Friends of National Parks Tree Guard Campaign

Plastic tree guards have been used extensively in new plantings to protect young trees from wildlife. But the plastic is non-degradable and unsightly as well as being a product of the fossil fuel industry and contributing to global warming.

The Society has joined a call to end the use of plastic tree guards initiated by the Friends of the South Downs and Friends of the Dales.

The full policy statement reads:-

Society and government are increasingly calling for a reduction in plastics in the environment. Due to the Climate Crisis and declarations of a climate emergency, they are also calling for an acceleration of tree planting in order to sequester carbon and off-set carbon emissions.  However, we believe that an increase in tree planting should not equal an increase of plastic in the environment.

We believe that the current practice of using plastic tree guards in woodland creation is unsustainable. Plastic tree guards are a product of the fossil fuel industry, thereby a contributor to global heating. We support the collection and recycling of redundant tree guards. However the size of that task only serves to underline that we should not add to this waste. There must be more accountability for the removal of plastic tree guards once they have served their purpose.

Alternative (compostable) guards and methods of woodland creation are increasingly being used; they replace the polypropylene tubes that have a life span of centuries either in dumps, other plastic products or as micro plastics in the ocean and soil.

Major tree planting organisations such as the Woodland Trust have decided to cease using plastic when planting by the end of 2021. We support this sea change in our relationship to single use plastics, woodland creation and the natural world. We support the campaign to reduce single use plastic in our national parks and the landscape.