The story so far: the difference we’ve made in five years It seems like yesterday I attended the first Observatree meeting in London and here we are, five years later. Working with Observatree volunteers has been a crucial part of our work at the Tree Health Diagnostic and Advisory Service (THDAS) at Forest Research (FR). … Read more
2018 ISA True Professional, Linden Lampman
It’s now almost exactly a year since Phase 1 of Observatree under EU LIFE+ funding came to an end and the project transitioned to Observatree II. A great deal has happened over the past 12 months, both within the project and in the wider world of tree health, and I wanted to take this opportunity, … Read more
2018 ISA True Professional, Nate Faris
I was delighted to go to an Observatree training event at Llandeilo on 8 June 2018. This was the third training event that I have attended and, as well as an update on some priority pests and diseases, there was a very useful identification workshop on broadleaved trees. Some were more challenging than others, including … Read more
2018 ISA Award of Distinction, Bruce Fraedrich, Ph.D.
In July 2015, at an Observatree training session held at Keele University, Barnaby Wylder (Forestry Commission) showed volunteers a 10-15 year old Cedrus atlantica glauca quite heavily infected with Sirococcus tsugae. The disease has been endemic in North America on Hemlock (Tsuga spp.) for many years but has only been observed in Europe, initially in … Read more
2018 ISA Award of Distinction, Rip Tompkins
I would like to say a huge thank you to all volunteers and trainers who attended the training days and helped make them successful and enjoyable for everyone present. We held 11 events across England, Wales, and Scotland from the end of May to the beginning of July. Approximately 75 volunteers attended and it was good … Read more