Whilst in Glasgow on a weekend break I noticed a thing called a City Tree. What is a City Tree? Here is an extract from the City Tree Installations website:
https://www.glasgowcitycentrestrategy.com/citytree-installations.htm
Created by Berlin-based Green City Solutions, the CityTrees contain a plant mixture of mosses and vascular plants which provide environmental benefits and introduce additional “greening” to the city centre by removing dust and nitrogen dioxide from the air.
The CityTrees include information panels which provide technical details about the installations and advice on air quality, health, and sustainable travel. The installations are largely self-maintaining, with solar panels providing power for irrigation and sensors which monitor the plants and the surrounding environment. Rainwater is also gathered and recycled through the irrigation system.
Here is a copy of each side and the amazing facts displayed.
The CityTree is a highly visual structure which, at 4 metres tall, nearly 3 metres wide and 2 metres deep, is said to have the environmental benefit of up to 275 urban trees.
The CityTree is made up of moss cultures which have a much larger leaf surface area than any other plant and can capture more pollutants. Each one costs about £20,000.
The huge surfaces of moss installed in each CityTree can remove dust and nitrogen dioxide from the air.
Manufacturer estimate that each CityTree can remove around 12.2kg of particulate matter and 240 metric tons of CO2 (greenhouse gas) annually.
Why are there so few of these City Trees, with this knowledge we should be planting these on every city street corner!
One of the benefits of making charcoal is that there is a lot of time spent leaning on a stick waiting for the next thing to need doing eg stoking the fire or raking out the ashes. This allows me to notice things around me like this butterfly sunning himself on my sack of fuel wood.
Having looked it up when I got home I now know that it is a Speckled Wood and is widespread over S. England but absent from much of Scotland.
Here is another chap who appears to have had a bit chunk taken out of his left wing.
And finally a section of brambles have been attacked by an insect of some sort that produces a frothing spit. rather like the version that forms Meadow Spit but I am not sure.
I am making good progress with moving the container to the top of the wood. More next time……………………
Tim Burr 