Arboriculturist Tree Consultant, Tree Surveys, Sheffield Yorkshire

Home
About
CV
Tree Surveys
Research
Blog
Twitter
Contact

Contact

Loading,

% complete

Posts

Posts

Profile
- Hello!
  
  May 15, 13
  I'm Adam Winson, principle consultant and owner of AWA Tree Consultants Ltd. We provide professional advice on managing trees in the built environment; specialising in expert tree surveys and reports.
  Based in South Yorkshire, we offer our private, commercial and public sector clients across the UK a range of tree consultant services, including:
  Planning applications for development
  Safety responsibilities and liabilities
  Mortgage approval
  Subsidence issues
  Works to protected trees
  
  Experienced, chartered & published
  We’ve more than 15 years’ relevant experience, Chartered Arboriculturist status, an MSc in Arboriculture (with distinction) and have had original research published by the Forestry Commission and the Institute of Chartered Foresters – so it’s no wonder our clients trust us to give them the best advice possible.
  As a client you can be confident you’ll receive a prompt, quality service and cost-effective solution to any tree problem.
  For more detail about qualifications, experience, research and work projects, please take a look at the pages on this site and then get in touch to discuss how we can help.
  I look forward to hearing from you…
  Please get in touch by using the contact page or email at adam@awatrees.com
  Phone the office on: 0114 2721124 or speak to Adam direct on: 07766 310880
CV

CV
- Adam Winson, Chartered Arboriculturist, MSc, BSc (Hons)
  
  Experience
  
  I am a Chartered Arboriculturist and a Registered Consultant with the Institute of Chartered Foresters. I have worked within the tree care profession for 16 years. My work ranges from individual expert tree inspections to managing trees on major multimillion pound housing and park developments and highway and infrastructure projects. My work often involves trees with Preservation Orders, insurance claims, subsidence claims and litigation. In 2010 I obtained an MSc in Arboriculture and Urban Forestry (with distinction), also gaining the top student award, and have had articles published in industry magazines and have original research published by the UK Forestry Commission.
  
  Membership of Professional Bodies
  
  Professional Member and Registered Consultant of the Institute of Chartered Foresters
  
  Associate of the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management
  
  Education and Qualifications
  
  MSc Arboriculture and Urban Forestry (Distinction) University of Central Lancashire -
  
  Myerscough College. 2006 -2009
  
  BSc (Hons) Environmental Conservation 2:1. Sheffield Hallam University. 2002 2005
  
  National Diploma in Arboriculture University of Lincoln/ Riseholme.1996-1998
  
  Previous Experience
  
  Consulting Arboriculturist at JCA Ltd. Halifax, Yorkshire 2005 to 2012
  
  Freelance Arborist. Sheffield, South Yorkshire 2002 - 2005
  
  Arborist for AAA Arbor /Sydney City Council Australia 2001- 2002
  
  Arborist for The Tree Surgeon, Brisbane, Australia 2000- 2001
  
  Groundsman/Climber at Lindsey Tree Services, Grimsby, Lincolnshire 1998 -2000
  
  Groundsman/Climber at Freelance Baumpflege, Frankfurt, Germany 1998
  
  Freelance Groundsman/Climber for various companies, Lincoln Area 1996-1998
  
  Training, Awards & Qualifications
  
  MSc Top Student Award University of Central Lancashire 2010
  
  Bats and Bat Surveys- a foundation course for ecological consultants. BCT 2007
  
  Arboriculture & Bats: A Guide for Practitioners BCT and AA 2007
  
  CPRE: Prize for best BSc dissertation on the theme of land management 2006
  
  Recent Projects
  My work as an Chartered Arboriculturist (tree consultant) covers a wide range of projects. My workload includes tree safety surveys, the management of trees on development sites - including tree reports for development, arboricultural implication assessments and arboricultural method statements (BS: 5837), as well as meetings, public liaison, planning and design advice, statutory control advice (including Tree Preservation Orders - TPO’s or Trees in Conservation Areas), tree expert for subsidence advice and surveys and tree expert for legal and personal injury cases.
  Just a few of the jobs I've undertaken recently include:
  Sheffield Research Centre, Arthur Willis Building:
  Tree survey, reporting and advice on trees within TPO’d woodland off Northumberland Road in central Sheffield within the grounds of University of Sheffield's new environmental research centre, including works program and supervision of contractors.
  Tinsley Link Road Project, Sheffield:
  Tree survey, report and advice, with regard to trees near and on a proposed major new link road development near Meadowhall, Sheffield.
  Springfield Centre, Grimsby:
  Management of trees on development sites including tree survey, reporting and advice on TPO’d trees with regard to two sites, a Medical Centre and a Local Community Centre, 300m from one another, located on the outskirts of Grimsby. Successfully incorporating several mature existing trees into the new development.
  Care Home Development, Darfield, Barnsley
  Tree survey and report for planning & development (BS5837 Tree Survey) at Havenfield Lodge Care Home, Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Providing specialist advice on building a new building next to existing trees.
  Park and Ride Development at Dore and Totley Rail Station, Sheffield:
  Tree survey, reporting and advice for the new Park and Ride at Dore and Totley rail station, Sheffield.Proposed development is to be built on the former Garden Centre site next to the station.
  A46 Newark to Widmerpool Improvement:
  Arboricultural consultant providing tree management advice on a 28km section of the A46 road undergoing major works including entirely new dual carriageway, most of it off-line, to replace the old road, going through several semi-ancient and TPO’d woodlands. This work included tree inspections and hazard evaluation and management of veteran trees.
  Former Five Arches PH, Herries Rd, Sheffield:
  Tree survey, reporting and advice for a new care home for elderly people on the site of a former Sheffield pub, Five Arches, Herries Rd, Sheffield.
  Olympia Park, Selby:
  Tree survey, reporting and advice for the proposed Olympia Park development; consisting of 1,000 new homes on brown-field land, near Selby, Yorkshire.
  Manchester’s Building schools for the Future:
  Providing tree surveys reports and advice on the creation of 8 new secondary school buildings and facilities within existing established tree and wooded areas.
  Fox Hill Development, Sheffield:
  Tree survey, reporting and advice for a new residential development in the Wadsley Bridge area of Sheffield.
  Youth Centres Developed in Doncaster:
  Tree Survey to BS5837, for the development and improvement of the Bentley and Tom Hill Youth Centres in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
  Primary School Redesign in Nottingham:
  A Tree Method Statement & Advice for the successful retention of several mature trees at a development at the Cantrell Primary School in Nottingham.
  Bawtry Road Development in Rotherham:
  Tree survey and advice to successfully build a car park next to a mature TPO’d Beech tree on Bawtry Road in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.
  British Waterways, South Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire:
  Tree safety survey covering over 300 miles of British Waterway’s land, in the South Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire area, this included providing tree work recommendations and ecology/bat surveys of selected areas.
  Chevin Housing Association, Yorkshire:
  Tree management for large charitable housing association in Yorkshire, including safety surveys and works organization.
  Worsbrough Hall Development, Barnsley:
  Survey, reporting and advice on trees within grounds of Grade: II Listed Building at Worsbrough, Barnsley, South Yorkshire. With regard to a new housing development and woodland management, including tree management of a protected double avenue of 60 mature lime trees, which lead towards the Hall and section of semi-natural woodland.
Tree Surveys

Tree Surveys
- Types of Tree Survey and Reports
  
  As Chartered Arboricultural Consultants we undertake all types of tree survey and reports. Clients most commonly require a tree survey for planning and development, as councils may require a BS 5837 tree survey to accompany planning applications. People also often require a tree survey for mortgage approval, or insurers may need a tree survey to assess the condition and safety of homeowners trees or for subsidence investigation. People also often need a tree survey to apply for works to trees protected by a Tree Preservation Order or in a Conservation Area.
  
  Tree Surveys for Planning & Development (BS 5837:2012 Tree Survey)
  
  If there are trees on or nearby a proposed development then the Local Authority will usually require a BS 5837:2012 tree survey (Trees in relation to design, demolition and construction - Recommendations), when submitting a planning application before they will consider a development proposal. As a Chartered Arboriculturist I can help clients to gain planning consent by providing professional BS:5837 reports and help minimise the impact on existing trees.
  
  Tree Surveys for Safety
  Under both the civil law and criminal law, an owner of land on which a tree stands has responsibilities for the health and safety of those on or near the land and has potential liabilities arising from the falling of a tree or branch. Tree owners have a legal duty of care and need to take a balanced and proportionate approach to tree safety. My qualifications, experience and Chartered Status reassure clients as to my suitability for undertaking tree safety surveys and being able to identify cost-effective ways of managing tree-related risks to an acceptable level.
  
  Tree Surveys for Mortgage & Insurers
  
  Mortgage lenders often ask for a tree survey as a condition of granting a mortgage and insurers may require a tree survey to assess if trees are implicated in subsidence damage. As a Chartered Arboriculturist tree consultant, my clients know that the conditions of the mortgage lenders or insurers will be fully met and they can rest easy that their new home will not face future problems from trees.
  
  Tree Survey for Tree Preservation Order Tree Works
  
  If trees are protected by virtue of a Tree Preservation Order or from a Conservation Area it is often helpful to survey the tree and get a professional tree report to give advice on any works. As a Chartered Arboriculturist tree consultant I can help people to get appropriate tree works undertaken on protected trees.
Research

Research
- Flourishing Trees, Flourishing Minds:
  New research has scientifically tested the idea that living near to trees may make people happier.
  
