I'm really proud to have been commissioned to write the Scottish poem for the launch of the Tree Charter. It is one of ten poems, one for each of the principles of the Charter, and it will be engraved on a totem pole that will be erected at Langs Craig, near Glasgow, on Saturday 25 November (10.30am-2.30pm).

My poem is called 'Resilience' and is a response to the principle about addressing threats to our trees. It's a wildly positive and optimistic poem. No surprises there, then!

The Tree Charter is being launched to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the original charter, which was written at about the same time as the Magna Carta (and is the reason why it is 'Magna', i.e. it was the big charter, alongside the smaller tree charter). But while everyone remembers Magna Carta, almost no-one remembers the tree charter, which stated the rights of people to have access to woods and share in the benefits of trees. So a big network of organisations and individuals, co-ordinated by the Woodland Trust, have written a new charter to reflect the fact that here in the 21st century we still need trees. If you haven't signed it, please do! You can do so here: https://sign.treecharter.uk/page/6023/petition/1