On:
In: arboriculture, art, feature, forestry

Young forest trees often require some form of ‘formative’ shaping or pruning during the first 5-10 years after planting.  I co-wrote a practical guide on this subject for Woodland Heritage, and created the artwork that I’ve reproduced here.     Young trees may require pruning for a variety of reasons,Continue Reading

On:
In: birds, feature, trees

Nature brings us gifts in abundance at this time of year.  I was lucky to enjoy one after another during a brief visit to a jewel in England’s woodlands: the Forest of Dean. I soaked in the view from Symonds Yat Rock, a popular landmark in the Forest, where theContinue Reading

On:
In: feature, forestry, science

I spent over a decade as a forest scientist working to improve the genetic quality of various hardwood tree species.  To put it another way, to maniupate NATURE.  It became increasingly obvious to me that we must never ignore NURTURE.  We must work with both nature and nurture when creatingContinue Reading

On:
In: feature, science

Today we collected seeds from a valley near Gava village. Mamajan headed off to Jalal-Abad seeking permission to collect seeds from this area. After starting promptly at 0900 and having a productive morning, we unfortunately had to walk back to the farmstead for lunch; a round trip of at least 2.5 hours. I have found …Continue Reading

On:
In: art, feature

I recently came across a bird’s eye view of the farmland at College Farm in Southern Oxfordshire, before I had designed and started the planting of two new woodlands: Paradise Wood and Neptune Wood. The aerial photograph, taken in 1991, clearly shows that College Farm was an arable desert.  WheatContinue Reading

On:
In: feature, science, travel

We spent until 1200 packing up and getting ready to leave Bishkek for our flight to Osh, Kyrgyzstan’s second city. After many complicated discussions we (my companion Peter, our student translator Askar, and me) finally got underway to Manas airport via a taxi. We arrived early with four hours to spare. The only interesting thing to happen was the sudden fall …Continue Reading

On:
In: feature, forestry, trees

In 1995 I took a series of panoramic photos and made sketches to explore how Paradise Wood, the new woodland that I was creating for the Northmoor Trust, would fit in the landscape of the future.  I was developing Paradise Wood as a new woodland and a centre for forestryContinue Reading

On:
In: feature

I met the late environmental broadcaster and writer Roger Deakin (b. February 11th 1943 — d. August 19th 2006) when he came to visit the walnut trials I had established at Paradise Wood in Oxfordshire. He was researching for his book, Wildwood: a journey through trees, which would be hisContinue Reading

On:
In: feature, science, travel

In 1997 I undertook an expedition to Kyrgyzstan with friend and colleague Peter Savill, to collect walnut seeds from the naturally occurring walnut-fruit forests. Stranded in the capital city Bishkek for three days, following the loss of our luggage by the airline somewhere en route in Kazakstan, a frustrating timeContinue Reading