For mist of our existence humans lived outside or in caves or huts. It is only within the last few thousand years that we started to live in villages, then towns and finally cities. With each increase in population we have moved away from greenery and plant life. The movement into flats and apartments has imprisoned us in concrete even more.

Humans need shelter from the elements, either the cold of the winter, the heat of the summer and the changes in wind and rain. So buildings are needed, but perhaps we should include more greenery in these places. Not just lawns or neat hedges, but more green walls or indoor planting.

It’s good for our mental health, a connection to our historical past. If it could also be used to clean the air, or add a layer of cool air to our streets surely it is worth pursuing?

Instead I see stories in the press of trees being cut down, ancient ones, to make way for railways, or being blamed for damaging buildings, instead of reversing the engineering and not building next to ancient trees. Let’s have an intelligent discussion about this. Green in important to out health and our planet.