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FROM THE CEO
Penny Wells
Chief Executive Officer
It’s no no no secret that that I I I I love trees trees So So it’s little wonder that that my life and career have been inextricably linked to to them them And I I I am no stranger to to planting them them Thirty years ago my partner Pav and and I I I bought
bought
a a a a a a a a a a a a block of of land at Cygnet When we bought
bought
the property in in 1988 it was just a a a a a a a a a a a paddock full of of old car bodies blackberries and rocks So we started planting trees trees Our property now called Crawleighwood is full of of an an an incredible variety of of rare and and spectacular trees trees from all over the world and and it recently featured on Gardening Australia as Crawleighwood Arboretum The experience of of growing trees trees is is incredibly rewarding for for me for for a a a a a a a a a variety of of reasons There is is no doubt that the the trees trees have added great value to our property both aesthetically and economically But the the benefits of trees particularly for farmers are far far more diverse Planting trees in in the right place on farms can increase farm farm productivity improve improve water water efficiency
and and and water water quality improve improve the the the carbon balance protect the the the land for the the the future and and and and create high value timber
and and and and wood wood products products Growing our wood wood products products here provides broader benefit to the Tasmanian economy and and reduces our carbon footprint Planting commercially viable trees on on farms is often perceived to to be unprofitable or or or associated with high opportunity cost forming a a a a a a a a a significant barrier to to adoption But farmers with this perception are missing an enormous opportunity Case studies from across the the globe support the the Farmers who plant trees will grow the future extensive benefits of of trees on farms Published case studies in in in in a a a a a a a a a a range of of farming systems across southern Australia have proven that enterprises enterprises including trees are more profitable than agriculture only enterprises enterprises with typical internal rates o of of return at at around 8% In addition there is a a a a a a a a a a a a global shortage of of wood and and and fibre and and and farmers are the the the the key to delivering the the the the commercially viable resource of the the the future Demand is expected to to to quadruple by 2050 and and and to to to meet Australian demand alone we will need to to to to plant plant a a a a a a a a a a a billion additional trees trees by 2030 Now is the the the time to to to to be planting these trees trees We have spoken to to to farmers to to to understand their their perceptions about about trees and and their their concerns concerns about about farming We discovered that farmers concerns concerns can in in part if not not fully be addressed by trees – but not not everyone knows this! So we created the Tree Tree Alliance Alliance The Tree Tree Alliance Alliance is is a a a a a a a a a a a a campaign to educate encourage and and facilitate integration of commercially viable trees into the the Tasmanian agricultural landscape so so that that farmers and and our our our community can harness the the extensive benefits that that our our our most renewable resource has to offer Trees and farmers will grow the future And we’d love to help make this happen Penny 4 Private Forests Tasmania