Tim's Tales: Save the wood from National Museum of Flight plans

But National Museums Scotland has appealed and it has now gone to the Scottish Government Reporter for a final decision.

Before my recent walk in the wood, I had only admired the trees from the vantage point of the museum on our visits there. It’s not so easy to access, but the fact the trees are now under threat made me want to discover the place before it might be too late. As I write, the decision has yet to be made on the fate of the trees.

I’m a lover of history and totally understand the need to create a safe, weather-proof home for these historic planes, and to keep the museum as much an authentic visiting experience as possible. But there is a huge amount of space in the existing museum area, so the destruction of woodland seems unnecessary.

The museum argues that any additional modern structures near the runway will undermine the historic look of the airfield. The proposed new visitor centre will, they say, create much-needed new jobs. So cutting down the trees to move the planes and create a new home for them is, the museum authorities argue, the only realistic option for them. They say that refusal of their plans will put the new jobs at risk.

I totally understand the need for jobs at this time in particular, but the trouble is the approach taken by the museum is part of the reason the world is facing an ecological crisis with deforestation, the destruction of habitats and the extinction of wildlife. It is part of the mindset that sees nature as “in the way” of development.

Don’t be ridiculously dramatic, I hear some folks say; this is not the Amazon or a rainforest in Indonesia, it’s a small wood in East Lothian.

And that is precisely the point. It is a small but very rare example of a wood with mature trees in our county. It is a special place, with a diversity of trees and buzzing with wildlife. Walk under its canopy and you will discover that. I know it’s proposed to plant new trees in a different area as compensation, but this won’t connect to the wood and will take generations to grow. It will never replace what will be lost.

If we seriously want to do something about the ecological disaster we are making on our planet then we need to start in our own backyard. We can’t campaign against deforestation, habitat destruction and declare a climate emergency, and then say: “Well, the rules don’t apply to us when we want to destroy woodland to move some planes.”

Deforestation has a multitude of justifications all over the world: dam building, road construction, cattle ranching, extreme poverty of subsistence farmers, profit from timber, oil exploration and pipelines, mining: the list is long. The point is there will always be someone with an economic justification for environmental destruction.

While it may be on a much smaller scale, the proposal to destroy irreplaceable woodland in order to move some planes is a product of the same mindset that has brought us to a point of environmental and climate crisis.

This mindset is revealed in the Historic Environment Scotland response to the proposal. This is the public body charged with protecting Scotland’s built heritage. It has said: “We would not consider the trees of Sunnyside Strip to be directly related to the cultural significance of the scheduled monument – they are visible but do not relate to our understanding of the monument as a wartime airfield.”

In other words, woodland isn’t part of our heritage; mature trees, many of which were around before the war, aren’t historic or worthy of value in themselves. Really?

The wood is far more a historic part of the wartime airfield site than the massive car park. It seems to be a very selective viewpoint.

The truth is that the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries on the planet. A quarter of our already-decimated wild mammals are in danger of extinction. Our woodlands are small and dispersed, but all the more vital for the habitat they provide. East Lothian has huge developmental pressure, and this wood is a rare and vital part of nature’s increasingly precarious foothold in our county.

A changed mindset would be one which makes the protection of nature and the environment the initial default position. Developers should then take this priority as the starting point for proposals.

That hasn’t happened with this plan, and credit to the council for rejecting it.

There has been so much publicity and justified outrage recently over the destruction and littering of our land by people ‘wild’ camping and disrespecting nature. So many people, it seems, just don’t care, or seem unable to appreciate the gift of our natural environment and its importance.

There is a disconnect from nature at the heart of this. We will never solve the environmental and climate crisis we are in until we can foster love and appreciation of nature, of which we are a part. Our children’s future literally depends on this.

And institutions such as National Museums Scotland should be part of the solution, not the problem. Instead of viewing the woodland as irrelevant to the visitor experience, it could be used to enhance it. The wood is a magic place, with younger trees growing amidst towering old mature ones.

My kids were in wonder as they explored the wood, peering up at the tops of the trees, and an old oak caught their attention as its boughs seemed to dip as if to say hello. We spent a wonderful hour being immersed in nature.

Many of our children, in fact many adults, have limited opportunities to explore and enjoy such places. Imagine the extra possibility of a nature walk in the tall wood, where wildlife thrives and trees older than the airfield can tell their story. This wood is not an intrusion for the visitor but a potential wonderful addition. Get the ranger service to do talks and tours about this amazing place, a treasure hunt; use it to enhance people’s connection to nature – an extra experience.

Woodland is not just a habitat for wildlife, it’s a habitat for us humans too. Enjoying nature and learning about its importance should not be seen as a contradiction to enjoying historic planes.

While I’m aware that it’s only part of the wood under threat, the proposal to destroy a large section of it will result in a tragic loss of trees and the habitat they provide. But it’s not just the destruction in itself, it’s also the precedent and example it sets for future developments.

I really hope the Reporter will uphold the council’s decision, and the museum, which is a fantastic and well-loved historic place to visit, will consider a new location for the visitor centre. Then we will all be winners.