  The study used housing association tenants who were randomly assigned their flats. There was a broadly even mix of everything apart from half the tenants had lots of trees around the flats and half had few or no trees. This provided the advantages of a near-randomised trial, like those used in scientific tests.
  
  The results showed that tenants with high nearby tree cover had a higher average mental wellbeing than those with few or no trees; so living near to trees may improve mental wellbeing and make people happier.
  
  In recent time a lot of attention has been given to improving mental wellbeing or ‘happiness’, because even a small change in the average level of mental wellbeing across the population could have very high economic and social returns. Happier people are much more likely to be in employment, be educated, be healthy and have closer relationships with others.
  
  People have often thought that nearby trees in our towns and cities were good for our mental wellbeing or ‘happiness levels’ so this research attempted to scientifically test this idea.
  
  The study used 200 tenants renting properties from a Housing charity throughout the Yorkshire region. Most properties have a waiting list, so when a flat becomes available they are taken by those on the list, this results in a largely random assignment of tenants, who had no particular relationship to trees or nature, and provides the advantages of a near-randomised trial, like those used in scientific tests.
  
  All of the significant environmental and socio-economic variables were held broadly constant other than nearby tree cover; so there was an even mix of everything apart from half the tenants had lots of trees around the flats and half had few or no trees. The properties were visited by the researcher who measured tenant’s mental wellbeing using a nationally standardised measure.
  
  The results showed that, even with everything else broadly the same, tenants with high nearby tree cover had a higher average mental wellbeing than those with few or no trees, indicating that nearby trees may improve mental wellbeing. There was also a generally positive response to nearby trees and a desire from those with few or no trees for increased tree cover. This means that investing in residential trees could result in higher average levels of mental wellbeing, with the associated benefits this brings to the individual and wider community. So it’s important that urban trees are not just seen as something extra to make an area look nice, but may actually be vital in promoting happier people in our towns and cities.
Posts

Posts

Profile
- BS:5837 (2012) Trees in relation to design, demolition and construction – William Morris: Recommendations.
  
  May 20, 13
  
  The BS 5837: 2012 Trees in relation to design, demolition and construction – Recommendations; provides guidance in respect of trees on development sites. It aims to provide a balanced approach on deciding which trees are appropriate for retention, on the effect of trees on design considerations and on the means of protecting trees during development.
  
  The latest revision of the document is now one year old. The new document provides Local Planning Authorities more opportunities to refuse planning consent for new developments that may impact on trees and it increases the precautions that developers have to take during construction.
  
  One may be forgiven for thinking the issues surrounding trees on development sites are a modern concern; however, over 100 years before the BS5837 was conceived,the famed artist, poet and writer William Morris wrote about the same issues, his writings could almost have been a direct plea for the creation of the document. His ideas on trees and urban planning are very timely and seem more powerful and relevant now than they were in his own lifetime:
  
  “Again, I must ask what do you do with the trees on a site that is going to be built over? Do you try to save them, to adapt your houses at all to them? Do you understand what treasures they are in a town or a suburb? Or what a relief they will be to the hideous dog-holes which (forgive me!) you are probably going to build in their places? I ask this anxiously, and with grief in my soul, for in London and its suburbs we always begin by clearing a site till it is as bare as the pavement: I really think that almost anybody would have been shocked, if I could have shown him some of the trees that have been wantonly murdered in the suburb in which I live.”
  
  “Though it is conceivable that the loss of your neighbouring open space might in any case have been a loss to you, still the building of a new quarter of a town ought not to be an unmixed calamity to the neighbours: nor would it have been once: for first, the builder doesn't now murder the trees (at any rate not all of them) for the trifling sum of money their corpses will bring him, but because it will take him too much trouble to fit them into the planning of his houses: so to begin with you would have saved the more part of your trees; and I say your trees, advisedly, for they were at least as much your trees, who loved them and would have saved them, as they were the trees of the man who neglected and murdered them.”
  
  “But here again, see how helpless those are who care about art or nature amidst the hurry of the Century of Commerce. Pray, do not forget, that any one who cuts down a tree wantonly or carelessly, especially in a great town or its suburbs, need make no pretence of caring about art.”
  
  William Morris (1834-1896), "The Beauty of Life," Hopes and Fears for Art. Five Lectures Delivered in Birmingham, London, and Nottingham.
- A room with a view
  
  Mar 11, 13
  
  "A view? Oh, a view! How delightful a view is!" - E.M. Forster
  
  Aesthetic preferences suggest that an individual’s visual encounter with certain landscapes will elicit pleasurable neurophysiological activity. Or in other words, people like nice views. Research shows that people prefer natural scenes over urban ones; with park-like views generally scoring highest, leading to claims that such preferences are hard-wired.
  
  People are willing to pay for a nice view from their home. Most (but not all) studies suggest that proximity to trees and greenspace has a statistically significant effect on house prices. However, the most influential environmental attribute seems to be the presence of water. The effect of a view of water bodies has been demonstrated, in almost every instance, to have a considerable impact on house price.
  
  Two recent legal cases dramatically highlight the conflict that can occur, when views of water are blocked by trees. Both cases are similar in that they relate to a pine tree in a neighbouring garden that blocked the home-owner’s view of the local harbour, and ultimately both trees were (or will be) removed to allow for this improved waterside view. However, the role the local councils played in the removal of the trees couldn't be more different.
  
  Firstly, in Poole, UK, home-owner Neil Davey paid Thomas McGuire, to fell a pine tree in his neighbour's garden, as the tree was obstructing his views of the water. McGuire snuck into the garden of the neighbouring house, under the cover of darkness, and felled the tree. With the tree now gone, this gave Mr Davey uninterrupted views of the harbour which increased the value of his property by an estimated £50,000.
  
  A tree preservation order had been placed on the pine tree since 1990 and so the local council prosecuted. Mr Davey was found guilty of the destruction of a protected tree. He was given what is thought to be a record fine of £75,000 and told to pay the council £50,000, the estimated rise in value of his home with the view.
  A similar scenario existed in Clyde Hill, a suburb of Seattle, USA, whereby a pine tree was blocking the view of the harbour for a neighbouring resident. The case attracted some local media attention due to the fact that it involved a local baseball legend, John “Big Rude” Olerud. A tree survey appraisal found that removing the neighbouring pine tree would improve his view of the harbour and thus boost the value of his $4 million home by $225,000.
  
  Here the similarities end; far from a “tree” preservation order protecting the offending tree, the local council issued what could be described as a “view” preservation order. Specifically, Clyde Hill's “View Obstruction and Tree Removal” ordinance, adopted in 1991, states no resident may “grow or tolerate” any tree that “unreasonably obstructs the view or access to sunlight of a neighbour.” Interestingly the ruling does not only protect views from neighbouring trees planted after residents bought their properties. The Oleruds purchased theirs in 2006, with full awareness of the existence of the trees within their potential view. They chose to buy that property and then to use the view preservation ordinance to force their neighbours to cut their trees.
  
  Personally, I like sweeping panoramic views and I also like views of trees. I’d go so far as to suggest trees don’t block the view, they are the view. However, having sharply restricted depth of view (and loss of daylight) to a property wont be liked my many, irrespective of whether it is dense foliage or an adjacent brick wall. Similarly, the presence of a perceived threat within a view will itself produce dislike. So a large tree overhanging a property, swaying in the wind, can create a real (often unjustified) fear from those living under it, regardless of the view beyond.
  
  Clyde Hills viewpreservation order, seemingly allowing free reign to chop and lop any neighbouring tree, seems grossly unbalanced against sustainable tree cover and is an extreme application of council powers. Poole council’s prosecution under tree preservation order law, seems wholly justified in this instance. However, in similar future scenarios, when poorly sited and unremarkable trees are causing a remarkable negative impact on the quality of life of residents, instances of individuals taking the law into their own hands, or else increased calls for laws similar to those in Clyde Hill, may become more common.
  
  In both the above cases, beauty is very much in the eye of the local council, so it is important that as local authorities, they remain balanced when different aesthetic preferences for a “nice view” come into conflict.
- Psithurism: the sound of wind whispering through the trees
  
  Jan 07, 13
  
  We can't see wind, only the things it moves. Likewise, we can't hear wind unless it's flowing past something that makes it vibrate; this causes it to adopt various sonic guises depending on what it interacts with. Trees provide some of the most common and admired ways for wind to make itself heard. This sound has been termed psithurism (sith-err-iz-um).
  
  The naturalist author and founding member of the RSPB, W.H. Hudson, suggests in Birds and Man (1901), that psithurism is salubrious. He describes the sound of wind in the trees as “very restorative” - a mysterious voice which the forest speaks to us, and that to lie or sit thus for an hour at a time listening to the wind is an experience worth going far to seek.
  
  The sonic qualities of psithurism seem to smudge the border between music and noise. The American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) described the sound in “A Day of Sunshine”:
  “I hear the wind among the trees
  Playing celestial symphonies;
  I see the branches downward bent,
  Like keys of some great instrument.
  
  The type of leaf, the season and the species of tree all work together to create a unique sound, or as John Muir put it: “Winds are advertisements of what they touch”. He described how, in the wind, each tree expressed itself in its own way, “singing its own song, and making its own peculiar gestures”. Of all the tree species the sounds of the pine seems to have captured the imagination of naturalists more than any other. Muir suggests pines are the best interpreters of the winds. “They are mighty waving golden-rods, ever in tune, singing and writing wind music all their long century lives." (A Wind Storm in the Forests of the Yuba, 1878).
  
