Trees for Cities launches 'Bark for the Bark' campaign
Did you know that your pet pooch could be potentially fatal to trees? To draw attention to the dangers of doggy damage on young saplings, Trees for Cities has just launched a new campaign to encourage owners to keep their pets' chewing habits in check.
'Bark for the Bark' was brought in to coincide with the new planting season, and calls for owners to be aware of the damage caused to trees by some dogs, particularly certain breeds such as Bull terriers – by chewing and gnawing tree bark, they create an irreversible injury to the tree, which will slowly die.
By ripping off tree bark, the dog is effectively starving the trees to death - water can still rise up through the middle of the tree, so the leaves may continue to look healthy through the summer - but the tree needs to store the sugar produced in the leaves down in the roots. The sugars travel down through a layer called the cambium, which is just under the bark. Once this is stripped (ring barked) then the trees reserves dwindle and it eventually dies - in a mature tree this can take several years. The bark will not grow back so the death sentence is certain.
So, that's you told. Now make sure your dog keeps its jaws away from the wildlife!
