Climate Change And Thirsty Trees

 One of the key reasons this project even exists, is the mitigation of climate change. Sequestering carbon in tree form is happening in the field day by day, in some small way, that should negate a bit of the impact my life has had on the planet. In 20 years time, the trees will collectively soak up many tons of carbon each year until they reach maturity. So the project should have a tiny, but real impact on climate change.

I have known since the start of the project, that climate change may also have a direct impact my project. And perhaps not a tiny one. Most tree planting experts recommend ensuring at least some of your trees will cope with a warmer and less predictable climate  - to ensure all of your trees are not wiped out by a single extreme weather event. I am planting a range of species for this reason. 

I hadn't expected the weather to cause so many problems so soon though. By March 2021, I was becoming increasingly concerned about the dryness of the soil in the field - especially as it was so early in the year and was happening even in cooler weather. Cracks were starting to appear in the clay soil and even the grass was drying. 

By April, I was very worried. I had no mechanism for watering the young trees and as their roots hadn't even had a growing season to become established, they were very vulnerable to being wiped out by a lack of rainfall before they had even had the opportunity to settle in. I had visions of explaining to everyone that had helped plant during the winter, that their efforts in the freezing cold were wasted. What to do....

When it got to mid-April with no rain forecast still, I had to make some quick decisions. 

I had always intended to organise some sort of water supply at some point in the future. I didn't know why I might need it - mixing cement perhaps, or cleaning tools, but I figured I would have reason. I had to do something in a hurry now though. I found a farmer locally with an IBC for sale - and a tractor to deliver it. I managed to get the thing delivered within 24hrs (not bad for £40) and level it up on a few bricks. How to fill it up without rain though? 

I made some phone calls. And begged. Quite a lot. 

Anyway, thanks to David (my neighbour at the field who, as it happens, is also an ex-fireman) I got a call to say West Yorkshire Fire Service had been and filled the IBC with water for free. They had to get permission from Yorkshire Water because the Fire Service contract said that their water can only be used for putting our fires, but Yorkshire Water after doing some paper work, finally agreed to the (max) £2 worth of water being diverted to the trees. David tells me the crew that arrived really wanted to get their hoses and water each tree in turn but their skipper felt they should probably be elsewhere. Thanks David for the photo of the team. 

So we had water, how to water 500 trees?

More begging. 

I gathered up as many water containers as  I could and set up the longest hose I could (better water pressure) and being the lucky chap that I am , some hard working friends showed up to wander around watering with me. 

It was hard graft and took some organising but we did it. We had watered almost all of the trees before the water ran out, only a few litres each, but hopefully enough to see them through until rain arrived. 

Thankfully rain did arrive a few weeks later and the summer then remained wet. We lost a few trees but that may not have been due to drought. I can't help thinking that we did save a lot more than we lost though. 

Just in case we ever needed to repeat the exercise and to avoid having to rely on the Fire Service, I moved the IBC slightly down the field and rigged up the least professional drainage system ever seen, to attempt to fill it up. 

Once installed, I left it to wait for the rain. 

Sometimes, simple is enough, it didn't take a lot of rain for the tank to fill up. The water is filthy as it runs off the road before reaching my irrigation system, but if the trees get thirsty (or I need to mix cement) it will do the job. I feel a little more prepared than I was, should we face the same problem.