  Thoreau also had an affinity for the wind through the pines: “The white pines in the horizon, either single trees or whole wood, are particularly interesting. The wind is making passes over them, magnetizing and electrifying them…This is the brightening and awakening of the pines…As if in this wind-storm of March a certain electricity was passing from heaven to earth through the pines and calling them to life”. (Journal of Henry David Thoreau 1855-1861).
  
  Eastern thinkers also noted the distinctiveness of pines. Shunryu Suzuki (1904-1971), a Zen monk and teacher, describes with typical equity, psithurism and the mind:
  “When we hear the sound of the pine trees on a windy day, perhaps the wind is just blowing, and the pine tree is just standing in the wind. That is all that they are doing. But the people who listen to the wind in the tree will write a poem, or will feel something unusual. That is, I think, the way everything is.”
  
  Finally, perhaps the earliest and loveliest writing on this subject is by Liu Chi (1311-1375), an important scholar under the Yuan and the Ming Dynasties, who wrote that:
  
  “Among plants and trees, those with large leaves have a muffled sound; those with dry leaves have a sorrowful sound; those with frail leaves have a weak and unmelodic sound. For this reason, nothing is better suited to wind than the pine.”
  
  “Now, the pine as a species has a stiff trunk and curled branches, its leaves are thin, and its twigs are long. It is gnarled yet noble, unconstrained and overspreading, entangled and intricate. So when wind passes through it, it is neither obstructed nor agitated. Wind flows through smoothly with a natural sound. Listening to it can relieve anxiety and humiliation, wash away confusion and impurity, expand the spirit and lighten the heart, make one feel peaceful and contemplative, cause one to wander free and easy through the skies and travel along with the force of Creation. It is well suited to gentlemen who seek pleasure in mountains and forests, delighting in them and unable to abandon them....Gazing at the pines soothed my eyes; listening to the pines soothed my ears. I escaped from my duties and with this leisure time wandered free and easy here and there without any worldly concerns to perplex the mind. I can feel happy here and pass the entire day this way.
  
  Liu Chi (1311-1375), "The Wind-in-the-Pines Pavilion," in Richard E. Strassberg, Inscribed Landscapes: Travel Writing from Imperial China(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994), p. 281:
  
  Image: Ivan Shishkin (1832-1898) “The tops of the pines”.
- TOWN TREES
  
  Oct 11, 12
  
  The postings on the blog page have been few and far between of late, largely due to me being kept busy with a large tree survey of all the roadside trees in Sheffield. In light of this I thought I’d share some of this lovely document; produced circa 1947 by the Council for the preservation of rural England, Sheffield and Peak District Branch (now C.P.R.E South Yorkshire).
  
  What struck me most about the 65 year old pamphlet is how contemporary many of the issues highlighted are; if you were to give it to the graphic designers to work on, it could be the latest Trees and Design Action Group (TDAG) document!
  
  Preface
  FOR many years we have tried to persuade those who are responsible in our district for the care of street trees to adopt methods of pruning which do not damage the trees or rob them of all their shapeliness. Our pleas have not been successful, and sometimes our defence of beauty has been countered by assertions that trees are not damaged or misshapen by drastic lopping, and that in any case necessity demands such treatment. We hope this pamphlet will arouse the reader's interest in the management of trees and perhaps win his support for our view that in many districts the beauty of street trees is being progressively diminished, and that it is high time that improved methods of tree management were considered.
  
  WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?
  There is no apparent reason for the frightful treatment of this oak.
  The tree stands on a verge twenty feet wide, and well away and to the east of the nearest houses. Unfortunately this is not an unusual or isolated example.
  
  This indifference to Beauty will
  call down a revenge on us one day. WM- Morris.
  
  TREES NEEDLESSLY MISSHAPEN BY FAILURE
  TO OBSERVE ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES
  I. There was no need to lop these trees at all; they stand remote from buildings at the road side edge of a small park.
  II. Drastic and uniform pruning without any regard for the species of tree or the purpose of the group. A better way would have been to have thinned the group by taking out one or two trees and leaving the remainder untouched with more space to grow.
  
  Introduction
  In many streets of our industrial towns, trees have been planted where there is too little space for their full growth, so that some of them now prevent light and air reaching dwellings, or get in the way of vehicles upon the road, or interfere with garden walls and underground services.
  It is impossible to justify either these ill-effects or the application of remedies which, while removing the obstruction, damage the structure and appearance of trees.
  The results of such remedies, some of which are illustrated here, show that their treatment is often fundamentally wrong. The uniform application of the most drastic treatment to all trees, irrespective of their species, or of the degree of obstruction they cause, and the serious faults so often committed in pruning leave no room for doubt that the management of trees planted in streets has not received sufficiently serious consideration.
  
  THE PRELIMINARIES OF TREE MANAGEMENT
  SURVEY
  A survey should be carried out in which the position, species and condition of all street trees should be observed and recorded. judgment of the obstructive effect of trees has to be left to the common sense and experience of the expert employed. He should be guided by the following considerations: -
  
  OBSTRUCTION OF LIGHT AND AIR
  I. The wishes of the householders.
  2. The aspect of the dwelling.
  3. The position and topography of the site.
  4, The exclusion of light and air due to other causes.
  5. The force and direction of the prevailing wind.
  
  INTERFERENCE WITH HIGHWAYS, BOUNDARY
  WALLS, UNDERGROUND SERVICES
  1. The extent of the damage caused by interference.
  2. The possibility of diverting footpaths and boundary walls to save the tree.
  3. The effective headroom clearance on footpaths and carriageways, which should be no less than seven feet on the former, and sixteen feet on the latter.
  
  NUISANCE OF FALLEN LEAVES
  The extent of the danger caused on main traffic routes.
  
  APPRECIATION OF THE SURVEY
  SCENIC PURPOSE
  Before any remedies are taken to overcome the troubles diagnosed and recorded in the survey, the special part which is being played scenically by the trees should be considered.
  
  Trees serve a number of distinct scenic purposes, among which the following are common in relation to our streets: -
  I. To provide a background or visible boundary to an estate or neighbourhood.
  2. To act as a foil to architectural groups and features.
  3. To ornament an unoccupied site.
  4. To form an avenue.
  
  Treatment of a tree without regard to its scenic purpose may defeat that purpose utterly.
  
  PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
  It is relatively simple to decide whether a particular treatment will break the continuity of a background of trees, or leave gaps or otherwise cause a lack of balance in an avenue; but considerations of this kind, though essential, are negative. Once it is required to replace trees, principles are needed to guide the choice correctly so that the trees may fit their surroundings and play their part as effectively as possible. Such principles are in the province of the artist or architect, but can readily be appreciated by the layman.
  
  OBSTRUCTIVE AND UNHEALTHY TREES
  REMEDIES
  Pruning, repairing, felling and replanting are the remedies available for obstructive or unhealthy trees. If a heavy pruning or felling programme is unavoidable, the result will be harsh and unacceptable to the public if the whole operation is carried out at once.
  Modern practice is to make the operation a progressive one, as for instance in "selection" pruning where trees are gone over and branches removed every three years.
  
  PRUNING
  The late Mr W. J. Bean, the great authority on trees and shrubs, who was for many years Curator of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, said that of all the arts that go to make up horticulture pruning is the one most frequently misapplied.
  
  It is often forgotten: a) That the true aim of pruning a large growing tree is to make it as perfect a specimen as possible by improving its shape, or its yield, or its health, and b) that the lopping of boughs to remove some real or imagined obstruction has no justification arboriculturally. If an obstruction is intolerable and lopping must be resorted to, it should be fully understood that the tree will not be improved by the operation and that the greatest care is needed throughout the work to keep the damage within reasonable bounds.
  
  (Hat-tip to Dr Mark Johnston for the pamphlet).
- Green Places Magazine Publish 'Flourishing Trees, Flourishing Minds'
  
  Jan 16, 13
  
  Green Space is the UK’s parks charity; they work to improve parks and green spaces by raising awareness, involving communities and creating skilled professionals.
  
  Green Space's magazine, Green Places, brings together the latest thinking, best practice and debate for the green space sector. The magazine is dedicated to providing up-to-date news and features for professionals charged with planning, designing and maintaining public green spaces.
  
  Green Places recently published a more accessible version of my urban forestry research paper, 'Flourishing Trees, Flourishing Minds', originally published as part of the Forestry Commission Research Report 'Trees People and the Built Environment'.
  
  GP85 June 2012 p41_45 Trees Wellbeing Adam Winson
- Dead Trees
  
  Jan 16, 13
  
  Aesthetically a large dead tree is a magnificent sight. Dead trees also provide vital habitat and the benefits of deadwood for biodiversity are massive.
  
  If a tree dies it can't be legally protected by a Tree Preservation Order. The Woodland Trust had recently been campaigning to have the exemption for dead trees to be removed from Tree Preservation Order Regulations. They were dismayed when the new Tree Preservation Order Regulations (TPO Regulations 2012), which came into force in April 2012, still retained the exception for dead trees.
  
  For a tree to be protected by a Tree Preservation Order it needs to have high ‘amenity value’ which in most cases means ‘visual amenity’, so keeping the exception for dead trees suggests that they have no visual amenity value.
  
