Coronet cuts and rips. 18 cert!!

[Jason James Gairn]

I've been back to th forest again today. Were one of afew contractors doing the work. The cuts are being used on veterans as well as candidates. The veteran trees in Hatfield forest are really quite something to behold; from the massive ancient Oak pollards to the smaller but equally amazing hornbeams. Its the most beautiful place to work. I have very little experience of this work and wonder if the NT could have saved money by giving the work to cowboys. It does feel wrong when your making rip cuts on ancient trees, but I am assured we are doing the right thing. I will continue to post any pics of interest over the coming weeks. The trees in pic are Acer campestre small ones. were working on mature specimens too as well as the Oak pollards and Hornbeams. As far as bats are concerned, all the trees have been surveyed prior to the work commencing.

[Mesterh]

It does feel wrong when your making rip cuts on ancient trees, but I am assured we are doing the right thing

 

Well i dont agree with type of practice at all. Offers no benefits to the tree imo, the only thing it benefits is wildlife.

 

Great to see ancient trees being butchered in the name of science!

Btw I aint having a go at you its the NT who need a slap:icon14:

[Jason James Gairn]

Well i dont agree with type of practice at all. Offers no benefits to the tree imo, the only thing it benefits is wildlife.

 

Great to see ancient trees being butchered in the name of science!

Btw I aint having a go at you its the NT who need a slap:icon14:

 

I've not got an opinion on this practice yet and I'm glad that so many people have differing opinions. I'll do some reading up. all i can go on is my intuition, which tells me that it's wrong. I am very happy to have my opinion informed by anyone on this forum, so please post views. Does anyone know where research data can be accessed?

[storm]

Are you really doing the right thing here. and don't you think the tree would have achieved the same thing in the years to come with a much better affect than you have done here. And if that really is a sickamore in that picture i can't see why anyone want to spend public money on that tree.

 

storm

[Dagmar]

I've not got an opinion on this practice yet and I'm glad that so many people have differing opinions. I'll do some reading up. all i can go on is my intuition, which tells me that it's wrong. I am very happy to have my opinion informed by anyone on this forum, so please post views. Does anyone know where research data can be accessed?

 

 

I think that I remember reading somewhere, and it may well have been from an NT publication, that the purpose of this form of pruning is to recreate the traditional effect that would have been produced by traditional methods and tools to create the pollards in the first place.

 

Bear in mind that the trees would have been pollarded with little more that billhooks and axes by a low paid peasant workforce and it is reasonable to assume that how the tree looked was pretty unimportant. equally the trees health would have been irrelevent as there were plenty more around.

 

It makes sense that to maintain and indeed replicate this particular type of woodland, the NT would seek to reproduce the effects of late medieval management practices if not the methods, which would no doubt raise some H&S eyebrows!

 

Whether it looks pretty in the immediate aftermath will be a matter of opinion, but we can see the long term effects in the mature pollards in the forest, which are striking.

[MasterBlaster]

That topic's another thread, mate.

 

Are you really doing the right thing here. and don't you think the tree would have achieved the same thing in the years to come with a much better affect than you have done here. And if that really is a sickamore in that picture i can't see why anyone want to spend public money on that tree.

 

storm

[Jason James Gairn]

Are you really doing the right thing here. and don't you think the tree would have achieved the same thing in the years to come with a much better affect than you have done here. And if that really is a sickamore in that picture i can't see why anyone want to spend public money on that tree.

 

storm

 

Acer campestre is not a sycamore. It's a field maple. The national trust is not publically funded, its members fund it. I'm the guy up the tee and don't make policy, so any decisions about this method have been made by The National trust board. As I said, I don't know if it's the right thing to do. At least I'm not chopping down 500yr old Oaks for a bypass.

[Andy Collins]

I dont really have an opinion on this form of "pruning", except to wonder why it cant be less aggressive. It seems to be all or nothing, on the examples I've seen. In nature, which we are trying to imitate, only one or two limbs per tree would be damaged in this way, not every single limb, so why not combine all the current practices? IMO these trees look like something from WW1 on the Somme, hideous!!

[christreeroot]

I've not got an opinion on this practice yet and I'm glad that so many people have differing opinions. I'll do some reading up. all i can go on is my intuition, which tells me that it's wrong. I am very happy to have my opinion informed by anyone on this forum, so please post views. Does anyone know where research data can be accessed?

 

 

You first say you havent got an opinion and then say you think it is wrong ???

 

If you don't agree with the techniques dont do them and pass the job to others that do..... If you dont agree with a methord you will never carry it out 100% correctly...

 

If i disagree with something i will not do it, full stop.......

[David Humphries]

It is my opinion that some of your points of view are far too hung up on what the tree looks like immeadiately after work has taken place and the apparently missunderstood notion of place, you are probably strugling subconsiously with the fact that these are always if not generally in open space/woodland locations and not the urban environment.

Surely there is justification in trying to mimic nature as much as possible in these areas, which is where people are usualy trying to de-stress themselves away from the built environment where they dont have to interact with mans total control.

Horses for Courses.

 

No one in the industry is naive enough to sugest this is the future best practice for tree prunning.

Will be interesting to see whats included in the padded out version of the new updated Bs 3998 with regards to these issues. :wave:

 

Will post some pictures of the Red Oak later when the computer will let me.

 

Totaly agree with your point Chris