Save our forests: victory!

Our forests have been saved – again! And together we played a huge part in that.

The government was trying to sneak through plans which would have paved the way for our forests to be sold off. But at the very last minute, they backed down. They u-turned and made changes which mean our forests will be protected – in law.

This is huge. For months, forest campaigners have been fighting for this. In the last 24 hours, over 150,000 of us signed a petition backing them. And it was carried into the House of Lords debate by Baroness Royall who’s been battling the plans.

As the debate started thousands of us took to twitter. Together, we made sure peers knew we were watching. The government were well aware that they were fighting a losing battle.

Baroness Royall wanted to thank 38 Degrees members.

“This is a big victory for everyone that has campaigned to protect our forests. The 38 Degrees petition was a vital part of that. I’m grateful to all who showed their support.”

A few years ago, when it looked like the government were going to sell our forests, 38 Degrees members fought long and hard to save them. And we won. This latest campaign proves how much power we have when we scramble together quickly to stand up for something we care about.

We’ll need to keep a close eye on the government. Tonight they said, on the floor of the House of Lords, that the forests will be protected. Of course we need to make sure it actually happens. For now though, it’s celebrations.