  The Woodland Trust note, ‘the time over which a tree progresses from dying to dead may be long or sudden. It can result in the reduction of some aspects of [visual] amenity but potentially increasing wildlife values, however none of these values disappear on death’. Which is nicely put, but for more poetic praise of dead and dying trees we can rely on the great naturalist writer Edwin Way Teale…
  
  THE DEATH OF A TREE
  
  FOR a great tree death comes as a gradual transformation.
  Its vitality ebbs slowly. Even when life has abandoned it entirely it remains a majestic thing. On some hilltop a dead tree may dominate the landscape for miles around. Alone among living things it retains its character and dignity after death. Plants wither; animals disintegrate. But a dead tree may be as arresting, as filled with personality, in death as it is in life. Even in its final moments, when the massive trunk lies prone and it has moldered into a ridge covered with mosses and fungi, it arrives at a fitting and a noble end. It enriches and refreshes the earth. And later, as part of other green and growing things, it rises again.
  
  Edwin Way Teale, (1899-1980)
- awatrees.com
  
  Jul 20, 12
  
  These are a few images from some recent promotional photos I needed (I work as an arboricultural consultant to keep the wolf from the door). The photographer, a family friend, had her work cut out - They were taken on a drizzly afternoon in Grimsby, and I always find having my photo taken uncomfortable and embarrassing. So with these odds against her, she did a sterling job!
- The People's Forest of Sheffield
  
  Jul 07, 12
  
  Sheffield is England’s fourth largest city, with a population of over half a million. Like many northern former industrial cities it has a disproportionate share of the most deprived areas in the country. The 1980s were turbulent times for Sheffield, with massive job losses and large scale industrial action. During this time Sheffield became known satirically as the ‘People’s Republic of South Yorkshire’ in reference to the left-wing administration of Sheffield City Council, and depending upon your political leanings at the time, the term was used derisively or else with pride.
  
  Sheffield today is far from egalitarian; inequalities in deprivation persist more than in any other comparable city, as highlighted in the report ‘A Tale of Two Cities’, which provides analysis of the disparities that blight the city on measures like wealth, health and aspiration. The report contrasts the least deprived neighbourhoods in Sheffield, Ecclesall and Fulwood, which are within the least 1% deprived locations in England, with Manor Castle and Darnall, which have some of the most deprived areas, not only in the city but within all of England.
  
  Research shows a tight relationship between per capita income and urban forest cover. In ‘Income Inequality Revealed through Urban Foliage’ it was highlighted that that the trees-to-affluence ratio correlates to economic conditions all over the world.Sheffield lays claim to being one of the ‘greenest’ cities in Europe, so with this in mind I undertook a similar Goggle earth (far from scientific) experiment, comparing the tree canopy cover in the most and least deprived areas of the city.
  
  Ecclesall (above) and Fulwood (below): the least deprived neighbourhoods in Sheffield and within the 10% least deprived locations in England
  
  Manor Castle (above) and Darnall (below) two of the most deprived areas in the city, both with LSOAs within the 1% most deprived in England.
  
  Although there are differences in canopy cover, it's pleasing to see that in relation to trees Sheffieldis relatively blessed; even with the massive gulf in deprivation between the differing areas the tree cover isn't massively different. Insofar as urban trees, Sheffield’s egalitarian claims may still stand, and a title of the ‘People’s Forest’ may be deserved.
  
  Good work comrades?
  
  From the 1930s to 1970s the Garden City Movement's ideas were being adoptedby Sheffield council, so many new social housing estates built in Sheffield were laid out to reflect these ideals, making provision for green-space. Over the last decade or so work by the South Yorkshire Forest and the community foresters of Sheffield council have greatly improved the tree cover in (more deprived) areas in the north and east. However, present day tree cover is not, for the most part, the result of conscious planning of tree loving council members; rather it's primarily a response to the areas unique topography.
  
  In the 12th century the area that is now Sheffield was occupied by a number of small hamlets and villages, interspersed amongst dense woodland. As Sheffield expanded from this group of dispersed villages into a major industrial city, it was the topography and the river system that had the main in role limiting, directing and shaping the growth – a web of linked woodland corridors along the river systems leads into the surrounding moorland to the west and north of the city, and to agricultural land to the south and east. Many fragments of this form what are Sheffield's 80 ancient woodlands and, uniquely, these are accessible ancient woods particularly close to the city’s most deprived areas. The steep, tree covered, river corridors were unable to be easily developed and because of the city’s wide ranging height variations they form the visually dominant elements of the city landscape. Because of these topographical traits, even within the city's most urban areas, there is the perception of being surrounded by tree covered hills.
  
  Power to the people?
  
  We know that spending time among trees can improve our health and wellbeing as well as the liveability of our towns and cities and social cohesion. Also the prevalence of trees has been shown to greatly influence people’s preferences in choosing one city over another for investment or as a place to live. We also know, from experience, that cutting investment in trees and green spaces leads to unsafe, neglected places that people choose to avoid.
  
  Sheffield’s urban forest shouldn’t be taken for granted; management and planning must ensure this legacy is secure by integrating tree and woodland strategies to ensure more planting, care and management and incentivising more access, awareness and involvement from residents. The individuals that make Sheffield’s ‘people’s republic’ want to play an active role in preserving the future of their valued trees and woods – but they can’t do it alone. Government, councils, housing associations and businesses have a crucial part to play; each at the forge must do their duty.
- Lessons In Tree Care From Ancient Egypt.
  
  Jun 29, 12
  
  Hatshepsut is generally regarded by historians as one of the most successful pharaohs of Egypt. She lived in the 15th century B.C. and had a long and successful reign, marked by building projects and trading expeditions unrivalled by any other culture for a thousand years.
  
  As well as being the first great woman in recorded history, inaugurating a long peaceful era and bringing great wealth to Egypt, she can also fairly lay claim to being the world’s first arboriculturist.
  
  Historians agree that the highlight of her reign was an expedition to the fabled land of Punt, (considered by some scholars likely to have been what is today Somalia). For it's time the expedition was enormous, consisting of five ships, each measuring seventy feet long and with several sails. Each ship accommodated 210 men, including sailors and thirty rowers; only returning after a two year long voyage along the African coast.
  
  Yet the driving force for this expedition was not trade, slaves or war, but to acquire trees.
  
  Specifically the mission was to acquire frankincense and myrrh trees. Two of the rarest perfumes of the ancient world was made from the resin of the tree and small bush, and frankincense and myrrh played an important part in Egyptian religious ceremonies and in the role of embalming the ‘mummies’.
  
  When her fleet of five ships returned after the two year voyage they brought back five shiploads of various goods, yet the most prized of all their cargo was 31 live frankincense trees. The trees had been carefully excavated and their roots bound in balls of their indigenous soil for the duration of the long voyage. Upon arrival Hatshepsut had the trees planted in the courts of her Deir el Bahari mortuary temple. When these exotic trees were planted it would become the first known transplanting and establishment of foreign trees.
  
  This expedition was the highlight of her reign and it was the sort of accomplishment she wanted memorialising on her temple walls. So she had the expedition commemorated in relief at Deir el-Bahri.
  
  By using root protection and handling the trees by the root ball, using straps rather than the branches or the trunk, the picture shows that they applied current best practice in tree establishment.
  
  Excavations at the temple began in the 1890s led by the French, which discovered a wealth of treasures. Also discovered at Djeser-Djeseru were the intact roots of frankincense trees. This tree root in front of the temple is claimed to have been the same tree brought from Punt by Hatshepsut's expedition which is depicted on the templewalls.
  
  The achievement of this arboricultural challenge - to successfully transport, transplant and establish 31 trees in a tough climate over 3500 years ago, cannot be overstated.
  
  To have been successful, Hatshepsut and her team must have had a good understanding of arboriculture. From the initial planning stages, to selecting the right trees, transporting, establishment and continued tree maintenance. The mission shows that full consideration was given to the complex interplay of tree ecophysiology, the rooting environment, plant quality, planting and post-planting practice.
  
  Had Hatshepsut not fully considered and understood these factors then the mission would have been an expensive failure and her place in history may have been very different.
  
  In our towns and cities today, a mortality rate of up to 50% is commonplace for trees within their fist year after planting, which is an unacceptable waste of resources. The lesson from ancient Egyptthen, is that the knowledge needed for successful tree establishment was founded long ago, the challenge for today’s tree professionals is to utilise it.
- Arboriculturist or Arboriculturalist?
  
  Jun 25, 12
  
  The practice of arboriculture is ancient. The image above shows it was a subject worthy of being painted about on ancient Egyptian tomb walls, clearly showing people transplanting and caring for trees.
  
  The word Arboriculture is also old; derived from the Latin arbor (tree), and cultura (tending or caring), it was a term apparently well used in the 18^thcentury. The Scottish author John Grigor seems to have been the first to publish the word in his book -Arboriculture (1868). Indeed, the RFS Royal Forestry Societies were originally known as arboricultural societies, the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society was founded in 1854 and the English Royal Arboricultural Society was founded in 1882. It wasn’t until 1931 that the Royal English Arboricultural Society changed its name to Royal English Forestry Society.
  
  It was in the early 1930s that the use of the term arboriculture became distinct from forestry or silviculture - as tree care when the focus is amenity and the primary objective is not that of timber production.
  
  In English grammar the suffix ‘ist’ is added to words to form nouns denoting a member of a profession or one interested in something. In the same way a person who practices biology is a biologist and one who practices ecology is an ecologist, to describe a person who practices arboriculture an ‘ist’ was added and they became known as an 'arboriculturist', and to describe things related to arboriculture the adjective was therefore 'arboricultural'.
  
  In America, as was the trend around this time, the word was simplified to ‘arborist’. However, (although it drips off the tongue a little easier) arborist makes less grammatical sense. In much the same way as we don't not refer to a 'biolist' or 'ecolist'. Furthermore, the term arborist quickly became synonymous with the role of tree surgeon, the person who undertakes the physical work of climbing and pruning or felling trees. As such, the term arboriculturist continued to be used to describe those who practice professional arboriculture.
  
