A civilised society

Civilisation.

Where forests - carbon sinks, oxygen sources, habitat, water regulation, firewood, medicinal plants, huge biodiversity - are felled in huge swarths to provide bare land for building, or growing crops or animal feed.

Where we've "moved on" from eating edible plants to selecting vast monocultures of crops to grow. Where the soils have been depleted and natural resistance eroded, so we apply sticking plasters of toxic fertilisers and pesticides to prop it up for one extra season at a time. Where the natural balance of variation, and its benefits not only for biodiversity but also for food production, are ignored.

Where, to grow our crops, we remove trees that would provide alternative food sources, shade, natural soil binding and nutrients, and firewood for fuel. Where our soil, now empty and near-lifeless, washes into rivers.

Where we want driveways for our cars, or paved areas so we don't have to cut the grass, and so we pave over the soil. We cover the ground, and then bemoan the flooding that ensues. The flooding that is already worsened by the removal of riparian woodlands, and of wetlands that should be slowing the water rushing down the rivers.

Where conservation of the natural world, and all that it gives, has to fit in with the economy. Where we should be grateful for people "compromising", and leaving a bit of greenery whilst the rest is destroyed in pursuit of profit.

Where the belief is that everyone makes money and everyone's happy. Everyone can buy bigger houses, more material goods, flasher cars, and no-one loses. Well, only those people in sweatshops making the material goods. Only the environment, resources plundered to produce raw materials for goods. But that's irrelevant, as long as the money keeps flooding in.

Where its more important to 'fix the economy' and push the green agenda down in importance - it's all good to make vague promises about carbon reductions, but that's second place to making more money. All hail this artificial construct of the economy, of the stock market, of "the markets" that seem to rule all of human society. They're not even real, yet we worship them above all else.

Where we drive to work, drive home, shop at supermarkets, eat food of questionable origin, whilst we forget about who lives around us. Where we know more about what goes on in social media than we do about our neighbours' lives. We forget that our meat was once an animal, often maltreated and suffering before being slaughtered just for us.

Where we turn a blind eye to everything collapsing around us, and carry on as normal - make money, consume, repeat. Where we ignore the warning bells of a world pushed to the limit by our selfish, greed-driven behaviour.

Where corporations - businesses, mere businesses - now have the power to sue entire countries if they won't allow resource exploitation on their land

Sometimes it's hard to feel positive about 'civilisation'. I feel like we've taken a wrong turning somewhere.

BCEP in the woods

An environmental charity that my friend works for have recently taken over management of an urban woodland in Bradford, and he asked me if I'd be willing to do a bit of volunteering to help with the practical side of the woodland management. I must admit to missing the sunny days out in the woods and so happily said yes. So far, I've spent a couple of days there this summer, carving a fallen sycamore into a play feature for children and thinning out some dense sycamore over the footpath, to make it less gloomy and foreboding.

Partway through, with "steps up"
made along one co-dominant stem

  

A probable factor in the tree falling?
Dryad Saddle fruiting on the stump

Criss-cross cuts to make it less slippery

The finished piece...

Also spent a while thinning an area dominated by birch, where the charity hope to create a forest schools area for local pupils.

Before...

...after

In a geeky way, I find something so
aesthetically pleasing about birch logs!

There's still work to be done, and more thinning, but it's a nice project to be involved in and a way to hopefully utilise a slightly neglected and overlooked woodland.

New discoveries

A handful of more unusual trees that I've seen over the past wee while, mostly from Sheffield Botanic Gardens.

Cyprus cedar (Cedrus brevifolia) - a bit like an Atlas cedar, but with super small needles:

A strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) - after seeing this, I recognised another on the same street as my girlfriend's house:

 A purple-leaved variety of Katsura (Cercidophyllum japonicum), one of my favourite trees due to its lovely, caramel smell in autumn. I think the variety may be 'Red Fox'?

Styrax japonicum - a snowdrop tree:

Whilst it is a native tree, I don't think I've ever seen a wild service tree (Sorbus torminalis) outside of collections. The craggy, patchwork brown and grey bark is lovely.

