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Welcome to the LTOA website
The London Tree Officers Association (LTOA) constitutes the professional & technical voice for London's trees & woodlands Read More -
Become a Sponsor
The LTOA relies on subscriptions from its members and sponsorship to operate. Read More -
CAVAT
Capital Asset Value for Amenity Trees (CAVAT). CAVAT provides a method for managing trees as public assets rather than liabilities Read More -
How to Become a Member
Members can attend, for free, the the LTOA meetings which are held four times a year and cover a wide range of tree related matters. Read More
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The London Tree Officers Association
Welcome to the LTOA website. The London Tree Officers Association (LTOA) constitutes the professional & technical voice for London's trees & woodlands. Its aim is to enhance the management of the Capital's trees.
We hope that you find the LTOA website both interesting & informative. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
LTOA Visit to Turin
Written by Colleen O’Sullivan, Tree Officer, London Borough of Camden and first published in the Arb magazine Winter 2017
The London Tree Officers Association recently visited the city of Turin, Italy on the 12-13 October for a fantastic, jam-packed two day tour of the city. The visit was held in collaboration with the Turin Municipality through their Forestry Manager Gianmichele Cirulli.
The purpose of the trip was to further learn about the processes and systems in place in Turin to cope with Cerastocyctis platani, or canker stain of plane (CSP). This follows a visit to London by Gianmichele in December 2015, where he presented at an LTOA seminar about CSP. Nine members of the LTOA were able to attend, a mix of London tree officers, a Municipal Tree Officers Association tree officer and associate members.
LTOA position statement
The London Tree Officers Association (LTOA) is an organisation that represents and supports Local Authority tree officers. Local Authorities are by their nature political organisations which have to balance many conflicting priorities. One of the principal roles of a tree officer is to ensure that trees are seen as one of these priorities and that the benefits of trees are understood within their organisation. One of the principal roles of the LTOA is to help and empower tree officers to make these arguments and achieve these aims.
It must be acknowledged and accepted that on occasion councils can and do make political decisions that we do not agree with. However, it is the policy of the LTOA to not criticise individual councils for these decisions. To do so would compromise the position of our member tree officers, all of whom themselves represent the councils in which they work. Making public criticisms of council activities would undermine our ability as an organisation – and the ability of our members – to influence decisions in the future.
The ongoing situation in Sheffield is of obvious concern to many and has rightly attracted widespread attention. The understanding of the LTOA is that part of the problem in Sheffield has been caused by the fact that street trees are no longer being managed by tree officers, but that responsibility for this function has been outsourced to a private contractor. It should be noted that in those departments of Sheffield Council which still employ tree officers some fantastic work is being done. The LTOA support the suggestion that in order to enjoy a healthy population of urban trees, it is essential to also have a healthy population of urban tree officers. The situation in Sheffield serves to demonstrate how important this is.
Needless to say this position does not restrict any individual members from campaigning or signing any petition or undertaking any other activity in their own name or as a representative of their employer. We have no doubt that as professional arboricultural experts and tree lovers, many of our members will choose to do just that.
Field Trip to the New Forest
Thursday 21st September 2017 - David Humphries, Trees Management Officer - City of London Corporation Open Spaces
Members of the LTOA spent a very informative and enjoyable day out amongst the treescape of the New Forest hosted by Barrell Tree Consultancy.
After introductions and refreshments at the Barrell HQ we were transferred via coach to our first port of call on the itinerary which was the beautiful Saxon church of St Nicholas, Brockenhurst.
LTOA Launch "Trees do more than you think"
The London Tree Officers Association (LTOA) has produced a leaflet illustrating why trees are good for us. The production of the leaflet ‘Trees do more than you think’ has kindly been sponsored by the London Borough of Camden, Lush Landscapes, and KPS Contractors. The leaflet is available by free download coinciding with National Tree Week run by the Tree Council.
Trees in cities provide a range of benefits that can sometimes be difficult to quantify but are real and have considerable beneficial impacts on the lives of those who live in cities but do not have immediate access to other more traditional types of open space. Trees, for example, can add colour, interest and beauty to our busy streets.
Andy Tipping, Chair of the LTOA, said “Trees are often undervalued and it is fantastic to have a leaflet that summarises all the latest research into trees and why they are good for us”. Professor David Bellamy, OBE, said “A Londoner born and bred I grew up street wise in a city blessed with the virtues of many trees. Trees are the high rise guardians of the urban environment. Your support is essential to their future."
