Tree maintenance and surveying with Callum (Community Forest Officer) was one of the first activities I got stuck into on my placement.

Days out, often joined by volunteers, consisted of maintaining the areas in which new trees have been planted. Maintenance involved removing weeds, thistles or other invasives that surround the trees. It’s important to do this to reduce the competition for nutrients and moisture, therefore giving the trees the best chance of survival. Whilst this task sounds simple it could sometimes be quite a challenge, with nettles at one site being taller than me!

After tidying up a site, trees are to be surveyed. To survey, first it is checked that the tree is healthy. Healthy trees are then identified and recorded. Recording survival rates of different tree species is important to see which species are successfully growing and which are struggling.

At first, I found the task of identification a little bit daunting. Although I can tell an oak tree from a holly, I found some of the species to be a struggle. Thankfully, Callum is extremely patient and always happy to double check an identification (who knew leaves could look so similar!). I soon found myself getting to grips with the different species and now I can confidently identify most tree species native to Northumberland… But maybe don’t test me on this (yet).

I am very pleased to have gained this skill as species identification is an area I want to improve in across all areas of ecology. Over the course of my placement, I hope to improve further. It has been great to be able to put my ID knowledge into use already to help volunteers with their tree ID’s as well.

Tree maintenance for the year has drawn to a close, however I will be helping with tree planting soon which I am thoroughly looking forward to.

Jody