And, from Paignton Zoo in Devon, a cork oak (Quercus suber):

Finally, mulberry trees (Morus nigra) must be like buses - been looking for ages, and then have seen three this year. Even ran around one of them.

A walk in the woods

Walking along Slades Road, the first footpath sign seems to point into someone's garden; a neat metal fence, with cars parked beyond it. The footpath further along is blocked by curious cows, so it's back to the first and cutting through someone's drive, feeling guilty even despite the Public Footpath fingerpost.

Past the stables and recent balsam clearance, and now I'm into Heath House Woods. Well, above it. The recent rain has freshened everything up, and this path cuts along the upper edge, bordered by young oaks, Sorbus, hawthorn, and other edge species. A first swig of Bowmore here (unashamedly inspired by Robert Macfarlane's whisky-fuelled strolls), whilst looking out above the woodland canopy of oaks that carpet the valley. It looks almost as though you could walk across to Heath House on top of these crowns.

Walk a bit further, and I come to a gated junction. To the left, back to Colne Valley. The cheers and shouts of a crowd as someone far away in Brazil scores, or doesn't score, reinforces the decision to turn right and head further into the woods. A little way in and a trail heads off steeply downhill, too tempting to ignore. Here, the oaks are contorted, squat and buckled, but no less lovely than those larger, open-grown trees you might see in a hedgerow.

A magpie flies through the canopy. One for sorrow. The grasses and brambles are laden with cuckoo spit, I don't know if I've ever seen more in one spot. Finally, another magpie joins the first. Two for joy - a far more optimistic prospect. A roaring in the distance sounds like a waterfall, although it is just as likely to be a mill or even some machinery somewhere. However, the babbling of a beck at the bottom of the slope is unmistakable, and so I head down. On the way, wonder about the wood's history. Planted, or a remnant of what used to be? Worked, and by whom, and why? And does that even matter, or should we just enjoy wondering in woods, rather than analyse them? 

A tyre swing and further tyres making up stepping stones by no means detract from the strength of the oak on the opposite bank, which must have stood sentinel by the beck for a century at least. However, as well intentioned as the tyres may be, they still remind of the uncomfortable proximity of the town to the left. So across the burn a turn right, heading up past a decaying log. The tree must have fallen naturally, but the clean cuts and branch stubs show that at least once someone has been in here with a saw.

Following the beck upstream, it forks into two. Each of the gulleys along which it heads are lush and green; it might not be as vast, stirring, symbolic or emotive as the Amazon, but these oak woodlands are our temperate rainforests. And the lichens on branches, the fungi and ground fauna, the birds calling still demonstrate the diversity of these woods. A jay flits across the beck and alights on a branch, silhouetted and quieter than its rowdier, black and white cousins. 

I cross back over the beck and head upwards, slipping on the wet mud, finally reaching a defined path cutting across perpendicular. A squat oak here offers two nice boughs for a seat and so I sit for a while, taking a few swigs and enjoying the sound of water, whilst admiring the fresh pink on newly flushed epicormic growths.

Further on, I come to a bridge crossed on a previous stroll, and realise that this path leads out, eventually, to the cows. So an about turn, and taking a left fork that eventually leads out to a more widely spaced area. I've been here before, taking a seat in an oak in the sun and whimsically fantasising about building a hut here, leaving civilisation as we know it to live in the woods. I had begun to plan it out - planting edible plants, thinking of water sources - a beautiful distraction from our everyday lives.

Back up to that gated junction, following the track out to find a large house and grounds. Someone with the money to buy a lovely patch of land, but without the sense to take only what they need from it. It's hard to ignore the urge to head back now, back into the woods. and so that's what I do; picking up that original path out. Halfway along, a small track leads down, again too intriguing not to followed. It ends up leading out to an oak begging to be climbed; dropping towards it, and it become apparent this is the top of my imagined woodland settlement. Oh, well. Climb the tree, a couple more swigs, listen to chaffinches piping alarm. Savour the greenery, the stillness, the simplicity. Then back out to the path, to someone's garden, and finally to tarmac once more.