  Curiously, in the UK spelling, an additional suffix started to appear and arboriculturist became arboricultur'al’ist. Although you can add various derivational suffixes on to most English words to create new longer words, including ‘ist’ and ‘al’, the Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language suggests, it would be rare to have more than one derivational suffixes. So quite why and when the additional ‘al’ introduced itself into the term is unknown. It’s popularity may well have sprung from the late, great, N. D. G. James who in 1972 released The Arboriculturalist's Companion: A Guide to the Care of Trees. N.D.G. James was president of the Royal Forestry Society and a major force for increasing the importance of arboriculture in the UK; in the 60’s he pioneered the first examinations in arboriculture, the RFS diploma. N.D.G. James clearly knew his stuff and was rightly well respected, yet it's unclear quite why he chose to add the extra 'al' when publishing the ‘Arboriculturalist's Companion’. Due to his authority within the industry, following this book, the use of the term arboriculturalist over arboriculturist seemingly became the preferred spelling amongst many in the UK and we now have both terms being used interchangeably.
  
  Stemming from this confusion, many within the profession now scrupulously avoid using either of the words at all. Looking at the Arboricultural Association web pages I can find little or no reference to an arboriculturist. Similarly, the newly created Consulting Arborists Society seems to have side stepped both the terms.
  
  But does it matter? Should you keep on using whichever version of the word you prefer? Arbs, Arborist, Arboriculturist, Arboriculturalist…how about Arboriculturalisticarianizationalizer?
  
  The practice of arboriculture may be ancient but as a profession we are relatively new and are struggling to be perceived as ‘professional’. If we can’t be clear and consistent on how to spell what we practice what hope is there of being seen as a legitimate profession?
  
  To clarify; the Oxford English Dictionary has the noun of arboriculture as 'arboriculturist'; likewise the Collins pocket dictionary refers to ‘arboriculturist’ (they don’t list 'Arboriculturalist').
  
  Leading authorities within the industry are now clear: The Terms and Definitions of the British Standard 5837:2012 refer to an arboriculturist (as a person who has, through relevant education, training and experience, gained expertise in the field of trees in relation to construction). By law, a Professional Member of the Institute of Chartered Forestersmay describe him or herself as a Chartered Forester or Chartered Arboriculturist.
  
  It is true that what we 'do' is more important than what we call ourselves and admittedly 'Arboriculturist' is a bit of a mouthful; but you don't see an ethnobotanist shying away from their title. There is enough authority now to say arboriculturalist is misspelt and those who continue using the superfluous suffix "al" will increasingly feel abashed.
  
  Language evolves just like everything else and the terms which are retained over time are "naturally selected". If the slang ‘arbs’ or ‘arborists’ proves a more effective word to the concept of an arboriculturist in any given conversation then that’s all well and good. Yet it will be more difficult to move towards professionalism without an agreed upon convention of the term.
  
  Arbolist… look up the word. I don’t know; Maybe I made it up. Anyway, it’s an arbo-tree-ist, somebody who knows about trees. (George W. Bush, August 21, 2001).
  
  Adam Winson, Urban Forester
- Phoenix Park Combats the Canker
  
  May 14, 12
  
  The PhoenixPark, Dublin, is a historic landscape of international importance and one of the largest designed landscapes in any European city. The Park extends to over 700 hectares with a tree population in excess of 20,000 trees. Woodlands and tree-dominated areas cover 31% of the Park. It is a highly important site for biodiversity, supporting 50% of all mammal species occurring in Ireland and 35% of bird species. Among the 351 different plant species to be found in the Park, there are three that are rare and protected.
  
  The majority of the trees in the Park are over mature and losses due to storms, disease and old age have been replaced by an extensive tree-planting programme. In excess of 5,000 new trees including Ash, Oak, Lime, Beech, Horse Chestnut, Hawthorn and Sycamore have been planted over the last two decades.
  
  Horse Chestnut trees account for 9% (1,800 trees) of the tree cover in the Park, the majority of which are mature trees, which form several important avenues. Park management observed a decline in a portion of these trees and Horse Chestnut bleeding canker was confirmed.
  
  Following a tree survey of the entire Horse Chestnut population undertaken by the parks Arboriculture team, to assess the number of affected trees and the extent of the symptoms on individual trees, trials for possible treatments were undertaken.
  
  I was lucky enough to be involved with the trials and spent some time last year in Dublin. My role was to treat a selection of the Parks trees with Allicin liquid, the stabilised natural garlic extract produced specifically for treating Horse Chestnut trees suffering from bleeding canker.
  
  As highlighted in the video (you can see my hand at about 1.20seconds!), there were other trials being undertaken with different products and, from the video at least, the initial results seem positive, which is great news. Some of the most significant individual trees and avenues in the park are formed by Horse Chestnuts and their loss would be a major negative impact, so the effort to combat the canker is well deserved. On another hopeful note, anecdotally at least, it seems that some of the more vigorous trees can stay healthy even when surrounded by infected specimens, which hints that some trees may be naturally able to defend themselves against the canker. This could lead to longer term replanting solutions, as seen with the propagated elms from cuttings from just a handful of trees, apparently resistant to Dutch elm disease.
- Sheffield Hanami
  
  Jan 16, 13
  
  Shining spring day
  Falling cherry blossoms with my calm mind
  Kino Tomonari
  
  My street, in the North West suburbs of Sheffield, is a nice enough, but unremarkable row of 1930’s built semi-detached houses. The Cherry ‘Kanzan’ trees that line my street too, are for most of the year, fairly unremarkable. Historically one of the most planted street trees in Sheffield's suburbs; many have now died off or succumbed to the perils of new drives and highway improvements.
  
  If I was to take a detached, professional tree consultant view of the trees, I would note how they are past their best, with weak branch unions grafted on to post-box style stems, with shallow exposed roots that are lifting and cracking the pavement. Nothing special...
  
  But each spring, for about two short weeks, when the trees are in full blossom, I would say my street rivals anywhere.
  
  It seems a shame not to celebrate such a brief and dramatic change to the street more formally. The Japanese have been doing just that for several centuries with the practice of hanami . Hanami literally means viewing flowers, but it generally indicates cherry blossom viewing. It's said that the origin of hanami dates back over a thousand years. Nowadays, it is a major event for the people in Japan who celebrate by having picnic’s under the trees. In popular hanami spots, thousands of people fill the parks to hold feasts under the flowering trees, with the celebrating often taking precedence over admiring the blossom, hanami parties can get quite wild.
  
  The dramatic beauty of the trees is made even more poignant, almost bitter-sweet, by the transience of the blossom. Yesterday an elderly resident chatted about how the blossom seems to fall almost as soon as it arrives, noting “it’s a shame int it; they’re so lovely”.
  
  Japanese culture has articulated what the old resident was describing, with poems praising the delicate flowers, which were seen as a metaphor for life itself; beautiful, but fleeting. The Heian era poets watched falling cherry blossoms with a sense of mortality and used to write poems about how much easier things would be in spring without the cherry or ‘sakura’ blossoms, because their existence reminded us that life is very short.
  
  So, in tribute to the much maligned old cherry trees that line my street, and the lessons they can teach, I decided to have my own little ‘Sheffield Hanami’. I put the kettle on (Yorkshire tea ceremony), took a cuppa out front, and watched the cherry blossom fall.
  
  One Week Later....
  
  The cherry blossoms
  that stirred me, shade me
  no more
  Issa
- Do Tree Preservation Orders work, or is there a better way?
  
  Jun 06, 12
  New Tree Preservation Order Regulations (TPO Regulations 2012) came into force in England on 6^thApril 2012. There is a memo to go with the Regs that sets out clearly what all the changes are.
  
  The TPO Regulations 2012 aim to put all Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) onto the same footing and consolidate much existing legislation into one new set of regulations. Essentially, the DCLG have attempted to simplify the TPO process in the new regulations, which in itself is positive, as anything that makes the system less bureaucratic and arcane must be a good thing. However, will a simpler process lead to more Tree Preservation Orders being made and more importantly, is this a good thing? Are Tree Preservation Orders the best way to manage our urban trees?
  
  Few tree professionals will deny that, on a local development-site level, Tree Preservation Orders can work and have often proved absolutely essential in protecting significant trees from a ruthless developer. It is less clear if, when assessing the wider level of the urban forest, TPOs make a positive difference; could they in fact be counter productive and be harming our urban forest?
  
  Over the last few decades there has been a real public awakening to the wide reaching value of urban trees. Likewise tree professionals have realised the profound influence public perception towards urban trees has. Urban forests are more dependent than ever on the goodwill of their citizens.
  
  There is a danger that the recently kindled public support could be doused by tree preservation legal procedures that are perceived of as unreasonable ‘top-down’ laws. Most tree consultants will have examples of TPOs that have been administered to protect wholly unremarkable and unworthy trees, perhaps because it’s seen as an easy way for a development proposal to be rejected by a Local Authority. Yet this kind of behaviour will undoubtedly be an incentive for less scrupulous developers to clear fell all the trees on a site before they begin planning proposals.
  
  In my work as an arboricultural consultant I’ve noticed increasingly antagonistic public attitudes towards tree protection legislation. It should not be forgot how heavily TPOs impose on an individual’s liberty, to do as they see fit with their land; with failure to comply resulting in a potential criminal record and serious financial penalties.
  
