Observatree Parliamentary Reception

Observatree: The award winning early warning system for tree health

A huge congratulations to the Observatree project which hosted a Parliamentary reception this week celebrating the success of this award-winning early warning system for tree health monitoring.

Our MD and Senior Arboricultural Consultant Luke Fay was delighted to attend this event at the House of Commons on 7 November. It was hosted by Sir Harry Studholm (Foresty Commission) and presentations were by Prof Nicola Spence, Defra and Beccy Speight of the Woodland Trust.

Observatree was launched in 2013 to collate UK-wide data on tree health with the aim of creating an early warning system. The project is scheduled to last for four years and is split into two sections. The first invites people who are involved with trees either professionally or academically to report any tree pests or disease sightings so that organisations such as The Forestry Commission can action plans to combat the spread of diseases. The second is a citizen science initiative harnessing the potential of trained volunteers to survey and report early signs of disease or pests. Volunteers can upload data onto Tree Alert, an online reporting tool developed by The Forestry Commission.

Our own long-standing positon at the cutting edge of ideas, concepts and science around tree health make this initiative very close to our heart.

Treework’s ongoing commitment to understanding biosecurity and tree health is evident in our ever-growing body of expertise and collaboration with the likes of Padova University and SoilBioLab.

Our unique Study Workshop on Ceratocystis platani (Cancker Stain of Plane) at Padova University in June of this year was fruit of just such a collaborative relationship. We are currently working on future similar events building on the strength of this partnership and aim to announce these in the New Year.

Our Treework Seminar Series has included a number of important tree-health-focussed seminars bringing expertise from around the world to UK arboricultural professionals.

Joining the dots between initiatives such as Observatree, which will establish a national early warning system for pests and diseases, and the revolutionary approaches to tree-soil management and remediation for which we are torch bearers is the key to laying the foundations for a new era of tree health. Treework is proud to be be a vital part of that key.