David Bellamy and Askham Bryan College plant trees with help of children

Last month environmentalist David Bellamy visited Askham Bryan College, along with scores of young children from local primary schools, to plant the first of 1500 trees being established here as part of a new environmental initiative.

The college will be a nursery for the young trees, which will then be planted at schools and organisations around the region.

The initiative is organised by the conservation group Tree Appeal, which aims to enhance our environment by promoting the contribution that can be made by trees, in terms of biodiversity and sustainability, as well as the equally important aspect of educating our children on the enormous role trees have to play in the wellbeing of the planet.

During his visit David Bellamy addressed our students and raised some thought provoking and controversial ideas, which resulted in a debate about many of the issues which the college faces everyday.

Our college farm is in the entry level environmental stewardship scheme, and we have noticed a visible increase in both the amount of wildlife and the variety of species seen on our set-aside land where we have established strips to attract insects and wild birds.

Tree planting raises questions about the sustainability of farming systems – in terms of profit, wildlife and biofuel benefits.

Now, with the abolition of set-aside, we are faced with having to decide whether we continue with this use of the land for wildlife or whether we plant more wheat.

Given the amount of land we have in set-aside at Westfield Farm and the University of Leeds Farm at Hedley Hall, and current wheat prices, we are looking at a potential additional income of more than £4500.

We recently launched a new foundation degree course in sustainable environmental technology, to meet the needs of the expanding biofuel and non-food crops sector, which is eager for clean, natural and sustainable systems.

But we know from our own work growing coppice willow as an alternative to fossil fuels that the costs of transportation can offset many of the potential advantages, because of the bulk involved. Wheat for biofuel would be more viable in terms of transportation costs, but we already know that much of the reason for the current high price of wheat is the relative shortage of wheat for food production.

So the decision we face is whether to sacrifice our set-aside wildlife strips for wheat production and, in the longer term, whether wheat should be grown for food or biofuel production.

The biodiversity benefits are undeniable, not only for business sustainability but also in terms of the future of our planet and the quality of our environment. The local primary school children who helped David Bellamy with the planting of the first of the new trees at the college were fascinated as he explained how the trees would help to “stitch our world back together again.”

They talked to him about how trees can help clean the air and reduce temperatures and it was great to see young children understanding the importance of dealing with these issues and also gaining a real enthusiasm for the many positive initiatives that are taking place.