Observatree Volunteer
Update
Thursday 16th April 2015
Welcome / Dear all
Welcome to this month’s Observatree Volunteer update. A special welcome to any new volunteers who are receiving this update for the first time. The update is filled with interesting articles and news from the world of tree pests and diseases and the Observatree project partners, as well as photos of pests and diseases that you have found during you surveys. Keep sending them in!
Engagement Officer news
It’s been a busy few weeks travelling around the UK helping to deliver the training events. It was lovely to see so many of you and I hope you found the day useful and interesting. As the weather improves and trees come into leaf, it’s a great time to start surveying (if you haven’t already).
I will be away on holiday from Thursday 7th May until Monday 18th May and I won’t be responding to emails or phone calls during that time. Please send any urgent enquiries to during this time.
Best wishes
Helen
Helen Jones
Engagement Officer, Observatree
0845 2935692
Your hard work / Last month, you recorded 764 hours of time dedicated to the Observatree project. Thank you!
Please complete the activity diary to report any work that you do on behalf of Observatree:
Project update / Tree Alert
The new and improved version of Tree Alert has been moved to the Forestry Commission server where it will be hosted from now on. The Observatree team at Forest Research have been working extremely hard to test the new version to make sure it is working effectively. Once the testing is complete, Tree Alert will go live at and reports will start to come in through the new version soon after
Tree Health Surveyors
While we are waiting for the launch of Tree Alert, we would like to choose your own sites to carry out surveys for signs of pests and diseases. For these self-directed surveys:
-follow the surveying protocol (sent out in the special training update on the 2nd April)
-report any sightings of the priority pests and diseases or anything else of interest using the survey form
-complete the activity log to show what you have done
-claim any expenses incurred
Tree Health Triage Verifiers
We will be sending out details of the online training for verifiers shortly. You will also receive your own handbook explaining how to carry out your role. In the meantime, continue to use the test site of the verification portal to familiarise yourself with the system and Tree Alert records.
Interesting pest and disease finds / Bleeds possibily caused by acute oak decline and d-shaped holes of Agrilus biggutatus (oak jewel beetle), Brian Jones.
Dutch Elm Disease (DED), Jayne Bell
King Alfred’s Cakes, Ben Todd
Chondrosteruempurpureum, Becky Barton
Changes at Fera / As we explained during the recent training events, one of the Observatree project partners has undergone some changes. Fera, the Food and Environment Research Agency, has split into Fera Science (a private company) and the Animal Plant Health Agency (part of Defra).
Fera will continue to be and Observatree partner and the APHA will remain part of the project as a supporting partner. We have provided a list of members of staff involved with the project so you know which organisation they work for:
Fera
Dr Charles Lane, Consultant plant pathologist – Mycologist
John Scrace, Plant Pathologist
Dom Collins, Entomologist
Dr Chris Malumphy, Entomologist
APHA
Carol Jackson, PHSI technical co-ordinator
Lucy Carson-Taylor – PHSI public engagement officer
PHSI (Plant health and seeds inspectors) – Kevin Izzard, Andrew Gaunt, Ann Payne
Jane Barbrook - Governance
News from Forest Research / The latest newsletter from Forest Research has been released.
In this edition: land regeneration best practice; determining the UK distribution of different types of Phytophthora ramorum; planting trees to kick off the 2015 International Year of Soils; seed storage directory; and can hot water kill Chalara?
Read the full newsletter here
Tree Health News from the Forestry Commission /
Read the latest news from Tree Health Forestry Commission England here
Key to success of tree killing fungus / Forest scientists believe they've discovered the success of a deadly tree fungus: extra genes. The fungus, Mycosphaerella populorum, uses extra genes to produce a toxin that can cause fatal lesions on the leaves, stems and branches of poplar trees. The extra genes were found through genome sequencing, the mapping of an organism's DNA. The discovery brings researchers closer to understanding how the fungus works to attack trees.
Read the full article here:
Tree of life clock / The largest and most accurate tree of life calibrated to time and spiralling out from the origin of life has been created by a team researchers. 50,000 species feature in the clock. It reveals that life has been expanding at a constant rate with new species forming in a regular sequence.
It is part of the Time Tree of Life project which sets out to chart the timescale of life -- to discover when each species and all their ancestors originated, all the way back to the origin of life some four billion years ago.
Read more here:
Training courses
Flora locale Training Programme 2015
Flora locale has released their Training Programme for 2015. Each event is led by an individual with practical experience and provides an informal opportunity for participants to learn from an expert and each other.
For full details and to book, go to the website Flora Locale website or email
FutureLearn courses / FutureLearn is a website that provides free, online, university-led courses that run for several weeks. There are a number of interesting courses, including ones on nature and the environment, and they’re great for exploring your personal interests. To find out more, click here:
Woodland Trust News
UK trees in the shade as ‘oak tree on a football field’ wins Tree of the Year
/ The results of the European Tree of the Year competition have been announced with the Estonian nomination, shortlisted as ‘Oak tree on a football field’ winning with nearly 60,000 votes. The Major Oak was the leading UK entry in sixth with nearly 10,000 votes and Scotland’s Lady’s Tree and Wales’ Lonely Tree finished ninth and tenth respectively.
Tebay Common video / Have you heard about the 69,000 trees that that Trust have planted at Tebay Common, Cumbria? It is hoped that these trees will improve water quality, reduce erosion and provide a more stable habitat for native species, in an area that has been used heavily for the grazing of animals.
If you want to see some of the planting yourself, you can view some fantastic aerial footage of the planting here.
New visitor Barn at QEDJW / The new Visitor Barn at the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Wood has just been completed, see the attached before and after photo’s. Over the next few weeks the barn will bebrought to life with a colourful floor mosaic in the entranceway and interpretation panels on the internal walls telling the fascinating history of the surrounding landscape. A perfect destination for an early spring stroll and only 60mins from Grantham!
Heartwood planting success! / This planting season we have seen:
•60,000 trees planted by 4,019 people
•Our community days attracted 1,343 people who planted 7,700 trees
•1,291 school children planted 7,795 trees
•Weekly work parties attracted 479 people, and 23,960 trees were planted.
•43 different corporate groups attended for work parties or team building days
Thank you to everyone involved for making this season another huge achievement – every tree has been planted by a volunteer!
Job opportunities / The following vacancies are being advertised at the Woodland Trust:
- Land and Property Manager – Grantham or home-based
- Trainee Legal Officer
- Digital Project Manager
- Funded Projects Officer
- Marketing Executive
And finally . . . / Please send in any interesting stories, news articles or photos that I can include in the next update
Thanks
Helen
0845 2935692