So here we go blog post number 1, well technically number 2 but the first one was just to say we had a blog and the website was finished so it doesn’t really count, and those of a certain age will recognise the title although you’ll be pleased to know im not writing this in thunderbox.
Anyway this week we’ve been in the office, out grinding stumps and had a ride out to Barcham trees to have a listen to Ted Green. If you don’t know who Ted is, he’s the founder of the Ancient Tree Forum, conservation consultant to the crown estate at windsor, has a MBE, was given the gold medal award for distinguished services to forestry by the RFS and at 84 he doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
The seminar was described as Thoughts on arboriculture today, with Ted putting it across as a laymans thoughts on arboriculture today, personally i’d have said it was more an open minded view of arboriculture and Teds perspective was unapologetic and whether it was a concious effort or not, it made you think. Are arboriculturists, tree surgeons, arborists, whatever they want to call themselves, looking at the bigger picture? Some of us are but many don’t, do we really need to be condemning trees with signs of decline or fungus, reaching for the chainsaw as a first resort, or should we open our minds and our eyes and look at the whole. Check the soil, check the tree and don’t focus on the problem look at the cause, rather than act like old fashioned victorian doctors and hack lumps off willy nilly hoping the patient will survive.
He even raised part of his view on ancient trees. Bringing an ancient yew into the perspective, possibly the oldest tree in the uk, and how the National trust will spend thousands on protecting piles of stacked stones and placing plaques to describe what they are, but all the time not caring about this big old living monument, that was about when the magna carta was declared, allowing visitors to walk over the rooting area of this old tree and many others, furthering the compaction and pushing the tree into a state of stress and decline.
As always the good people at Barcham laid on a fantastic day, they never charge for these things, but lay on lunch and take the guest speakers out for beer and sandwiches the night before and then only ask for donations to go in the bucket if you want or can! They save all the donations up and split it between two charities at the end of the seminar season so fair play to them.
Anyway if you want to hear a bit from Ted, theres a few things like this one https://youtu.be/poTJT0UTKCI on you tube, he’s going to be speaking at Barcham again in november and he’ll more than likely be at some of the Ancient Tree Forum events.
If you want to buy some quality trees give the chaps at Barcham a shout, they’ll always look after you. https://www.barcham.co.uk
And if you get stuck for someone to plant them you can always give us a shout.
Thats enough from me for a bit, thanks for reading and hopefully i’ll have something interesting to yabba on about in a week or twos time.