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In: art, feature, forestry

To celebrate the International Year of Forests, the theme for PostEurop’s postage stamps for 2011 is trees and forests.  Europa stamps have been produced by many European countries and demonstrate some wonderful and varied designs.  Here are some of my favourites. If you have a philatelic interest and want toContinue Reading

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In: feature, nature, silviculture

I wrote this post more than five years ago, and its been one of my most popular ever since. Naturally more excellent trees books have been published in the intervening years and the list is worth updating. I’ve since written my own books so it would remiss of me not toContinue Reading

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Several honeys are made from tree flowers including one species that is supposed to be wind-pollinated. Here’s a review of some of the most popular, and some less well known, tree honeys.Continue Reading

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In: feature

Earlier this month I discovered a warbler in full song, perched in a leafing ash tree.  I was unsure what species it was because although I’m not bad at the visual identification of birds, I’m not so good at identifying them by their song.  I thought it was a blackcapContinue Reading

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I’m a forester.  That’s a simple description of my profession without much room for misunderstanding – or so you’d think.  Therein lies an etymological dilemma for me and my fellow tree professionals. As a forester I practice forestry, which is the management of forests.  In the public mind the termContinue Reading

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In: arboriculture, feature

Trees in our streets improve air quality, provide beneficial micro-climate, enhance property values and aesthetics, attenuate storm water, conserve energy, reduce noise pollution, provide wildlife habitat, and have a positive effect on physical and mental human health. There’s no denying that trees can cause problems in the built environment. TheirContinue Reading

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I don’t intend to make a habit of being introspective but I’ve completed my first year of tree blogging and now seemed a good opportunity to celebrate. I’ve written more than 100 posts and just passed receiving my 10,000th page view. Topics I’ve featured, celebrating all things sylvan, have rangedContinue Reading

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In: arboriculture, feature, forestry, policy, science

Trees in the UK are facing significant threats on two major fronts. The warming climate is making new territories habitable for unwanted pests and pathogens; while our insatiable appetite for the newest or cheapest plants and woody materials, imported via global trade, is making the situation ever worse. Global tradeContinue Reading

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Today is April Fool’s Day. Perhaps the most famous April Fool’s Day hoax of all time involved trees.  Viewers of a BBC Panorama programme in 1957 were told that due to a combination of favourable growing conditions and a fall in the population of the spaghetti weevil, there was aContinue Reading

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Trees provide us with many miracle cures, most famously aspirin from the willow and the cancer-busting drug taxol from the yew. However, they can also affect human health negatively. Pollen from the silver birch, Betula pendula, is the second most severe allergen for people in the UK. Late March isContinue Reading