Eucalyptus plantations could become the answer to Britain's firewood shortage and environmental crisis – and one Cornish farmer has been at the forefront of what could be a tree crop revolution.
Hugh and Tina Davis took over the family farm on the edge of Wadebridge but decided to diversify from growing wheat, barley and maize by planting fast-growing eucalyptus trees.
The couple imported seeds from Australia, from where hardwood evergreen trees originate, and had them grown and propagated into saplings by a specialist company on Guernsey before planting out 25,000 specimens on 40 acres of their 200-acre farm at Treworder Lane.
"I was involved in forestry projects in Brazil," said Hugh. "They were planting 120,000 acres of eucalyptus trees for the paper industry.
"My 40 acres is just Mickey Mouse stuff by comparison but it got me thinking about doing something when I got back to the family farm in Cornwall."
Eucalyptus trees grow fast and all year round without much of a seasonal downtime like native deciduous trees.
There are about 800 varieties around the world and the trees are regarded as a special species for their adaptability to climate change, their capacity to store carbon, the high calorific value they have when used as firewood and great water-retention capability.
Although not native to Britain, Hugh does not see that as a hindrance when so many species of trees grown in the UK are imports, like the Sitka spruce, which comes from Canada, or ash.
"There is a shortage of commercial firewood grown in the UK," said Hugh. "The UK has only 8% commercial forestry cover, which is well behind the rest of Europe.
"We import wood from Latvia at great cost to the environment. Why not grow more tree crops like this instead, especially when demand is insatiable and we can’t keep up with it?"
Hugh planted his first eucalyptus trees in 2014 and has now started thinning out rows on his plantation to let those left behind grow bigger and taller.
While new saplings are planted, the wood harvested is kiln dried and sold to garden centres, hotels and, increasingly, chefs in London keen to cook on a wood fire.
"Eucalyptus trees grow about two metres in height every year and can be harvested after about five years with a final harvest when they are 16 years old when they can be up to 40 metres tall," said Hugh.
"You can get about 40 cubic metres per acre per annum in growth compared with 18 cubic metres for Sitka spruce.
"They absorb about 20 tonnes of carbon dioxide per acre compared with 4.5 tonnes for oak.
"As a crop, it produces a lot more timber in a shorter period of time than other species and makes more environmental sense."
Hugh and Tina are eucalyptus pioneers in the UK but their success has started to be noticed, with farmers from all over the UK coming down to Wadebridge to visit his set-up.
"I'm not worried about competition," said Hugh. "With trees it's not like you can chuck millions of pounds at it to catch up like you would in IT. It won't make your trees grow any faster so I'll always have that five-year head start."
Wildwood has been visited by the Ministry of Defence, land managers at Landhydrock and farmers from Lincolnshire, all trying to see how they can maximise the use of their land.
Hugh added: "Eucalyptus trees are the world’s most widely planted plantation species – and for good reasons.
"They grow very quickly compared to other trees – at a rate of up to 40 cubic metres per hectare per annum, compared to around 12 cubic metres for pine, or four cubic metres for ash and oak.
"Eucalyptus wood also has a high density, which translates to a high calorific value – meaning it burns hot and you will need less wood to generate the same energy.
"The more people do it, the better it is for the wood industry and the better it is for the environment and reducing the import of wood from abroad."
As well as firewood for commercial and private consumption, Hugh is also using all waste from the exploitation to feed a biomass boiler that produces heat.
Floristry businesses have also been inquiring about eucalyptus foliage for their creations, wreaths and wedding arrangements.
Hugh believes that as well as using the wood for heat it can also be used for garden furniture and flooring but also to offset carbon emissions for businesses.
"Ideally we can find a partner here in Cornwall who can come down and have a look at where their carbon emissions are being offset," he said.
"It's tangible. There are a lot of businesses who talk about doing something similar who want to be seen to be green but I think it will work better if done at local level."
Hugh believes Cornwall Council's 20,000-acre forest is a poorly thought out knee-jerk reaction to the climate change.
"What you need is a global approach," he added. "And more often than not, you need common sense. But there is no secret.
"The only way you could ever stop climate change would be to stop capitalism."