  If the TPO penalties are the stick, then what about the carrot?
  
  There are better opportunities to protect trees, by using what Christopher Neilan has described as soft power ie encouragement and persuasion; by allowing communities ways to express their common understanding of the beneficial effects of trees in their lives, rather than through a fear of penalties for breaches of the law.
  
  In my neck of the woods, in south Yorkshire, there are some similar examples of this approach, particularly with the south Yorkshire forest partnership and the work with Sheffield council’s trees and woodland team with their community foresters, who work to attract and co-opt as a means of persuasion.
  
  Soft power is often contrasted with hard power and it wouldn’t be too much of a leap to consider the difference in the terms embodied in the roles of the community forester verses the planning officer for trees. The perception of the local authority tree officer as someone for tree owners to fear can’t be helpful and could lead to the perception that urban trees are a costly liability. There should not be such a difference between the role of a community forester and a tree officer in planning, both should engage with the public to manage and protect trees with the support of local populations.
  
  Likewise, TPOs should be used appropriately, using the new guidelines as they surely intended, to protect trees with significant amenity value. Not as a backhand way to stop a development.
  
  The best way to ensure sustainable urban tree protection is for tree professionals to assist in maintaining the goodwill residents have to the urban forest, so they value and appreciate their trees and want to continue to plant them and watch them flourish.
- Big Brother is watching you(r trees)
  
  Apr 24, 12
  
  I was recently travelling overseas and found myself reading George Orwell’s classic 1984 (having read all I’d brought with me in the first week, it was the only English language book available!).
  
  What struck me throughout the novel (other than how many of the terms have become contemporary since publication) was how utterly grim and ruined the urban landscape was and how this added to the atmosphere of hopelessness. Yet I was struck by this particular passage, that relates to some earlier posts on natural landscapes ability to soothe. It describes Winston’s only trip outside of the urban dereliction, into the countryside to a dense copse of trees, for an illicit meeting with his fellow thought criminal Julia:
  
  A thrush had alighted on a bough not five metres away, almost at the level of their faces. Perhaps it had not seen them. It was in the sun, they in the shade. It spread out its wings, fitted them carefully into place again, ducked its head for a moment, as though making a sort of obeisance to the sun, and then began to pour forth a torrent of song. In the afternoon hush the volume of sound was startling. Winston and Julia clung together, fascinated. The music went on and on, minute after minute, with astonishing variations, never once repeating itself, almost as though the bird were deliberately showing oﬀ its virtuosity. Sometimes it stopped for a few seconds, spread out and resettled its wings, then swelled its speckled breast and again burst into song. Winston watched it with a sort of vague reverence. For whom, for what, was that bird singing? No mate, no rival was watching it. What made it sit at the edge of the lonely wood and pour its music into nothingness? He wondered whether after all there was a microphone hidden somewhere near. He and Julia had spoken only in low whispers, and it would not pick up what they had said, but it would pick up the thrush. Perhaps at the other end of the instrument some small, beetle-like man was listening intently — listening to that. But by degrees the ﬂood of music drove all speculations out of his mind. It was as though it were a kind of liquid stuﬀ that poured all over him and got mixed up with the sunlight that ﬁltered through the leaves. He stopped thinking and merely felt.
- Living next to trees makes us happier, a report shows
  
  Jan 16, 13
  
  PRESS RELEASE Issued: 11^th April 2012. For Immediate Release
  
  Living next to trees makes us happier, a report shows
  
  Findings of a study, published as part of the Forestry Commission Research Report: Trees, people and the built environment, show that residents are happier if they live near to trees.
  
  The study compared the happiness levels of 200 tenants renting properties from a Yorkshire housing charity; half of the tenants questioned had high levels of nearby tree cover and half had few or no nearby trees.
  
  The results showed that even with everything else broadly the same, tenants with high nearby tree cover had higher happiness scores than those with few or no trees. In particular, tenants with nearby trees were more likely to say they were feeling relaxed and were thinking clearly, than those with no trees.
  
  The properties used in the study had waiting lists, so tenants were randomly assigned their flats, depending on when a flat became available. This resulted in a random assignment of tenants, who had no particular relationship to trees or nature, and provides the advantages of a near-randomised trial, like those used in scientific tests.
  
  Author of the research, Adam Winson, explained “In recent times a lot of attention has been given to improving mental wellbeing or ‘happiness’, and people have often thought that nearby trees in our towns and cities were good for our happiness levels, so this research attempted to test this idea. The results of the study show that our urban trees are not just something to make an area look nice, but may actually be making people happier.”
  
  ##Ends##
  
  Notes to editors
  
  The research paper forms part of the Forestry Commission Research Report Trees, people and the built environment - Proceedings of the Urban Trees Research Conference 13-14 April 2011 which can be found via : http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/FCRP017.pdf/$FILE/FCRP017.pdf
  And the individual paper ‘Flourishing trees, flourishing minds’ can be found via: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/Trees-people-and-the-buit-environment_Winson.pdf/$FILE/Trees-people-and-the-buit-environment_Winson.pdf
  
  For further information contact:
  Adam Winson. 9 Goodison Rise, Sheffield, S6 5HW. Tel: 07766310880
  adam.winson@gmail.com
- Suitably Qualified Arboriculturist (Tree Bloke)
  
  May 12, 12
  
  As a profession, arboriculture has much to learn from ecology. Ecological consultants have, over the last few decades, moved from relative obscurity to become a recognised established profession. Meanwhile arboricultural consultants, when asked the inevitable conversation starter "what do you do for a living?" still tend to have some explaining to do.
  
  This professionalism within ecology can be highlighted by the ecological sections of the BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM); where it is recognised that ecological work for BREEAM is specialist and should be undertaken by a professional ecologist or what is termed a Suitably Qualified Ecologist (SQE).
  
  For arboricultural consultants, perhaps a comparable survey and report requiring specialist input is the BS5837: Trees in relation to construction – Recommendations; which similarly suggests an arboriculturist should be suitably qualified and experienced.
  
  However, a big difference is that whilst BREEAM explicitly states the criteria of a SQE, the criteria of a suitably qualified and experienced arboriculturist is largely left to the imagination.
  
  So, as a short ‘thought experiment’ I have copied the text from the BREEAM guidelines as to what constitutes a SQE yet altered it for what a revised BS5837 could stipulate as a suitably qualified Arboriculturist (i.e. changed the word Ecologist for Arboriculturist and BREEAM for BS:5837)!
  
  BS: 5837 Supplementary Guidance: ‘Suitably Qualified Arboriculturist’
  Where an individual has been appointed to survey and provide advice and recommendations for a development site under BS: 5837, it must be confirmed that either this individual is ‘suitably qualified’, or that the report they produce has been verified by an individual who meets the requirements of a ‘Suitably Qualified Arboriculturist’.
  
  Suitably Qualified Arboriculturist (SQA): An individual achieving all the following items can be considered to be “suitably qualified” for the purposes of the BS: 5837 Trees in relation to construction.
  
  1. Holds a degree or equivalent qualification (e.g. N/SVQ level 5) in Arboriculture or a related subject.
  
  2. Is a practising arboriculturist, with a minimum of three years relevant experience (within the last five years). Such experience must clearly demonstrate a practical understanding of factors affecting trees in relation to construction and the built environment; including, acting in an advisory capacity to provide recommendations for tree protection, enhancement and mitigation measures.
  
  3. Is covered by a professional code of conduct and subject to peer review.
  Peer review: Is defined as the process employed by a professional body to demonstrate that potential or current full members maintain a standard of knowledge and experience required to ensure compliance with a code of conduct and professional ethics.
  
  Full members of the following organisations, who meet the above criteria, are deemed suitably qualified arboriculturist for the purposes of BS:5837.
  
  a. Arboricultural Association (AA)
  b. Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF)
  
  4. As a minimum, a ‘Suitably Qualified Arboriculturist’ verifying a BS: 5837 Report must have read and reviewed the report and confirmed in writing they found it to:
  a. represent sound industry practice
  b. report and recommend correctly, truthfully and objectively
  c. be appropriate given the local site conditions and scope of works proposed
  d. avoids invalid, biased and exaggerated statements.
  Additionally, written confirmation from the third party verifier that they comply with
  the definition of a suitably qualified arboriculturist will also be required.
  
  It should be confirmed before appointment that the individual meets the criteria for a suitably qualified arboriculturist.
  
  Food for thought! I'm sure many would think the above definition as too prescriptive and its true there are many individual arboricultural consultants who wouldn't meet this criteria, yet have more than enough experience and knowledge gained through being 'on-the-job'. But what is the best way to move towards professionalism? Interestingly, the professional body for ecologists, The Institute of Ecology and Environmental Managment (IEEM) have strongly criticized the above criteria for a SQE as not being robust enough to avoid the use of non-specialists to undertake specialist work i.e. ecological survey and assessment; noting they will not have its members commit to undertake any further work on BREEAM until they have agreed a joint way forward to make the definition of 'suitably qualified' even more rigorous. What would such a definition of 'suitably qualified arboriculturist' do for the professionalism of arboriculture?
- Are we hard-wired to love trees?
  
  May 12, 12
  
  The links between trees, forests and improved mental and physical health are becoming clearer, with an increasing amount of applied research providing a more solid evidence base. When researchers offer explanations as to why such links are evidenced, their theories tend to ultimately be grounded in psycho-evolutionary theory or what the Biologist E.O Wilson termed ‘Biophilia’.
  
