Sandalwood billets and chips stacked ready for processing at the Mysore factory

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In: feature, forestry, photography, travel, trees

Sandalwood Santalum album L., commonly known as East Indian Sandalwood or Chandan, is a small tropical tree highly prized for its wood and scented oil. Its wonderful fragrant oil is used in perfumes, toiletries and incense. It is a fascinating tree in many ways. Sandalwood: the tree and its cultivationContinue Reading

Gabriel Hemery speaking at the Art and Joy of Wood conference

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In: feature, forestry, people, travel

The culture, traditions, aesthetics of wood have been largely overlooked by scientists and the policy community. Trees and wood are at the heart of our future: to live sustainably we must use more wood while conserving and expanding our forests. Continue Reading

Sunrise in the Cevennes

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In: photo, travel

I enjoy the subjects provided by the Weekly photo challenge.  This week I’ve cheated, just a little, as the theme is Sunset and I have posted instead a sunrise. I like this photo so I thought I could get away with posting it. While on holiday in France in July,Continue Reading

Walnut collecting family with donkeys in Kyrgyzstan

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In: Kyrgyzstan, people, photo, photography

Deep in the walnut-fruit forests of Kyrgyzstan, miles from the nearest track passable by a 4×4, I was climbing a narrow path when the family group suddenly appeared around a corner. I quickly asked (with gestures only as I don’t speak Kyrgyz) whether I could take a photo, and after Dad’s nodding approval I managed to take just two frames as they carried on past.Continue Reading

Black walnut in Oxford Botanic Garden

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In: arboriculture, feature, travel

Britain has many wonderful collections of trees in arboreta, botanic gardens and country parks.  Many of these are some of the oldest collections in the world.  I’ve created an interactive Google map showing the finest collections of trees in Britain. Click on the map icons to read more about eachContinue Reading

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In: feature, science, travel

We’ve been here one week today but time seems immeasurable: it feels like a lifetime ago that my companion, Peter Savill, and I left London Heathrow. We had another good day collecting walnuts; this time in a new area further East. Mid-morning, we’d stopped in a remote area for our usual snack of chai and lepyoshkas …Continue Reading

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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

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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