New forest stamps from Royal Mail show beauty of UK's woodlands
- Published
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial department of the government which manages forests owned by the public and also regulates public and private forests in England. It is responsible for protecting, improving and expanding forests and woodland in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland look after their own woodlands.
The Forestry Commission was founded on 1 September 1919. Its job was to reforest the UK for timber after World War One had devastated huge areas of land for the war effort. Philip Parker from the Royal Mail said about the new stamps: "On the Forestry Commission's centenary these striking new stamps celebrate the beauty and tranquillity of our public woodlands, and the inspiring range of environments which receive hundreds of millions of visits each year."
Forests featured on the new stamps are Glen Affric in Inverness-shire, Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, Glenariff Forest in County Antrim, Westonbirt in the National Arboretum in Gloucestershire, Coed y Brenin in Gwynedd, and Kielder Forest in Northumberland
Forests provide lots of environmental benefits. The trees and vegetation help to keep the air cleaner, they help with flood prevention, and they also provide habitats for numerous kinds of wildlife, from the birds in the air and in nests, to bugs and creepy crawlies on the forest floors.
Westonbirt in the National Arboretum, as shown on this stamp, is the Forestry Commission's main collection of trees in England. It was first made by the wealthy Holford family almost two centuries ago, with around 3,000 different species of tree, including the Japanese maples seen on this stamp.
This stamp shows Kielder Forest in Northumberland - the largest human-made forest in Britain at 250 sq m (647sq km). The stamps have gone on sale today (13 August) both online and also across 7,000 post offices throughout the UK.
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