Ulterior motives, realised

Having done the Picus test on the beech tree I blogged about below, and submitted a report recommending a 20% crown reduction, cable bracing and rhizosphere improvement, I felt like I had done the best for that tree. I know the clients weren’t happy with it, thanks to the phone call from the developer (!) acting on their behalf, but felt that I had proved the tree could be retained and made safe.

However, things change. The wife living at the house called me up. First argument – that Ganoderma could be putting out spores attacking all the trees in their garden, including another big beech recently pruned. I explained how, as soon as a cut is made, hundreds of spores of all kinds of organisms will be landing on that wood; removing this beech and its Ganoderma will not stop infection. Her second line of attack rattled me more – an emotionally manipulative argument, discussing the tree falling on her and/or her family, killing her children. She had ‘found out’ that I would be liable for such actions, if the tree failed after I made my recommendations.

Although I knew this, and told her as much, I still went away that night worrying. What if I have made the wrong decision? What if it does fail, and I’m in court faced with negligence or manslaughter? However, I managed to settle myself down – other, experienced consultants proof-read my report and looked at the Picus results, and reached the same conclusion I had.

I naively hoped that would be it – if they did the work I recommended then their fears for safety would be alleviated.

Apparently not, since it was the husband’s turn last night. He gave me all kinds of bulls**t. They can’t insure for their house, given that cable bracing “is using giant bungees to hold a limb up when it fails”. No, it’s not; it reduces loading on a potential weak point, to prevent failure. Their neighbours are signing a petition to fell the tree because he’s been scaremongering about how dangerous it is. Did he tell them that my report had made recommendations that would reduce risk to an acceptable level? It’s got no long-term future, felling it would be euthanasia. Sorry, but no. Euthanasia is mercy killing; the tree is not suffering, the problem’s with him perceiving it to be in the way.

And, the closest he admitted to wanting it out the way for reasons other than safety – he’s spending £40,000 re-landscaping his garden, and doesn’t want that trashed “in a year’s time” by “a crane coming in” to fell the tree. Firstly – the tree could last far longer than a year. And secondly, well, there’s the reason for wanting rid – a tree with 150cm dbh has the maximum root protection area of 15m, that’s a big area on which our poor client can’t alter levels or put in garish garden features.

So, this morning, I sent a very considered and careful e-mail, putting in writing about what “an acceptable level of risk” means, about how cable bracing works, about the relative strength of Ganoderma (quoting an excerpt from Lonsdale’s Principles of Tree Hazard Assessment and Management, on how trees can sit with this fungus for many years without compromising safety). I reiterated the tree’s benefits – amenity and historic value, wildlife benefits, pollution attenuation, evaporative cooling, shading, and reducing waterlogging in his precious garden. I also explained the council see all these positives, as demonstrated by the protective order.

His response? They’re applying to fell the tree, “because it is dangerous”. They’ve hired an Arb Association approved consultant (what, like the company I work for?) to “review” my report and support felling the tree.

I don’t know whether I am more angry or upset. I had a tear in my eye. Firstly – I’ve failed trying to save a significant, majestic, wonderful being that can easily be made safe but kept. It’s down to the tree officer now, who (if these guys are as underhand as I suspect) may never see my report. I hope their new consultant recommends my work; but what if they care less about morals and integrity, and support the felling. I’ve tried, really bloody tried, to help save a being far older than any of us involved – and failed.

I honestly get upset about this kind of thing. Trees aren't inanimate objects in our landscape; they are living, respiring, growing organisms. The ecosystem services they provide far outweigh the minor ways in which we, as humans, should be altering our lifestyles to co-exist with them. This tree was at least 150 years old, possibly more. There is no way, morally, killing it can be justified when with some sympathetic treatment it could live for decades longer. It is truly heartbreaking to think that this tree could soon be felled - killed - because of selfish and greedy owners of the land on which it stands.

