Bushy and Home Park received Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) status

It is excellent news that Bushy and Home Park have received Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) status (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/historic-london-parkland-gets-national-recognition-for-its-nature-conservation-importance) from Natural England. It is particularly heartening that the parks have been cited in part for their ancient and veteran trees.

Treework Environmental Practice have been surveying veteran trees at Bushy Park since 2008 and have produced Individual Tree Management Plans (ITMP) for all of the veteran trees among other things.

As part of the process for establishing the suitability of Bushy Park for SSSI status, we were commissioned to assess 12 nearby parks across south and west London for the quality of veteran tree populations within them. This was carried out in accordance with the Natural England Veteran Tree Site Assessment Protocol. We worked closely with Natural England in order to ensure the information we provided met their needs and was delivered on time.

Gillian Jonusas of The Royal Parks said:

“The Royal Parks has worked in partnership with Treework Environmental Practice on the management of its veteran trees for many years and was pleased to have the input of their experience and skill in surveying and producing management plans for the important population of veterans in Bushy Park”