Woodland Carbon Code and will generate Woodland Carbon Units which can be used to offset emissions on our journey to net zero by 2050. The following Figure 12 shows the forecast carbon sequestration for our four woodlands (Billet Field, Bury Farm, Grange Farm, Wing Wood) through to 2124.

We are currently forecasting a total of 15,234 tCO2e to be sequestered through these sites over the next century. That would be enough to offset the Council’s net emissions from 23/24 3.4 times.

Over the first three years of the Council Land Tree Planting Programme we have planted 192,994 trees, or 35.5% of our 543,000 tree target to be planted by 2031.

The Woodland Creation Design Plan for Grange Farm includes work to restore a pond on site. In June 2024, a site visit was carried out with our woodland maintenance contractors to assess what would be required for restoration and agree a programme of works. This was reviewed alongside advice provided by the Buckinghamshire Council ecology team to maintain the health of the pond.

In the late summer/early Autumn, the surrounding scrub will be thinned and/or grubbed out to allow c.4hrs of light per day to fall on the pond, while still ensuring dappled shade over most of the pond. This maintenance is to be carried out selectively/irregularly, as per the ecologist’s direction, with individual bushes manipulated to sustain approximately the right light levels in the event of foliar regrowth. Brash will be used to fill in some gaps at ground level in the vegetation buffering the pond to deter dogs as well as provide habitat, and dense bushy plants retained to maintain a buffer at ground level. This is necessary because should dogs access the pond, toxins harmful to some of the organisms could damage the pond’s ecology. The picture in Figure 14 was taken on our recent site visit.

Although our surveys have shown no indications of the presence of Great Crested Newts, the area is a possible habitat for them. The pond will form a valuable piece of restored blue infrastructure - an active pond supports a huge number of animal, insect, bird and reptile species.