125 and proud

HILARY MCGRADY, director-general of the National Trust, has announced three initiatives to celebrate the institution’s 125th anniversary ( COUNTRY LIFE). ‘Climate crisis and catastrophic decline of species are the issues of the moment,’ she said in a press conference at the Barbican, London EC1. ‘We need to connect more people to Nature as a starting point.’ Heading the list, therefore, is the Trust’s ambition to reduce its net carbon emissions to zero by 2030. This target includes agricultural emissions, but not the carbon footprint of visitors (it’s no coincidence that 2020 is also the 125th anniversary of the first petrol car in Britain; ). The second initiative is to plant 20 million trees in the next 10 years. This will create 18,000 further hectares (44,479 acres) of mixed woodland to help fight climate change, expand habitats and improve public access to Nature.