  Psycho-evolutionary theory is based on the notion that millions of years of evolution have left modern humans with a partly genetic predisposition to respond positively to nature and prefer landscapes that favour their own survival, with the ability to identify relaxing, restorative settings, and the capacity to recover from fatigue and stress, being adaptive.
  
  The timeline reflects how humans have evolved in a largely unmodified natural environment, with only a tiny fraction of our evolutionary history having been spent in artificially constructed urban environments. Because of this, it is suggested, our physical and mental wellbeing is still highly dependent on contact with the natural environment, and this is why trees and forests in and around urban places can provide places that improve our mental and physical health.
  
  Psycho-evolutionary theory has been extensively critiqued, and whilst I intuitively find it an endearing theory, if conceived in stringent biological terms of genetic determinism, it does have several limitations. Similarly, the circular nature of the theory has been strongly criticised and there is a danger that a preoccupation with 'proving' the theory becomes a barrier to evaluating the links between trees and wellbeing.
  
  The theory states that ‘beauty is in the eye of the gene’, so therefore a positive perspective towards trees and woods would seem 'natural'. Yet the issue is not simply reducible to biological terms, of people’s innate tendencies to affiliate with trees. Filtered by cultural input, trees produce complex feelings in the public, from attraction to aversion, from awe to indifference, from peacefulness to fear-driven anxiety. Or as William Blake succinctly remarked, over 200 years ago, “The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way". So with regard to any hard-wired love of trees, it must be accepted that such evolutionary dispositions are relatively weak and tend to wither without learning, experience and social support.
- Nature as an Enchanted Labyrinth
  
  Jan 26, 12
  
  It occurred to me today that an interest in nature leads you into a kind of enchanted labyrinth. You wander from corridor to corridor; one interest leads to another interest; one discovery to another discovery. It matters little where you begin. You may first fall under the spell of birds or wild flowers or you may become curious about lichens or grasshoppers or trees or rocks or fossils or waterweeds. If you have any inquisitiveness at all, you soon find yourself branching off, wandering enchanted down charming bypaths…
  
  We cannot watch sandpipers, following receding waves and stabbing at the wet sand for food, without soon wondering what they are eating. And that leads us into another of nature's innumerable corridors. All living things are linked together in various ways—by predator chains and food chains, by parasitism and symbiosis. Nothing lives to itself alone. Nothing is disassociated from its surroundings. An interest in tadpoles sooner or later leads to an interest in the dytiscus beetle that preys on them. The study of hognosed snakes inevitably leads to the study of toads upon which they feed. Even if your special interest is catbirds, you are led to a consideration of the life of the deer mouse. For these mice often appropriate the nests of catbirds as winter homes. Everywhere we turn in nature, new and interesting corridors appear before us, waiting to be explored. All are interconnecting. They lead us as far as we care to go.
  
  Edwin Way
  Teale, Circle of the Seasons. The Journal of a Naturalist's Year.
- Nature's endless employment of beauty to achieve its utilitarian ends
  
  Jan 08, 12
  
  New research is looking at the impact of birdsong on our sense of wellbeing. The study will examine the psychological impact of being exposed to birdsong, including whether it helps us relax, can assist our ability to complete tasks and even think creatively. This research interests me as my own study has shown that urban trees may result in higher levels of mental wellbeing, yet how this happens is unclear, could it be that birdsong, closely associated with trees, may play a role?
  
  It is interesting that although people find the colours, shapes and sounds of trees as pleasing to our senses, to the tree their form and colours are only a means to an end, of growth, structural stability and photosynthesis. The same is even more so for that of bird song, the notion of which is captured perfectly by the prase of ‘nature's endless employment of beauty to achieve its utilitarian ends’ by Edwin Way Teale who wrote in his 1970 book Springtime in Britain:
  
  I leaned back against the granite boulder listening, thinking of the song of the bird. The song of a bird may be an enticement for a mate. It may be a warning to trespassers on its territory. But why so musical? Would not the jarring notes or guttural sounds or shrill and piercing whistles achieve as well these ends? Why does the enticement and the warning have to be so melodious, so moving, so beautiful? All we can say, with our sense of wonder aroused, is that, like a delicate perfume of the wildflower, is part of nature's endless employment of beauty to achieve its utilitarian ends.
- 'Cracking Up' Response Published in Winter 2011 Chartered Forester Magazine
  
  May 12, 12
  
  In the autumn edition of Chartered Forester magazine I had a short opinion piece published, 'Cracking up', which looked at the issues surrounding urban trees being removed due to subsidence claims and highlighted how the issue seems to make the tree industry so emotive. The piece provoked considerable interest and a few critical responses (generally from people who make a living from dealing with tree related subsidence claims). The latest issue of Chartered Forester featured this letter from Michael Lawson and my response which I have copied below.
  
  Response to Michael Lawson’s Letter:
  My motivation for writing the short opinion piece 'cracking up' was to encourage cooperation between tree professionals and I thank Michael for his additional points. I agree that insurance is, on the whole, a good thing and I'm sure people discussed trees and subsidence prior to 1976. As to being a 'British Affair' I referred to Radevsky (2000) who showed that faced with similar subsidence damage, foreign householders will, in general, have to cover the costs of repair themselves, with the result that tolerance of cracks is much higher. Perhaps a similar minimum level of crack damage would be a good idea in the UK?
  
  Peaks in the number of claims do relate to periods of drought, yet since 1981 the incidents of tree related subsidence have increased exponentially during every drought period (Mercer et al 2011), and future claims will inevitably rise with the predicted increases of extreme drought years.
  
  I agree that there are currently more serious and wide ranging threats to the urban forest than subsidence, yet while a future 'blistering barren landscape' is a scary thought, it was highlighted only as a possible future scenario that future generations wouldn’t thank us for, and one that with each batch of large mature trees removed due to hairline cracks, we move incrementally towards. The stakes are potentially very high and genuine moral difficulties can arise.
  
  Adam Winson
  Arboricultural Consultant
  
  References
  
  Mercer, G,. Reeves, A,. and O’Callaghan, D,. (2011), The Relationship between trees, distance to buildings and subsidence events on shrinkable clay soil. Arboricultural Journal, Vol 33, pp.229-245 AB Academic Publishers
  
  Radevsky, R. (2000). Subsidence - a global perspective. General insurance research report 1. Association of British Insurers, London, UK.
- Developers using trees as an asset, not a constraint.
  
  May 12, 12
  
  This newly built kindergarten is a great example of using a sites existing trees as an asset not a constraint. It is located in the middle of a grove of chestnut trees and celebrates a sense of visual connection with the surrounding trees. Each classroom has a large panoramic window looking onto the chestnut trees and a skylight through which the tops of trees can be glimpsed.
  
  There is now good evidence that access to nature contributes to the health and wellbeing of young people and significantly improves their powers of concentration, so the kids at this kindergarten should be off to a good start!
  
  Architects: goya
  Photos © Kurt Hoerbst
- Krishna on the inspiring life of trees
  
  Dec 15, 11
  
  "Have a look at these great blessed trees, who live only for the welfare of others, themselves facing the severity of stormy winds, heavy showers, heat and snow, all the while protecting us from them. The birth of trees is the most blessed in the world, as they contribute unreservedly to the well-being of all creatures. Just as no needy person ever returns disappointed from the house of a benevolent individual, similarly do these trees do for those who approach them for shelter. All of their many parts - leaves, flowers, fruits, shadow, roots, bark, wood and fragrance, are useful to others… A tree does not withdraw its cooling shade even from the one who has come to cut it.”(Bhagavata Purana 10.22.32 - 35)
- Howard Nemerov, Learning by Doing:
  
  Jun 06, 12
  
  I'm sure anyone whose been involved in practical tree surgery will agree, this poem brilliantly captures the process and impacts of 'section felling' a mature tree. In the past I have taken my fare share of trees down by section felling (the photo is probably one of my last big 'uns); its a task that can require considerable skill and nerve and one that as a young tree surgeon I would take pride in, focusing on the technical side of the job at hand without too much moral questioning about why the tree was being removed. I'd like to think it's different now and that I'm more mindful of the wider impacts if, as an arboriculturist, I'm recommending a tree to be felled, but judging by the author's disregard for 'experts', I'm not sure he would agree!
  
  They're taking down a tree at the front door,
  The power saw is snarling at some nerves,
  Whining at others. Now and then it grunts,
  And sawdust falls like snow or a drift of seeds.
  
  Rotten, they tell us, at the fork, and one
  Big wind would bring it down. So what they do
  They do, as usual, to do us good.
  Whatever cannot carry its own weight
  Has got to go, and so on; you expect
  To hear them talking next about survival
  And the values of a free society.
  For in the explanations people give
  On these occasions there is generally some
  Mean-spirited moral point, and everyone
  Privately wonders if his neighbors plan
  To saw him up before he falls on them.
  
  Maybe a hundred years in sun and shower
  Dismantled in a morning and let down
  Out of itself a finger at a time
  And then an arm, and so down to the trunk,
  Until there's nothing left to hold on to
  Or snub the splintery holding rope around,
  And where those big green divagations were
  So loftily with shadows interleaved
  The absent-minded blue rains in on us.
  Now that they've got it sectioned on the ground
  
  It looks as though somebody made a plain
  Error in diagnosis, for the wood
  Looks sweet and sound throughout. You couldn't know,
  Of course, until you took it down. That's what
  Experts are for, and these experts stand round
  The giant pieces of tree as though expecting
  An instruction booklet from the factory
  Before they try to put it back together.
  
