Steve Bullman

Planting and managing trees in the UK to produce wood can deliver biodiversity benefits as well as playing a vital role in the fight against climate change, a new report argues. After Forestry Minister Lord Goldsmith called for a “colossal endeavour” to more than double existing planting rates by 2025, Confor has produced an analysis of evidence to show that forests planted in the UK for wood production have significant value as biodiversity habitats. Policy researcher Eleanor Harris draws on a huge body of research and real-life case studies to argue that suitably-sited forests for wood production can deliver great benefits for wildlife - and that appropriate harvesting from native woodland can often enhance its biodiversity value. She sought and received helpful feedback from a wide range of organisations on the Biodiversity, Forestry and Wood report, including Butterfly Conservation, British Trust for Ornithology and WWF Scotland. “For many years, the biodiversity value of wood-producing forests and managed woodland of all types has been under-valued and under-recognised,” said Stuart Goodall, Chief Executive of Confor, the leading trade body for the UK’s forestry and wood-using industry. “As we face climate and nature emergencies, it’s vital that all suitable action is taken and that we base our actions on evidence. This analysis argues that well-managed forests can deliver positive climate and biodiversity benefits.” The report highlights that producing more wood in the UK will also reduce pressure on fragile forests overseas – what Mr Goodall calls “a biodiversity double-whammy.” Currently, the UK imports 80% of its wood products - second only globally to China in terms of net imports. Mr Goodall added: “We want this report to stimulate debate. To tackle massive societal challenges like the climate and nature crises, we have to be open to the evidence and act accordingly. “We need to move on from traditional thinking of producing wood or supporting wildlife, to one of recognising how we can achieve win-wins. “To meet the UK Government’s hugely ambitious target (30,000 hectares of new woodland every year by 2025), we need to have the confidence to embrace all types of new planting. “Modern productive forests avoid trade-offs between tackling climate change or promoting biodiversity. They also deliver green jobs, economic growth at a time of recession and the low-carbon, renewable wood products that we use so much in our daily lives. He added: “I recognise the criticism of how some forests were planted last century. My call is for people to judge the sector on the forests we are planting now.” The report also highlights that better management of all forests (including native woodlands) to produce wood will benefit wildlife, support local jobs and reduce imports. New productive woodland can also buffer biodiversity-rich ancient woodland and provide species corridors. Mr Goodall concluded: “With this report we want to inform the debate, to add another string to the bow of efforts to tackle climate change and promote nature, and to focus energy on solutions and action.”

Marlow Ropes, the world-leading rope manufacturer officially announces the introduction of their latest ‘technically better’ innovation; the BLUE OCEAN® GECKO, a first in the Arboriculture industry. The Blue Ocean® Gecko is a climbing rope with a 16 plait cover made from Marlow’s trademarked Blue Ocean® yarn - manufactured from recycled plastic bottles. It is the first climbing rope in the Arboriculture industry to be made from the recycled material. This release comes after their first product, Blue Ocean® Raptor, a lowering line made from 100% Blue Ocean® yarn hit the market earlier this year. The new creation maintains the same CE Certified attributes and performance of Marlow’s popular original Gecko, but with an eco-conscious twist and a NEW low-profile eye termination option - added to give a tighter grip to karabiners/ hardware and to ease a smoother run through branches. The Blue Ocean® range was created in-line with Marlow’s sustainability and environmental goals. It aims to raise awareness of single-use plastics and the effect they have on the planet. Paul Dyer, Marlow’s Technical Manager comments on the forward-thinking product development. ‘For years we have been looking to develop new products that are more sustainable and a better fit with our environmental mission. Following the successful introduction of recycled materials into the Leisure Marine market we’ve spent the last year working towards bringing the Blue Ocean® sustainability benefits to the Arboriculture and Tree Work market with a range of fully CE certified products.' Blue Ocean® Gecko is now available from local Marlow stockists.

