Tom Burns who is the Ranger/Woodsman of the Knepp Estate hosted a two-day course entitled Knepp ‘Ancients for Arbs’ course in May this year, run by Jon Hartill. The venue was exceptional and it was a great opportunity to explore the Knepp Estate during my time there too. […]
Trees over time
It was a great privilege to have an article relating to tree architecture and veteran trees published in the Winter 2023 Institute of Chartered Foresters Trees Magazine following my success and achievement of passing the Veteran Tree Consulting Examination in October 2023. […]
Ashton Court Veteran trees
A phenomenal day out with the Ancient Tree Forum for their National Field Meeting at Ashton Court Estate, in Bristol in April this year. It was a great opportunity to review previous outcomes of veteran tree management with Neville Fay as well as with a whole host of Veteran tree enthusiasts, Ecologists and Arboriculturists. Thank […]
Veteran Tree Specialist Consulting Level
I am pleased to announce that I passed the Veteran Tree Specialist Consulting Level examination in October 2023. To see the full list of those who are qualified both for the Consulting and Practicing levels visit the vetcert website to download the latest pdf lists. […]
Calke Abbey with Ted Green
It was a pleasure to visit Calke Abbey in Ticknall, Derby as part of the Arboricultural Association field trip linked to the 2022 Conference. It is an amazing National Trust property with stunning historic landscaped grounds and some superb veteran and ancient trees including the Old Man of Calke. Ted Green led a walk and […]
Ulmus New Horizon
Following on from the successful conference on the future of the Elm tree at Kew I decided to go and check on the progress of 15 Ulmus New Horizon that I was involved in planting in Tidworth in 2009 during my role as Tree Manager for Aspire Defence Services Limited. They were purchased from Hillier […]
The Future of the Elm Tree – Restoring Elm to the Landscape
What a fabulous in-person and online conference yesterday on the Future of the Elm tree hosted by the Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF) and supported by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and held at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The day started with an introduction from Sir Harry Studholme who set […]
Replacement species for Ash
If you are having to remove Ash trees due to Ash dieback, then it is important to consider the replacement tree species to aid with future restocking. Diversity of replacement tree species is key as Ash as a species provided a diverse habitat for a wide range of species. The aim is to ensure a […]
Engaging a tree work contractor
There are many terms used by companies offering tree works. The majority operating as ‘Tree Surgeons’, ‘Arborists’ or ‘Arboriculturists’. All should be experienced to carry out works to a specification or advise on individual cases, many will provide written tree work specifications or surveys if required. Before employing a tree work contractor, you should check […]
Wildlife in Tanzania
As an Arboriculturist and Environmentalist I have a passion for trees and a fascination of nature and have been privileged to spend time travelling in many countries during my lifetime to date and see some amazing sights. It has helped me to see first hand conflicts and solutions and experience so much I wanted to […]