Following on from my article last month about the relationship between humans and nature- I thought I would do a second part on plants. I feel many humans take plants
and the tree’s around us for granted which makes little sense to me as they play such an important role in our world and without them, we would have no life! It can be so easy when you move into a new home to just rip out plants that are not in your ideal spot but just stop for a moment and think about the negative impact you are having on our world if you do it. So why am I making such a big deal out of plants? Plants provide us with food, fiber, shelter, medicine, and fuel. The basic food for all organisms is produced by green plants. In the process of food production, oxygen is released. This oxygen, which we obtain from the air we breathe, is essential to life. Plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen from their leaves, this equals life. So
putting that simply, without trees and plants- you wouldn’t be able to breathe, there would be no oxygen! Plants maintain the atmosphere and also help to protect the ozone layer that helps protect Earth's life from damaging UV radiation.
So what happens when we needlessly cut down trees, remove real grass and plants? In short, you are disrupting the natural environment! Not only are you doing the opposite from helping to slow global warming, but you are destroying a vital habitat for wildlife, both big and small and taking away a food and shelter source for many animals including hedgehogs, owls, bats and birds. Now you might be thinking, your garden is small and it’s not like your committing full scale deforesting, right? But what you
need to understand is that no matter how small your garden, it is still an ecosystem that is providing an important role in Mother Nature. Now, if everyone was to think like that, well then, imagine the sheer scale of gardens in our country that would be lacking in a healthy natural ecosystem? Sadly many gardens have become this way, worsening the huge problem facing many of our wild creatures like hedgehogs. They live in our gardens and need to be able to venture from one to another freely, where
they can seek food and shelter to live normally. As this has been disrupted and many domestic gardens have been fenced off, paved over and grass ripped up- this is now leading to the decline in many of our much loved garden dwellers.
Even as something as small as removing a patch of real grass, has an impact on the eco system- grass supports many insects and below in the soil, earth worms live and help to make the soil, nutrient rich.
The insects in grass also provide food for birds and hedgehogs. But by far the biggest sin is removing tree’s, which is especially damaging. When it rains, trees hold the water and do not allow it to pass over the soil, which avoids floods. Flooding is becoming increasingly common in England and so we need our trees more than ever! Planting trees is a huge help as it not only helps to increase the levels of oxygen in
our environment but helps to hold water and prevent flooding. So if that hasn’t convinced you that plants are life and that we need to protect them and care for them then I don’t know what will.
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