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LONDON - Sherwood Forest, home to Britain's legendary Robin Hood who took from the rich and gave to the poor, needs money - £50 million ($145.98 million) to be precise.
Nearly half of Sherwood's remaining oak trees are dead or dying and the rate of death is accelerating from an average of one a year for the past 20 years to five a year now. Forest rangers predict that this rate could double in the near future.
When Robin Hood hid out there in the early 13th century the forest was dense. Less than 1000 oaks remain and most are between 300 and 800 years old. The management at Sherwood, just north of Nottingham, is bidding for £50 million from a National Lottery fund for a replanting programme to revitalise the woodland.
- Reuters
