Tree Officer working practices during Covid-19

In order to gauge the change in working habits of local authority tree officers and their tree contractors due to COVID-19, the London Tree Officers Association (LTOA) and Association of Tree Officers (ATO) issued a survey in April 2020. The survey was sent to all London boroughs (including Transport for London), Association of Tree Officers (ATO) members and LTOA non-London local authority members, just over 70 local authorities in total. Responses were collected over a 4-week period with 51 respondents in total.

At the time of response, two-thirds of the responding local authorities had moved to a critical service only position with two-thirds also reporting that tree works had been identified as a critical service. 60 percent of respondents working with public realm trees were only carrying out inspections if there was a concern for public safety, while 30 percent were still carrying out cyclical inspections. One third of respondents were working from home only.  For tree contractors continuing to work, 60 percent of respondents said their contractor had undertaken and supplied an updated risk assessment to operate safely.

For tree officers working with privately owned trees, the inspection numbers were down further compared to publicly owned trees. Only 38 percent of respondents said they were carrying out public safety inspections. Only a quarter of respondents were inspecting to investigate potential breaches of tree legislation.

As lockdown eases, it will be interesting to see how working practices alter. We plan to have a follow up survey in a few months to gauge the impact of the lockdown on tree work.

National Tree Officers Virtual Conference 2020 – Invitation to Present

Building on the success of previous conferences, and in light of the ongoing situation with Coronavirus (Covid-19), we’re excited to announce the fifth National Tree Officers Conference is being moved online.

This month-long event, developed by tree officers for tree officers, is a fantastic opportunity for tree, woodland and planning officers to present to their peers on the latest research, best practice and innovation in different areas of local authority arboricultural and urban forestry work.

The conference will be held over four weeks in November, beginning 2^nd November 2020. Bookings for the conference will open on 17^th August 2020.

Each of the four weeks will feature presentations covering specific topics. We’re looking for presentations for interactive, online sessions covering the following subject areas:

• Week 1: Pests & Diseases
• Week 2: Planting & Species Selection in a Changing Climate
• Week 3: Planning
• Week 4: Wildcard Session (any other topics outside those listed above)

 The submission period for presentations is now open and will close on 6^th July 2020.

Proposals must include your name, email address, presentation topic with overview (500-word maximum) and estimated duration. Presentations can be performed live or submitted prior to the conference in video format. We’re also keen to hear from tree officers who are interested in leading discussion groups relating to the various sessions that will be held throughout the month.  

Submissions will be reviewed by a committee, with selection criteria including quality, appropriateness, focus, the practical nature of material, and potential appeal to the audience.

Outlines should be sent by email to Becky Porter (LTOA): This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The National Tree Officers Virtual Conference 2020 is proudly organised by the London Tree Officers Association (LTOA), the Municipal Tree Officers’ Association (MTOA), the Association of Tree Officers (ATO) and facilitated by the Institute of Chartered Foresters.

Arboricultural Association and Tree Officer Groups Launch Watering Campaign

The Arboricultural Association, London Tree Officers Association (LTOA), Municipal Tree Officers Association (MTOA) and the Association of Tree Officers (ATO) have launched a campaign to ensure that newly planted trees are watered regularly over the summer months, highlighting the fact that young tree maintenance is just as important as planting.

The dry weather which much of the UK experienced during April raised the question about how trees might be affected by COVID-19 if those people who ordinarily water them are no longer able to do so. Hundreds of thousands of trees have been planted over the last couple of years, but without proper aftercare they will not make it into maturity.

Many local authorities and community groups have developed their own labels for trees to encourage residents to water them, but the Association felt there was a need for more generic material which would be used by residents, community groups and local authorities throughout the country if they did not have the time or resources to produce their own.

The Association has worked with tree officers across the country to develop new materials for a tree watering campaign which was launched on May 1st. This collaborative project with the London Tree Officers Association (LTOA), Municipal Tree Officers Association (MTOA) and Association of Tree Officers (ATO) has resulted in an information poster and watering tags which can be printed at home and affixed to tree stakes or tied to the tree. These are free to download and can be found online at www.trees.org.uk/watering

Arboricultural Association Technical Director John Parker said:

“it has been great to work together with the three tree officer groups on this important new campaign which helps to highlight the fact that young tree maintenance is just as important as planting.”

Download the poster Download the tag

National Tree Officer’s Conference 2020 will now be held online

Building on the success of previous conferences, the fifth National Tree Officer’s Conference is being organised by the London Tree Officers Association (LTOA), the Municipal Tree Officers Association (MTOA), the Association of Tree Officers (ATO) and facilitated by the Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF).

The conference will now be held online in November with further details to follow. Please note we are no longer looking for a call for papers but potential presentations we can use for interactive online sessions covering planning, climate change and planting, pest & disease and the last session will be a wildcard covering anything else tree officers might want to share.

For further information please contact Becky Porter on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.