Secondly – I’m angry. Bitterly angry. Angry about the emotional manipulation to try and sway my decision. Angry about these ill-informed, greedy homeowners ignoring my advice because it’s not what they wanted – even though it was for the good of the tree, good of the environment, and even would have benefitted their property. Angry that they want to undermine my findings because I was too professional to side with them on this. Angry that they own a beautiful house made even better by a beautiful beech tree – I cannot overstate how significant it is. If you don’t like trees, don’t buy the house with them; go live with your sterile strip of lawn, and fancy landscaped features. I’d happily live under that tree, Ganoderma and all.

Another case of money being more important than anything else – and my crushing realisation that I can do nothing about it. Is this what consultancy is going to be like?

Professional mendacity

One small job that I've done in consultancy has weighed heavily on my mind. It was one where I had to completely detach the professional me - arboricultural consultant - from the personal me - environmentalist. Whilst I've expressed in this blog (and still continue to feel) discomfort with being involved in the development side of arboriculture, I have so far never been asked to directly alter my opinion to suit a client. In fact, I probably rate trees highly in terms of retention; I will give out retention category 'A' or 'B' quite readily to trees that I feel couldn't be easily replaced. If I ever did get a client asking me to downgrade a tree so that they could get it out of the way, I would point-blank refuse. I don't care if they pay my wages or not - that is against my morals.

However, with that in mind... I was put in a tricky situation by one client.

It was a development in a pretty, rural village. Other development had been proposed in the vicinity, which led to the usual response from the local authority of putting Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) on local, significant trees, including ones on the site my client wanted to develop. Now, according to them, they weren't informed of the new TPOs and found out through the grapevine. This seemed to have really riled the developer and so, as well as wanting the usual BS5837 survey, they also instructed me to object to one particular TPO before the deadline for objections ran out.

This tree was in the way of the proposed access to the new development; the developer obviously saw that having a protected tree there meant that they would have to spend more money redesigning the project and creating new access areas, instead of widening the existing one (requiring the removal of this tree). So, when they found out it had been protected, and their first plan was now scuppered, they wanted me to object to the TPO to make it easier for them to remove the tree and keep costs and effort down.

I went and had a look at the tree. A lovely mature copper beech, prominent and so with high amenity. Good vigour. It has to be admitted, however, that the rooting area wasn't great, being situated as it was on a driveway, with a lane to one side and a retaining wall directly next to it. I also found a slight weeping lesion with what could be the beginnings of Kretzschmaria deusta crusts forming.

And so, I called the client. I explained that the tree was visually significant and appeared healthy and so, frankly, if I was a tree officer I would have protected it. I explained that there were some possible defects, but only worthy of monitoring at this stage. I also told them that, in my opinion, a TPO would be upheld until any defects were confirmed.

The client, however, still had issues with the way that the council had supposedly not told them about the TPO. I suggested writing a formal complaint to the council regarding this. Apparently the client had done that already, but to make sure that the LPA were aware of their annoyance, they wanted to formally object too. As a last ditch attempt, I informed the client that they would be provoking the authority that would, eventually, decide whether or not to grant planning permission; that I would have to charge for time spent objecting; and that it was unlikely to be successful. They still asked me to go ahead.

So, I did it. I spent some time writing a carefully worded letter explaining that I was objecting to the TPO on behalf of the client, due to diminished longevity of the tree. And I hated it. Although I got colleagues to read through it to make sure that, reading between the lines, it was obvious that I was doing this on behalf of the client, I still felt uncomfortable with it. That letter is a public document, visible on the internet, with my name on the bottom saying that I object to a tree being protected on some pretty circumstantial grounds. That is my reputation with the local authority on the line, and in the long run I will have one or two dealings with this client, whereas I need a good and long-lasting working relationship with the tree officers in the local area.

All this has been brought back into my mind by an article on Horticulture Weekly, about an application to fell a 300 year old oak tree just because of subsidence to a garage. Luckily, it has been rejected, but right there in the article is the name of the arboricultural consultant writing the application and appeal. How would I feel if my name was printed in an article about an objection to protecting trees, just because it made a development easier?

