Judi Dench leading fight to restore ancient forests

By Lauren Beavis

Dame Judi Dench is leading calls for England's ancient "ghost woods" to be revived.

The Oscar-winning actress has joined campaigners raising concerns that just nine percent of England’s forests are in a favorable condition.

They claim government targets to restore native woodland will be delivered 81 years late unless urgent action is taken.

The James Bond star has now backed a new campaign calling on Forestry England to fulfil its commitment to bring back the nation’s 'ghost woods' - ancient woodland sites felled and replaced by timber plantations in the 20th century.

An investigation by grassroots campaign group Wild Card has found that the agency is "so far behind" woodland restoration targets that it is set to meet them more than 80 years later than promised.

Dame Judi Dench said: “Forestry England is responsible for over 100,000 acres that were once ancient, life-filled woodland.

"These were places of deep memory and wild beauty.

"But instead of letting nature return, much of the land has been smothered with fast-growing timber plantations.

"These places are now often uniform, silent, and sterile."

The urgent call follows a new report from the Woodland Trust, which found that woodland biodiversity is continuing to decline and that only nine percent of England’s forests are in "a favorable condition".

Wild Card, a citizens' movement campaigning for the UK’s biggest landowners to urgently rewild their lands in response to the climate and nature emergency, state that as the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, "restoring ancient woodland - which supports more biodiversity than any other land-based habitat in the UK - has never been so critical".

Dame Judi explains how in the process of felling ancient woodlands, biodiversity has plummeted as a result, and she is calling on immediate action before they are "lost forever".

She added: "In the process, we’ve lost so much of the rich biodiversity that once thrived there.

“I’ve always felt there is profound wisdom in trees, an ancient wisdom that we need to retain and let speak again.

"That’s why this matters so much to me.

"Thankfully beneath these silent ghost woods, the heartbeat of life is still beating.

"Fragile threads of fungal networks and native seedbanks are still clinging on. But scientists are warning us that they won’t last much longer.

"If we don’t act soon, they’ll be lost forever.

"It’s time to let these forests live and breathe once more.”

In 2022, DEFRA set a new national target to restore or start the restoration of the majority of ancient woodlands covered with plantations by 2030 - following a missed initial target of 2020.

However, according to a detailed analysis published by Wild Card, at the current rate of progress, Forestry England will not be able to deliver on this target until 2111 - over 80 years late.

Together with Wild Card and people-powered campaign group 38 Degrees, Dame Judi Dench has launched a petition to demand that Forestry England make good on their commitment by accelerating the restoration of ancient woodland.

The campaigners acknowledge that whilst restoration is best done sensitively over many years, native species are "running out of time".

Rosie Smart-Knight, Campaigner at Wild Card, said: “The state of Britain’s nature is a source of national shame and nowhere is this more apparent than with the appalling treatment of our ancient woodlands.

"We recently saw the public outcry over the felling of just two trees, the iconic Hadrian’s Wall Sycamore and a 500-year-old oak next to a Toby Carvery.

"When you consider how many similarly wondrous and charismatic trees would have stood in our ancient woodlands, you get a sense of the devastating loss across the nation."

Wild Card claims that Forestry England must to publish a fully funded, detailed plan on how the restoration of ancient woodland will be achieved, which will allow their progress to be held "publicly accountable."

They say that if the target is reached, an area of native forest the size of the Isle of Wight (94,000 acres) could be created.

Rose added: “Despite being the guardians of our public forests, Forestry England receives shockingly little support from DEFRA for the restoration of our nation’s ghost woods.

"DEFRA must step up and financially support Forestry England to follow through on restoration targets or risk losing half of our ancient woodlands forever.”

Over the summer Wild Card will join forces with environmental groups including Youngwilders and author James Canton, to host a series of “ghost hunt” events across the country to raise awareness of the suppression of our ancient forests and call on local Forestry England officers to accelerate their restoration.

Dame Judi has been vocal about her love of trees for many years. Reflecting on her own woodland she once said: “I think of my trees as part of my extended family”.

Matthew McGregor, CEO at 38 Degrees, added: “In communities right across the country, people care deeply about their local green spaces and woodlands - that’s why every year hundreds of thousands of members of the public take action through 38 Degrees to demand a safer, greener, clean environment for all.

"38 Degrees is thrilled to collaborate with Dame Judi Dench and Wild Card on this important issue, with the launch of our huge new joint petition fighting for the restoration of ancient 'ghost woods'.”

You can sign the petition here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/bring-back-the-ghost-woods

When approached for comment, a Forestry England spokesperson explained: “Unfortunately, the campaign is misleading.

"We have met, and are still meeting, our commitments because we are restoring all of our PAWS and have been for many years.

"Using the skill and expertise of our foresters and ecologists, we have removed non-native trees from every one of our every PAWS and are still doing so.

“We agree, that restoring PAWS is important and it is a key part of our work to reverse the biodiversity crisis. We have a good track record of successful restoration projects across the country, and have an ambition to double our rate of PAWS restoration.

"At over 40,000 ha, it is arguably the largest nature restoration program in the country.

“It’s important to understand that experts agree PAWS restoration needs to be done sensitively and gradually.

"It can be difficult, needs care and takes time.

"Some woodlands can have trees replaced more quickly than others, some are more challenging. Deer and squirrels can stop trees from regenerating naturally.

"Planting native trees and protecting them can be expensive and time-consuming.

"And we must choose the right pace for the woodland: clear-felling large areas of PAWS can harm the ancient features we want to protect such as fungi-rich soils.”