Thirteen years into not using petrol from the pump, Nick Rose - Owner of Redwood Tree Services Ltd - says making the switch to aspen Alkylate Fuel has filled more than just his tanks. The efficiency and cleaner performance of his 2 and 4-stroke equipment has led to huge financial savings through significant improvements in performance and reduction in costly repairs. The seven operatives of the Surrey-based tree surgeons undertake a wide variety of domestic and commercial projects utilising a large fleet of petrol driven equipment - including in excess of 30 chainsaws. “I first discovered aspen Fuel when I attended the Arb Show at Cirencester” explains Nick. “We were a relatively small firm at the time, conducting a lot of hedge work and domestic jobs, and I found I was experiencing a lot of headaches and side effects of working in such close proximity of 2-stroke engines. This was all but eradicated, overnight, after we trialled the aspen product.” aspen Alkylate Petrol is virtually free from sulphur, benzene and solvents, making it 99% cleaner than regular petrol when comparing the level of hazardous hydrocarbons. With these ingredients removed, the odour and infamous ‘blue haze’ produced is minimal, reducing the impact the machinery makes on both the operator and the environment. “The health benefits were apparent immediately, but we quickly also began to discover how much better aspen was for the health of our machinery.” “Our chainsaws and other equipment are in use tirelessly, but the fact that aspen burns so much cleaner and is free from ethanol means we very rarely experience reliability issues when it comes to engine performance – Carburettor’s, gaskets, spark plugs even, which I’ve seen destroyed in a matter of weeks or months in chainsaws running on pump fuel just aren’t an issue when you’re using aspen.” The savings for Nick extend beyond that of costly replacement parts, he has also noticed a reduction in his overall fuel usage. “It takes us roughly six months to go through a 200L barrel of aspen, which is great value when you consider the vast improvements in the efficiency of our equipment. Having the fuel on site is another major benefit and gives us further savings in the form of time, by not having to go to the petrol station every week. All around, it just makes complete sense.”

Jo Beau, the Belgian manufacturer known for its compact woodchippers, stumpgrinders and scarifiers, have reinvented their complete line-up of professional chippers. After 22 years it was time for a facelift. And what a result! Not only did we tackle the looks, but we also made a lot of design improvements, construction reinforcements, and performance increases. The improvements we have made include: Larger volumes. Jo Beau has strived to make the intake of larger volumes of branches and corresponding greenery possible. The in-feed opening has been increased by 20%, and the volume of the in-feed hopper increased by 6%! This makes it easy for the operator to get wider branches into the in-feed opening. Reinforced construction. Over the years, Jo Beau has built up a great deal of experience. They have used this knowledge in their renewed design. “We listen carefully to those who work daily with our Jo Beau chippers. It was mainly these users who suggested possible improvements. We use thicker, heavier steel plates in the most sensitive areas of the machine to make our wood chippers even more durable than they used to be.” Ergonomics. Ergonomics for the user has been the focus of our attention since the first design of the Jo Beau wood chippers. A low input of branches, easy movement of the machine and good balance, and importantly good accessibility to the engine and fuel tank, to name but a few. Design. All these points together led to the renewed designs being added to a range of machines for the 21st century. A sharp, tough and fresh look shows that we are ready for the future! Again, questions and comments from the end user were taken into account! The demand for more fixation eyes in order to be able to secure the machines better during transport is one example of this. On some models there are also new options, such as ‘LED work lights’ on the M500 wood chipper, which is now also equipped with the latest Honda iGX800 (25Hp / Electric Fuel Injection / electric throttle / no more throttle & choke cables). Warranty. Jo Beau strongly believes in their own products and have therefore tinkered with the 'warranty conditions'. By registering your new Jo Beau Next Generation machine, Jo Beau doubles your warranty period for free! For professionals, the warranty period increases from 1 year to 3 years. For rental companies, the warranty period increases from 6 months to 1 year. For private users Jo Beau even goes from 2 up to 4 years! Visit the UK Jo Beau website for more technical details www.jobeau-uk.co.uk For more information, demonstrations and pricing we refer tot he dynamic distributor for UK ‘Global Recycling Solutions’ (Phone: + 44 (0) 1476 568384 - press 1 for sales / [email protected])