  Anyhow, there it isn't, on the ground.
  Next come the tractor and the crowbar crew
  To extirpate what's left and fill the grave.
  Maybe tomorrow grass seed will be sown.
  There's some mean-spirited moral point in that
  As well: you learn to bury your mistakes,
  Though for a while at dusk the darkening air
  Will be with many shadows interleaved,
  And pierced with a bewilderment of birds.
  
  Howard Nemerov
- Flourishing Trees, Flourishing Minds: Nearby trees may improve mental wellbeing...
  
  May 12, 12
  
  This is the abstract for my urban forestry research paper - flourishing trees, flourishing minds; looking at how urban trees may improve mental wellbeing. The research paper forms part of the Forestry Commission Research Report Trees, people and the built environment - Proceedings of the Urban Trees Research Conference 13-14 April 2011 which can be found via : http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/FCRP017.pdf/$FILE/FCRP017.pdf
  
  The full paper can be found via:
  http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/Trees-people-and-the-buit-environment_Winson.pdf/$FILE/Trees-people-and-the-buit-environment_Winson.pdf
  
  Feel free to get in touch if you would like to discuss via www.awatrees.com
  
  Flourishing trees, flourishing minds: nearby trees may improve mental wellbeing among housing association tenants
  Abstract
  Interventions to create even a small change in the average level of mental wellbeing across the population could have very high economic and social returns. Decision makers would thus be more likely to allocate space and funding for urban trees if a positive relationship to the mental wellbeing of the surrounding population can be evidenced.
  This study undertook a ‘natural experiment’. It used a validated scale to quantifiably assess the effects of residential trees on mental wellbeing, within largely randomly assigned participants living in housing association properties, with the significant environmental and socio-economic variables held broadly constant. It used a bespoke scale, set against statements, to quantifiably assess participant’s general perceptions of residential trees and this relationship on mental wellbeing.
  Tenants with high nearby tree cover had a higher mean reported mental wellbeing than those with negligible levels, indicating that nearby trees may provide aids in improving mental wellbeing for certain groups. There was a generally positive response to nearby trees and a desire from those with negligible existing levels for increased tree cover. While avoiding sweeping claims, the implications are that investments in residential trees could result in higher mean levels of mental wellbeing for certain groups, with the associated benefits this brings to the individual and wider community.
  
  Introduction
  The common assumption that contact with nature fosters mental wellbeing and reduces the
  stress of urban living is seemingly as old as urbanisation itself (Ulrich, 1993). The first great
  act of greenspace creation in modern history, the Victorian park, occurred because the
  park-makers believed intuitively in the healing and redemptive values of nature (Nicholson-
  Lord, 2006).
  Greater pressure on urban land is now limiting the space available for trees (Britt and
  Johnston, 2008), thus intuitive arguments for increased tree cover carry little weight with
  decision makers who have to justify all outgoing costs. The resources allocated to urban
  forestry programs are heavily influenced by the extent to which rigorous research
  demonstrates that such measures improve outcomes and are cost effective.
  It is now accepted that interventions to create even a small change in the average level of
  mental wellbeing across the population could have very high economic and social returns
  ( Jenkins et al., 2008); thus decision makers will be more likely to allocate space and funding
  for urban trees if a positive relationship to the mental wellbeing of the surrounding
  population can be evidenced.
  This research aimed to objectively assess the potential of nearby trees to improve the mental
  wellbeing of residents living in poorer urban communities, and to understand the
  intrinsically linked issues of how these residents perceive trees and negotiate this relationship
  with mental wellbeing.
- What is a forest?
  
  Nov 29, 11
  
  This year, 2011, marks the “International Year of the Forest”. But what is a forest? Judging by the works of several academics it may not mean what we think it does…
  
  In ‘Forests, The Shadow of Civilization’ (1993), Robert Harrison notes how medieval chivalric romances tend to represent forests as lying beyond the confines of the civic world and its institutions of law. But early on in the Middle Ages many forests had already come under the jurisdiction of law. The word 'forest' in fact originates as a juridical term. Along with its various cognates in European languages (foresta, foret, forst, etc.), it derives from the Latin foresta. The Latin work does not come into existence until the Merovingian period. The word foresta appears for the first time in the laws of the Longobards and the capitularies of Charlemagne, referring not to woodlands in general but only to the royal game preserves. The word has an uncertain provenance. The most likely origin is the Latin foris, meaning 'outside.' The obscure Latin verb forestare meant 'to keep out, to place off limits, to exclude.' In effect, during the Merovingian period in which the word foresta entered the lexicon, kings had taken it upon themselves to place public bans on vast tracts of woodlands in order to insure the survival of their wildlife, which in turn would insure the survival of a fundamental royal ritual--the hunt.
  
  "A 'forest,' then, was originally a juridical term referring to land that had been placed off limits by a royal decree. Once a region had been 'afforested,' or declared a forest, it could not be cultivated, exploited, or encroached upon. It lay outside the public domain, reserved for the king's pleasure and recreation. In England it also lay outside the common juridical sphere. Offenders were not punishable by the common law but rather by a set of very specific 'forest laws.' The royal forests lay 'outside' in another sense as well, for the space enclosed by the walls of a royal garden was sometimes called silva, or wood. Forestis silva meant the unenclosed woods 'outside' the walls."
  
  (N.B The English word savage comes from Latin silvaticus (wild), itself from silva (wood, forest)).
  
  Oliver Rackham, backs these ideas up in ‘The History of the Countryside’ (1986). He notes that although the mysterious word forest may, in its Germanic origin, have meant a tract of trees. In Western Europe it came to mean land on which deer were protected by special byelaws. The laws and the word were introduced to England from the Continent by William the Conqueror. For many centuriesForest meant a place of deer. The Authorized Version of the Bible, published in 1611, doubtless encouraged Englishmen to connect forest with trees, but the word could still mean 'heath' more than a century later.
  
  Interesting historical stuff, but the debate as to what is a forest still rages today, with
  ‘The Great Lie: Monoculture Trees as Forests’, (2011), authors Winnie Overbeek, and Raquel Núñez Mutter suggest that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) continues to define a forest as an area of land with ‘tree crown cover’, without specifying that the tree species be diverse or that the embedded flora and fauna constitute an integral part. National and international institutions, including the tree plantation companies who are the owners of “planted forests”, invoke this definition, which provides a convenient “green” profile to expand industrial plantations to satisfy market demand.
  
  According to the FAO, both an industrial eucalyptus tree monoculture plantation and a rainforest with its hundreds of different tree species are classed as forest. But neighbours of such vegetation types would only recognize the rainforest as a forest, while a tree monoculture plantation would often be referred to as a “green desert”. The only similarity a neighbour may indeed observe is that both types of vegetation contain trees. Moving the approach from a top-down, market-oriented one to a more multisectoral and participatory one reveals a radically different definition of “forest”.
  
  Interestingly, when looking at the historical definition of the word ‘forest’ - a juridical term referring to land that had been placed off limits that could not be encroached upon- this seems to define quite well what the authors have in mind when they describe a forest as a ‘green desert’. They suggest that the definition of a “forest” needs to be reviewed, and needs to bring back the social dimension, especially in 2011: the International Year of the Forest.
Tweets

Tweets

Profile
- BS:5837 (2012) Trees in relation to design, demolition and construction – William Morris: Recommendations. http://t.co/nDyh7nUHsl
  
  May 20, 13 from Tweet Button Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Fresh new look... http://t.co/JVxzIjxGoL
  
  May 15, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- New company logo! http://t.co/sNmjNvUU4G
  
  May 11, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- New office move to Kelham Island and re-branded AWA logos for the start of May.
  
  May 01, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- April has seen BS5837 tree surveys for several major housing schemes in Nottinghamshire and a new supermarket project in South Yorkshire.
  
  May 01, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- April flew by! Seem to have less and less time to tweet!
  
  May 01, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Finished two BS5837 surveys for new school developments in north Sheffield. Still needed hat and gloves but spring is in the air!
  
  Apr 03, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- @hornerj197 Hi Jamie, feel free to send me an email adam@awatrees.com - Cheers
  
  Apr 03, 13 from web in reply to hornerj197 Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- After a relaxing Easter break in the sun, start of April is looking lively, full diary of tree surveys for new development projects.
  
  Apr 01, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- RT @VerdantWildlife: It's International Forest Day today - nice coincidence that it's also Brian Clough's birthday #forestday #IntlForestDay
  
  Mar 21, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- #IntlForestDay But what is a forest? It may not mean what we think it does… http://t.co/VRqKrXRCbk
  
  Mar 21, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- It's International Day of Forests! http://t.co/11QLqW6jId #IntlForestDay
  
  Mar 21, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Lot of news today about royal charter for the press; Chartered status for Foresters & Arboriculturists in UK has been in place since 1982!
  
  Mar 18, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Busy week with BS:5837 tree surveys for new developments in Sheffield, Doncaster, Mansfield & Bradford. People seem to be building stuff!
  
  Mar 06, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- New Sheffield office on the horizon!
  
  Mar 06, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Good advice from Sheffield City Council on chosing a tree consultant > https://t.co/ZkIy8Yobvp
  
  Feb 21, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Busy over this half term at school sites in South Yorkshire for tree safety surveys.
  
  Feb 21, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Looking at a potential new office in Sheffield.
  
  Feb 21, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- #sheffieldhour Arboricultural Consultants, providing expert tree surveys and reports. We can solve your tree related problems.
  
  Feb 05, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- #yorkshirehour Arboricultural consulting company based in Sheffield, specialising in expert tree surveys and reports.
  
  Jan 16, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite