Omid Djalili fronts new climate campaign to save oak trees
Comedy legend Omid Djalili is this month trading jokes for oaks to celebrate the tree that powers nature in the UK.
The British-Iranian comedian, actor and writer has kicked off ‘Oaktober’ – a month-long campaign by Climate Basecamp and the University of Exeter’s Nature and Climate Impact team – with a brand-new comedy sketch featuring climate activist and rapper Louis VI.
The UK’s 170,000 oaks support the life of around 2,300 species – more than any other native tree – from birds to bats, beetles, butterflies, fungi, lichens and more.
However, land use changes, invasive pests, diseases and the intensifying impacts of climate change – especially hotter, drier summers – are putting UK oak trees in peril.
The ‘Oaktober’ campaign aims to raise awareness of the plight of the oak in the face of climate change and biodiversity loss, spreading the message that looking after an oak means looking after thousands of other species at the same time.
Omid Djalili said: “When I lived in London, I’d stroll through Richmond Park all the time, and now in Christchurch Park, Ipswich, always surrounded by these incredible old oak trees. Truth is I never really looked at them and took them for granted. Now I want to change that – give them the proper starring role they deserve. As the video shows, we neglect the oak at our peril!”
Louis VI said: “Even as a massive nature geek, growing up in London, it’s only recently I clocked just how important oak trees are to the ecosystem. There’s a huge, beautiful 450-year-old one mumma oak near me in Tottenham. 450 years man, she was around before climate change even existed! The fact they support 2,300 species… oaks are not a tree, they are a universe.”
The campaign is a collaboration between the Nature and Climate Impact team at the University of Exeter, and Climate Basecamp – a global collective of scientists and creatives pushing culture-forward climate action co-founded by US actor Rainn Wilson, comedy writer Chuck Tatham (Modern Family, How I Met Your Mother), advertising executive Steve Walls, and Professor Gail Whiteman.
“People love trees and nature but most of us have no idea of the critical role the oak tree plays in maintaining the world as we know it, and British culture in particular. By speaking science through comedy, we reach a whole new audience,” said Gail Whiteman, Hoffmann Impact Professor for Accelerating Action on Nature and Climate at the University of Exeter.
The campaign is asking people to join in by choosing a tree and starting a conversation by making some social media content and post with #Oaktober to raise awareness. Find out more.
