1. Beyond the Nursery Gates
Keith Sacre MSc Arb, BSc (Hons) Arb, MICFor, Chartered Arboriculturist
Chair of the Arboricultural Association
Trustee of TDAG and Director of Treeconomics
Arboriculture and Urban Forestry Director Barcham Trees plc.

2. A conventional view Urban forest delivery The Tree Nursery
The nursery is seen as external to all central discussion

3. A less conventional view
The nursery is central and involved
Urban forest delivery
The
Tree
Nursery

4. Architects and urban planners
Landsc open Research
Landowners
Landscape Architects
Engineers
Planners
Research
Aboriculturists
Highway engineers
The
Tree
Nursery
Business
Architects and urban planners
Community groups
Developers
Health service providers
Parks and open spaces

5. The Urban Forest But has to be diverse and Provides many benefits
resilient
The Urban Forest Pr
Provides many benefits

6. What follows is a story:
………a story of how one tree nursery has attempted to take the unconventional route and become central to the UK urban forest debate

7. The Nursery i Over 120,000 trees in white containers The largest
tree nursery in
Europe

8. THE PROCESS: Establishing trees in the landscape
The nursery
transport
Policy
THE PROCESS: Establishing trees in the landscape
independence
planting
storage
maintenance 8

9. Trees are lined out
at wide spacing to
encourage full
development of stem taper.
Wider spacing
encourages development
of a balanced tree
All trees are hand
selected for
containerisation

10. Approximately
100,000 trees at
various stages of
development in the
field
Over 60,000 trees
containerised each
season
Barcham potting
machine will
containerise
1000 young trees
a day.

11. Trees are hand
selected for
containerisation
Each tree is given
a ‘shelf life’ indicating
the maximum time it
will spend in that
container.
Each batch of trees is
bar coded enabling a
complete audit-trail
from nursery to the
landscape.

12. Over 160,000 young
containerised trees
available for sale on the nursery
Barcham Trees is the
largest tree nursery of it s
kind in Europe.

13. The nursery has become involved and central
Information and education
Collaboration and involvement with other
organisations and groups involved with urban forest
delivery and management.
Development of standards
Biosecurity
Innovation
Study Tours

14. Information and Education
Discussions with clients
indicated that many of the new ideas,
research and development
surrounding trees and the
Urban Forest …..
was NOT finding its way to
practitioners and
therefore NOT being used in the field
This led to two distinct yet related
Initiatives………….

15. is converted to a huge lecture theatre for one
The Big Barn Conference
Speakers have
included
The nursery
despatch barn
is converted to a huge lecture theatre for one
day
Over 350
Delegates attend the
day
free of charge.
The
Nursery has now held
Four events.
Big Barn Conference held every two-three years

16. Technical seminars The Barcham Seminar series was introduced.
Up to ten each year, one day each seminar.
60 delegates.

17. Sales staff have received arboricultural and other relevant training.
Staff Training
Sales staff have received arboricultural and other relevant training.
This has resulted in an MSc, two BScs, two Foundation Degrees in Arb and two members of staff
training now

18. What has followed is:
More informed advice and assistance for nursery clients
A greater awareness of urban forestry
Putting tree sales into a wider context than just the nursery
Understanding of the constraints involved in tree population
management.
The nursery has gained a reputation as an information centre
Staff are more confident

19. Support of and involvement with other groups promoting a collaborative approach to urban forest management
The Nursery has been actively involved with all the
following organisations who are engaged with
the promotion and development of the urban forest in UK
The Arboricultural Association
Treeconomics
The Trees and Design Action Group
The Institute of Chartered Foresters
Consulting Arborist Society
Forestry Commission
Forest Research
Davey Insititute

20. This collaboration has resulted in the production and publication of several
significant documents.

21. With i-tree only just on the agenda in the UK the nursery invited representatives from Davey to the UK to train individual members of staff in the use of the suit of tools.
This has led to the organisation and delivery of training to others and in collaboration with ‘Treeconomics’ and UK Forest Research the delivery of i-tree projects in the UK

22. Barcham Trees i-Tree Eco Training Keith Sacre
The nursery has been able to offer training in and support for the
Implementation and development of i-tree in the UK
Barcham Trees i-Tree Eco Training Keith Sacre

23. New British Standard
The statement below is relevant and haunting for
All those involved in the selection, planting and
Management of young trees
“Average loss rate of 23% for newly planted highway trees and 24% loss rate for newly planted trees in public open spaces
Trees in Towns II 2008

24. After four years of collaboration with others in the industry a new British Standard was published in February 2014.
The nursery led in the development of the standard.

