Taking action grid

Time to act: fossil fuel divestment

  • Students call for fossil fuel divestment at St John’s College

Last week Oxford students occupied St John’s College in protest at its £8.1m fossil fuel investments. The students held up placards reading “We can’t eat money or drink oil”, “Fossil Fuels are History” and  “Wake up Fossil Fools”. As they endured the overnight cold in their tents, the college’s response included attempts to keep out sleeping bags and blankets, deactivating the students’ key fobs, and a proposal from the Bursar that he could “arrange for the gas central heating in college to be switched off with immediate effect”. Calling themselves “Direct Action for Divestment“, the campaign group was supported by the Oxford Climate Justice Campaign, XR Oxford and other climate activists.

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National Tree Week starts 23 November – help us plant more trees in North Oxford!

We are delighted to have secured funding for 500 trees from the International Tree Foundation. Come and help us plant them!

When? Saturday 30 November, from 10am until about 1pm.

Where? Sunnymead Rec Ground (next to Cutteslowe Community Centre, Wren Road).

Please share with your family and friends – all ages are welcome, no experience necessary, and children are encouraged to help!* Turn up any time from 10am and we will guide you to the exact site. Please bring sturdy shoes and gloves. We will provide cake, hot drinks, trees and equipment.

Oxford Direct Services’ Landscape and Countryside team will be there to oversee the planting and provide advice and help. We will plant a mix of native trees, including oak, hazel, silver birch, sweet cherry, European spindle, wayfaring tree, and whitebeam. You can find out more about most of these on the Woodland Trust’s A-Z of British native trees. Or download their free Tree ID app.

If you have a moment, please sign up or register your interest on our facebook page.

*Please ensure all children are accompanied by a responsible adult. LCON is unable to take responsibility for unaccompanied children.

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How to plant a tree

Did you know?

  • Just 13% of the UK’s total land area has tree cover (compared to an EU average of 35%).
  • Doubling UK woodland cover could help absorb 10% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions annually.
  • Not only do trees absorb carbon, they fight flooding, reduce pollution, nurture wildlife and make landscapes more resilient.
  • In a year, a single mature tree can absorb up to about 22kg CO2. That’s roughly equivalent to driving 10 miles in heavy traffic.
  • 100 mature trees can absorb roughly a third of an average annual UK carbon footprint (excluding stuff we buy and international flights).

Every tree counts, and we need more trees in cities like Oxford. If two thirds of all households in Oxford planted just one tree in their garden, we would have an additional 40,000 trees, which in time could grow into the equivalent of a tenth of Wytham Woods!

This short video from the RHS talks you through what you need to consider if you want to plant a tree.

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