By Hermia Rhodes
A carbon week is taking place this month and volunteers are needed to record the ways that tiny forests are storing carbon.
Carbon week will run from September 17-25 and the recording will be done by Earthwatch Europe all over the UK.
There are two tiny forests in South London, one in Lewisham and the other in Thamesmead, each forest containing about 600 trees and being roughly the size of a tennis court.
Lewisham’s forest is located in Durham Hill, planted by residents and Earthwatch, and having 208sqm of planted area.
Thamesmead’s forest is in Southmere Park, having 200sqm of planted area.
Each volunteer during the week will take measurements of each tree, which will help Earthwatch understand how the trees benefit the environment, and should take about 10 minutes for each tree.
To get involved, volunteers can go to Earthwatch’s tiny forest website where they can access measuring instructions for trees and a map of tiny forests to find which tiny forest is closest to them.
Everyone is welcome, and Earthwatch hopes that volunteers will continue to take surveys after the week is complete.
Daniel Hayhow, tiny forest research lead, has said “We’re excited to be running our first ever Tiny Forest Carbon Week, encouraging everyone to get involved in citizen science at their nearest Tiny Forest.
“The data that you gather will be really important for helping us to understand how Tiny Forests store carbon which is vital for understanding how Tiny Forests can help in the climate crisis we are facing.
“We really hope you enjoy taking some time out to be a citizen scientist in your local Tiny Forest and keep coming back to take part in surveys in the future.”
On top of Carbon week, Earthwatch is also hosting Community Science Days in Southmere park at 2.30pm on September 21, where volunteers will help Earthwatch understand how trees are storing carbon, and partake in spotting and assessing the cooling abilities of trees.
Pictured top: Downham Woodland Walk, near Durham Hill (Picture: Ewan Munro)
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