I am still upset about jeopardising my professional reputation for the sake of some client wanting to make their development a little bit more straight forward, and because the client wanted to throw their toys out of the pram because of the apparent lack of notification of the TPO. Did I do the right thing writing that objection? Did I manage to detach myself enough from their motives, and simply be a vector for their objection as opposed to being actually 'on their side'? Am I right to do what the client asks, since they pay my wage? I don't know. I didn't downgrade a tree; I didn't make up problems to make the objection more reasonable, I just stated the facts. However, it's my name at the bottom of the letter saying that a tree of stature shouldn't be protected, all for the sake of a client's laziness at designing development, and annoyance with the council. I must admit to hoping that the objection is rejected.

Ulterior motives

One aspect that quickly becomes apparent in the private sector is that things aren't always what they seem... take a job I did last week. On the face of it, the kind of job I love doing.

A beautiful, mature beech tree in a garden. 25m tall and 150dbh, it was a lovely, open grown specimen, forking into two co-dominant stems at about 2m high. However, one stem (closest to the house in question) had a long-standing Ganoderma bracket on it - I counted at least 8 years of growth on it.

We had been asked, on behalf of the homeowners, to do decay detection tests to see how bad the fungal activity is. A bit of research revealed that the tree is protected and there had been an application to remove it, refused by the tree officer, who wanted to see how bad the decay was before agreeing to such action. Hence my involvement.

The actual survey itself was good fun; I always get a kick out of doing Picus tests and seeing what the interior of the tree looks like. Decay in the stem was nearly at the 70% t/r ratio, where most trees show a significantly increased risk of failure. A test below the bracket showed less extensive decay, but worryingly, getting closer to the included bark at the stem union. So the recommendations - a crown reduction to take the weight off the decayed stem, coupled with cable bracing to reinforce the already vulnerable stem union given that decay seemed to be entering that area. A Picus at the base revealed some minor decay in the centre, possibly having spread down; so, as an added recommendation, soil decompaction and mulching could give the tree more of a fighting chance at compartmentalising the decay.

However, when we first arrived, the husband at the property made no bones about wanting its removal, claiming his family were scared of the tree failing. He made out that his wife really wanted the tree gone - so having completed the tests, and telling the wife that I thought the tree could be made safe and kept, her relief seemed a bit at odds with her husband's account of how she felt. Hmmm.

So I wrote up the report and made recommendations, and was duly contacted by our instructing client (on behalf of the homeowners) who, as it turned out, worked for... a development agency. I gladly told her that yes, the tree needed work, but it could be kept. The desired outcome, or so I thought. The client had other ideas, informing me that, really, they want the tree felled. "It's dangerous." Well, erm, not if you carry out the work I've recommended... "It's never going to get better though, is it?" Well, would that be a suitable excuse for an ill human? No, it's never going to 'heal' - it's a mature Beech at least 150 years old, by my reckoning - but given the right treatment it could go on longer, whilst being made safe to decline on its terms.

Luckily, I played the professional advice card, suppressing my "save the trees" tendencies and instead arguing that, if I recommended a fell, the tree officer would take a look at the decay detection results and reach the conclusion that I reached - yes, work needs done, but the tree can be retained. So it was a waste of their money asking me to recommend a fell, because the tree officer would throw any report like that out of the window.

However, it left me quite angry. A development company... Who are they kidding? They wanted rid of the tree so that the property owners could develop there. They were looking for any reason why that tree could be felled. Quite a relief that the council were on the ball and had TPO'd it. It's a lack of respect; we don't "own" trees, to remove at our whim when we feel money can be made. A tree that old will have seen the days when it was horse and cart passing by the road, not cars driving by. It will have seen countless inhabitants of that property, and could see more if given sympathetic treatment. Yes, it is in the autumn of its years - but for a tree that old, the autumn could last rather a long time. 

So show some respect for living beings of that stature. Realise how lucky you are to have such a magnificent tree in your garden. Think about the air pollution attenuation, the shading, evaporative cooling, water table regulation and carbon storage that tree is providing. And, lastly, put your cards on the table - don't pretend that the tree needs felling because it is dangerous, when actually it's in the way of your development and you don't see how important keeping trees like that are. It was astonishing that they even tried to be so underhand, and I'm just glad that the local authority were so aware and decisive; hopefully, this particular beech will see many more years to come.