Booking opens for the UK’s only dedicated Tree Officer Conference

The acclaimed National Tree Officers Conference will return to Telford, 6 November 2018.

Last years’ outstanding event hosted more than 230 delegates from local authorities and private practice around the UK, who travelled to Telford last November. This is the only major conference dedicated to the needs of Tree Officers. More than 93% of last year’s delegates felt the content and programme met their reasons for attending.

The National Tree Officers Conference is a unique gathering for professionals interested in all areas of local authority arboricultural work. The conference is crucial to tree, woodland and planning officers by providing a significant platform for collaboration, partnerships, benchmarking and an insight into current best practice and research. It will demonstrate industry innovation from across the UK and this year, there will be a European speaker providing an example of local authority tree management in Europe.

This year’s conference will focus on a range of influential topics from leading arboricultural and urban forestry professionals:

• International Diversity and Professionalism
• Legislation and Protection
• Opportunities and Biosecurity
• Data Utilisation

This event is being organised by the London Tree Officers Association (LTOA), the Municipal Tree Officers Association (MTOA) and the Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF).

Quotes from last year’s delegates demonstrate the benefits and value of attending the only nationally dedicated Tree Officers conference:

Miriam Hill MICFor, Tree Officer at South Cambridgeshire District Council, said

"The National Tree Officer Conference is a fabulous opportunity to catch up with old friends and meet new colleagues. As all the speakers are fellow Tree Officers and Planners, every talk is filled with useful information, experience and helpful hints. An exceptional day!"

Elton Watson MICFor, Senior Tree Officer at Wrexham County Borough Council, said

"Attending last year’s NTOC was definitely a worthwhile experience, the range and diversity of topics meant there was something for everyone. I thought the quality of the presentations was very good and the low cost made it some of the best value for money CPD available. The event was well attended, attracting not only Tree Officers but a number of private sector consultants. I will be attending again this year!"

Amelia Williams, Arboricultural Officer at Test Valley Borough Council, said

“I was fortunate to attend last year’s National Tree Officers Conference, as this provided a great opportunity to hear about innovations and progress being made by local authorities with regard to trees and tree management. It was also a chance to network and share knowledge with fellow tree officers and tree managers. Plus, time to meet traders from the industry and find out about the latest technology and developments in tree planting, species availabilities and data capture and lots more. It is a well organised and run event and, well worth attending.”

Keith Sacre MICFor, Arboricultural & Urban Forestry Director at Barcham Trees plc, said

“I attended last years’ conference and it was excellent. Inspiring hearing tree officers tell their story. It is long overdue that they had their own collective voice and this conference provides that forum.”

Michelle Ryan, Arboricultural Consultant at AECOM, said

“The National Tree Officers Conference is a great platform that showcases the fantastic work carried out by our Tree Officers and highlights the challenges they face.

As a consultant in the private sector it has given me a unique insight into the advances in local authority tree management, keeping me ahead of the game.”

Booking information is available at: www.charteredforesters.org/tree-officers-conference

LTOA Elect new Executive Committee

The London Tree Officers Association (LTOA) has announced the election of a new Executive Committee to head up the association for the next two years. The Executive Committee was elected by the members of the LTOA and will continue to promote urban forestry and represent tree officers in London and beyond. For full details of the LTOA and short biographies of the Executive Committee please visit http://www.ltoa.org.uk/about-the-ltoa/the-executive-committee

The new Chair of the Executive Committee is Barbara Milne (City of Westminster) and the Vice Chair is Andy Tipping (Barnet). The other members of the Committee are John Parker, (Transport for London), Dale Mortimer, (Ealing), Colleen O’Sullivan (Camden), Craig Ruddick (Richmond), Dave Lofthouse (Merton), Jon Ryan, (Islignton), Jake Tibbetts (City of London), Oliver Stutter (Southwark) and Richard Edwards (Croydon). There are also two honorary members of the committee Al Smith and Paul Akers.

Barbara Milne, new Chair of the LTOA, said “I am delighted to have been elected as Chair of the London Tree Officers Association. Many thanks to John Parker, outgoing chair for all of his hard work over the past two years.  

