Woods: We did it!

Photograph by 38 Degrees

What a relief. After worrying rumours and some last-minute campaigning, we’ve finally seen the government’s forest panel report. And it looks pretty good:

“The government says it accepts the recommendations and will halt plans to sell off state-owned forests.” BBC News.

In other words, we did it! They recommend keeping our woodlands in public hands.

Not long ago, we were all told that this was impossible. Experts, politicians, and journalists all said the forest sell-off was a done deal. We faced the bleak prospect of ‘For Sale’ signs up in woodlands across the country.

But that was before hundreds of thousands of us came together with one shared message: keep our woodlands safe. We signed petitions, we contacted our MPs, we chipped in whatever we could afford. Together, we changed events.

Millions of people will now be able to continue to enjoy our beautiful woodlands. Wildlife will continue to thrive in them. If you ever needed a reminder that it’s worth getting involved, surely this is it.

It proves that 38 Degrees fuelled people power can change things for the better – even when experts tell us it’s impossible. And just last week, we saw another example of the “impossible” happening after people power got involved. The Telegraph and Guardian both reported that Rupert Murdoch seems to be giving up on his efforts to dominate the UK’s media.

Of course, there is much more to do. We need to keep a close eye on the future of our woodlands. And we should never underestimate the determination of Murdoch!