Welsh forests

How green is my valley?

Slow progress on a bold plan to return Wales to forest

See article

Readers' comments



Toggle in reply to Ian Goldsmith

Ian, While everything that you have mentioned here would make a great development for the Welsh countryside, it is all a positive externality of the farmers afforestation.
for such a scheme to work we need to think how to reward farmers for improving their area; as if they could receive a commission on the increased tourism etc then more land would be planted with trees. As things currently stand there is little difference to the farmer for acres of rush or bracken compared to woodland as both are unproductive grazing - yet there is potentially a great benefit for others in the local area.


I were finishing reading this nice piece on Wales and I was like thank god they they didnt brought sheep up.Little did I know that writer wouldnt be able to control himself and insert two sheep occurrences right before wrapping it up.Grow up

Ian Goldsmith

Tourism is also a viable option with regards to tree planting. The creation of forest parks is a good idea because tourism can generate a lot of additional income. The money given as an incentive to re-forest areas can be in addition to the money generated from visitors. Wales has beautiful hills and that is something that parks go well with. The Cotswolds are not too far away and as can be seen, tourist meccas make a real difference. Making Wales as beautiful as the best will encourage more visits. When visitors arrive they need accommodation and like to have a place to drink and relax and put their feet up and so creating parks also generates income from related industries. As trees grow they can be protected from grazing by netting. If there are forest parks everywhere it will make Wales immensely attractive to visit. There are ways to generate further income. Also creating adventure playgrounds and creating an integrated experience can add a lot for families. A lot of visitors also like to see animals and having tame ones used to people can also add to the experience for visitors. Tourism will remain a growth area because everyone wants to have enjoyable holidays. Parks are perfect for that. Tree planting is great for that investment area. The more people who arrive for that the more there is coming into the region money-wise. Farmers ought to consider it and in co-operation with Government. Beautiful parks don't take too long to create if trees are planted every year.



Products and events


Take our weekly news quiz to stay on top of the headlines