London’s Tree Officers play a crucial role in creating and managing the capitals urban forest, and the LTOA provides a hugely important network which supports tree officers in their work.  Beyond the good practice and innovations which are created and shared, the LTOA is the forum for collaboration between tree officers, other arboriculturists and allied professions, and I would like to see continued and increased participation in this by all of our members, which can only help to strengthen our profession.   Of particular interest to me is ensuring the profession is open to women and black and minority ethnic groups to become the new generations of tree officers, and better reflect and represent London’s diverse population”.

New canker stain of plane documents: Prevention and Outbreak

The London Tree Officers Association (LTOA) is pleased to announce the publication of two new guidance documents relating to canker stain of plane (CSP, Ceratocystis platani).

The first is called Canker stain of plane: A guide to prevention and is a brief reminder for tree officers and contractors of the importance of biosecurity in the fight to prevent Ceratocystis from entering the UK.

The second is called Canker stain of plane: Dealing with an outbreak. This document is designed to inform and support tree officers and others working in the arboricultural industry should Ceratocystis be confirmed as having arrived in UK. It is a brief, practical document intended to bring relevant information together into once place and ensure that in the event of an outbreak in the UK we are well-placed to eradicate the disease before it becomes established.

Both documents have been influenced by the excellent work of the Forestry Commission, including the Keep it Clean campaign and the Ceratocystis platani Contingency Plan.

Ceratocystis platani is a fungal pathogen which affects the genus Platanus and causes infected trees to die. It is spread predominantly by contaminated equipment being used on uninfected trees, although it can also be transported via root grafts.

Since October 2014 the UK has held EU Protected Zone Status (PZS) for Ceratocystis, requiring robust controls relating to importations of plane trees and ensuring that planes can only be imported from other areas which have been designated free of the disease. PZS surveys for CSP are carried out annually in the UK.

The LTOA, under contract to the Forestry Commission, has been carrying out these surveys in Greater London since 2013. At the current time it is not believed that Ceratocystis is present in the UK. The definitive UK Ceratocystis text Detecting and identifying canker stain of plane, by Lucio Montecchio; revised and updated by Neville Fay and John Parker, is available from the LTOA (www.ltoa.org.uk) or Treeworks Environmental Practice (www.treeworks.co.uk).

National Tree Officers Conference 2018 - Call for Presentations closes 25 May

Building on the success of the last two conferences, the third National Tree Officers Conference is being organised by the London Tree Officers Association (LTOA), the Municipal Tree Officers Association (MTOA) and facilitated by the Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF). This is a great opportunity for tree/woodland/planning officers to present to your colleagues on the latest research, best practice and innovation in different areas of local authority arboricultural and urban forestry work. 

The conference will be held on Tuesday the 6^th November 2018, at the Oakengates Theatre, Limes Road, Telford, TF2 6EP. Conference bookings will open later in the year at: www.charteredforesters.org/event/national-tree-officers-conference-2018

The submission period for presentation outlines that could be included at the conference is now open and will close on Friday 25^th May 2018 at 17:00hrs. In order to submit you must be employed by a Local Authority in a trees, woodland or planning role.

Outlines must include the following information:

• Name
• Email
• Presentation topic
• Presentation overview (500 word maximum)
• Time slot required (i.e. 20 minutes)

For guidance, some of the following subjects are suggested:

• Planting & species selection
• Pest & Disease
• Highways engineer engagement
• Contracts
• Green Infrastructure
• Planning conditions
• Ecosystem services
• Tree loss mitigation
• Prosecution & Enforcement
• Tree strategies/policy/tree database innovation

Additional relevant topics may be considered, following review by the selection committee. Presentations will be reviewed by a selection committee (Andy Lederer, ICF; Matthew Seabrook, MTOA; Al Smith, LTOA; Jake Tibbetts, LTOA; Becky Porter, LTOA; Hester McQueen, ICF) and selection will be based on overall quality, appropriateness, focus and the practical nature of material and appeal to the audience. 

We look forward to seeing you at the conference and receiving a wide range of submissions.

Outlines should be sent by email to: Becky Porter, London Tree Officers Association This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..