Veteran Tree Management Course
National Trust Hatfield Forest Thursday 2nd & Friday 3rd February 2012
9am - 4pm Price: £240
Course Outline The course will cover specific issues related to the management of veteran trees and differences compared with conventional arboriculture. Topics covered will also include surveying a veteran tree population, interpreting and implementing a management plan, how to practically conserve a veteran tree, which techniques to use in different situations using some real life examples to be seen in practice from a MEWP. It will also look at the ways you can apply a veteran tree management plan to your own site.
Course leaders
Vikki Forbes
Vikki has worked in nature conservation since 1992. Up until 2003 in England at Burnham Beeches, Ashtead Common and Hatfield Forest. Since 2003 she has worked as a freelance ecologist in Sweden with Pro Natura. Vikki has worked with issues related to the ancient and veteran trees (surveying, ecology, training and practical management) throughout her working career and has surveyed in excess of 10000 veteran trees in Sweden and the UK.
Reg Harris
Reg is Director of Urban Forestry (Bury St. Edmunds) Ltd, an AA approved contracting company. Acts as an assessor for the AA on the Approved Contractor scheme and also represents the AA on the AFAG committee. Urban Forestry have been involved with Veteran tree work since 2000, predominantly at Hatfield Forest and Aspal Close in East Anglia, but also at several sites in Sweden.
Henry Bexley
Henry is Countryside Manager for the National Trust in Essex and South Suffolk. He has a practical background in forestry and arboriculture prior to joining the Hatfield Forest team in 2000. He assisted with the Forest’s veteran tree management programme from its inception in 2001 and has been responsible for its entire implementation from 2003 to the present.
Day 1
Morning – Indoors with presentations covering the following:
Background to Veteran Tree management
Conservation arboriculture
Differences from Shigo theory (stub length etc.)
Fungi and trees
Ageing process
How to interpret and implement veteran tree management plans
What to think about when putting out a contract
Other practical things to think about?
Afternoon:
Take a walk around Hatfield looking at examples the natural processes that trees go through when ageing
Retrenchment
Layering
Limb loss
Regeneration
Differences between pollards and maidens, young and veteran trees.
Day 2
Outdoors all day apart from the last two hours
Group splits to do two activities
Activity 1
Look at trees which have been cut, discuss what has happened. Demonstration from the ground.
Pole thinning
Retrenchment
Coronet/rip cuts
Look at a tree before cut
See a tree being cut – demo
Activity 2
Delegates go up into the trees on a platform and have a look at work that has been done up close. Demonstrations from the ground as well as in platform.
2-4pm approx - indoor session
Small groups to discuss what they have seen. How is it possible to put into practice back in your workplace/site? What questions remain unanswered? Summarise the two days. Discuss the Good Practice Guide.
To book, please call or email Nicky Daniel on (01279) 870678 /
[email protected]