Tuesday 12-11-2019 - 08:37

 

 

The tree has entered my hands,

The sap has ascended my arms,

The tree has grown in my breast –

Downward,

The branches grow out of me, like arms.

 

– Ezra Pound

 

 

 

 

 

One of the best things about Edge Hill campus is that trees are all around us. But, despite being surrounded by the things, are you aware of the benefits that they can have?

 

In fact, trees have been found to improve air quality, reduce stress (pulse rates have actually been found to lower when participants are in green surroundings), alleviate depression, and encourage physical activity.

 

And even in spite of these many benefits, we should be careful not to reduce trees to what they can offer us in strictly practical terms.

 

As we looked at last week, trees are living, breathing, intelligent life forms. They can teach us about communication, about our past, and about the world around us.

 

Even now, scientists are discovering the “mind blowing” potential for trees alone to tackle climate change, to literally save us from the brink of the Anthropocene, the first geological age defined by humankind’s (predominantly negative) impacts on the environment.

 

For our #EdgeHillArboretum project, we wanted to look a little closer to home; to connect you with the trees that make up our beautiful campus green spaces. Whether you take a passing interest, or whether our project stirs a new passion for all that is green and leafy, we hope you enjoy our series over the next few weeks!

 

 

Edge Hill Arboretum | London Planes  

 

Where would you expect to find a tree? Sounds an obvious question, but when you think about it, trees are everywhere, from forests and copses, to standing lonely on acres of farmland.

 

In fact, in the case of the London Plane, you’d be more likely to find one in the middle of England’s capital city.

 

Famed for their durability and resistance to everything from weather to disease, these green giants have a few tricks up their sleeves when it comes to living in built up areas:

 

• A London Plane’s outer bark can peel and flake away revealing the harder, cream-coloured trunk underneath. This allows the tree to get rid of excess dust and soot that builds up in polluted areas, keeping the tree healthy throughout the year.
   
• While the trees on campus are relatively young, London Planes can grow to a massive 44 metres in height.
   
• London planes are easily identifiable from their large, 5-lobed leaves. Though, you should be careful not to mistake a London Plane for a Sycamore, whose leaves are also 5-lobed with the main difference being that a Sycamore’s leaves are serrated at the edges.

 

 

While the London Plane’s on campus are relatively young, and therefore haven’t reach their full 40 metre potential, if you travel down the road to Liverpool’s Sefton Park, you’ll be able to see a full avenue of mature London Plane’s surrounding the park, neighbouring Lark Lane.

 

As with most trees, you can roughly estimate the age of the trees by measuring the circumference of their trunks. Not to simplify, but the wider the trunk, the older the tree.

 

Because of their size, London Plane’s are often a popular destination for bird’s nests, and even beyond that, their impact on predominantly human spaces is a success story in an otherwise grander narrative categorised by decline and shrinking ecosystems.

 

 

 

Want to join in with our Edge Hill Arboretum? Download the inaturalist app (app store link) (Google Play link), and search for edgehillsu where we’ll be cataloguing all the trees included in this series and more! You can even post your own campus favourites!