25. There are clear guidelines as to what can and should be specified.
The nursery then decided to produce a guide to specifying quality in young trees from the nursery.
There are clear guidelines as to what can and should be specified.

26. Biosecurity
Britain is an island and is aware of the vulnerability of it’s trees to imported pest and disease
Emerald Ash Borer
Asian long horn beetle
Plane wilt

27. London Plane: Replacement cost: £351,623,660.00 121,000 trees
40,224 km² leaf area
1756 mt leaf biomass
8.9% of the canopy cover in inner London
2.5% of the canopy cover in outer London
Replacement cost: £351,623,660.00

28. Ash Replacement cost: £447,345,251.00 374,195 trees 59763km² leaf area
6358 m³ leaf biomass
Replacement cost: £447,345,251.00

29. Replacing these trees would cost £23 billion
Asian Longhorn Beetle:
Could impact on some 3.8 million trees
Which represents 31% of the whole population
Replacing these trees would cost
£23 billion

30. A voluntary biosecurity policy was published early in 2015 stating that ‘no imported tree would be despatched for planting in the UK landscape unless it had been held on the home nursery for at least one full growing season.
Effectively
Quarantine

31. A Lead from the
Arboricultural Association

32. Physiological health checking and a…………..
Nursery benchmark system

33. How young tree quality is assessed currently
Key
1 Straight leader
2 Formative pruning
3 Size
4 Lateral branch subordination
5 Branch union
6 Height/stem diameter ratio
7 Support
8 Clear stem
9 Bud/graft union
10 Mulch
11 Root flare
12 Deep roots
13 Irrigation
14 Soil volume
15 Container, rootball, bare root on undisturbed soil base
16 Root systems

34. Visual assessment of poor health in young trees
1 Leaf lesions or leaf discolouration
2 Dieback in crown
3 Density and size of foliage
4 Length of extension growth
5 Abnormal adventitious bud development on main stem
6 Abnormal flattening at main stem, which can indicate vascular dysfunction
7 Epicormic growth from rootstock
ALL VALID AND VALUABLE BUT ARE MORPHOLOGICAL RATHER THAN PHYSIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENTS.

35. The challenge was
‘ Could the nursery utilise a series
of non-destructive validated
tests to assure customers of the
physiological health and vitality
of their trees to supplement, not
replace, the existing morphological
criteria already used.’

36. After lengthy consultation with Dr Glynn Percival of Bartlett Research
Laboratories three tests were chosen.
LEAF FLUORESCENCE
CHLOROPHYLL CONTENT
ELECTROLYTE LEAKAGE

37. All three tests are non-invasive and non- destructive and both leaf fluorescence testing and chlorophyll content testing can be easily carried out on site.
For the last five years tests have been independently commissioned on the nursery
to assess the physiological health of Barcham Trees. Over 350 species and cultivars
have been tested and and independent report published

38. Tree vitality monitoring & stress detection.
Arborcheck Systems
Tree vitality monitoring & stress detection.

39. Over the last 8-10 years study tours have been arranged to:
In the USA.
Cleveland
Ithica
North Carolina
Washington
Chicago
Portland
Florida
New York
In Europe
Sweden
Germany
Italy
France
Croatia
Holland
Australia
Study Tours

40. And now Russia
of course

41. Tree species selection Propagation and production methods
During this time the following have been investigated and information gathered.
Tree species selection
Propagation and production methods
Structural pruning
Structural soils
Load bearing structures
Tree planting methods
Tree population diversity
i-tree
Urban forest management plans

42. And in the near future…………………..
A Guide to tree species
selection
Incorporating Ecosystem service values……..in collaboration Forest Research and others

43. So has it all been worthwhile?
Only others can judge but the suggestion is that the new model can and does work.
Certainly the nursery has begun to be recognised as a reference centre in the urban forest debate.
Sales have also gone up significantly
( for those who are commercially minded)

44. For more information please contact me at keith@barchamtrees.co.uk.
Of course you are welcome to visit anytime.
Thank you for listening.