WE'RE HERE TO ENSURE IRREPLACEABLE TREES ARE SAFEGUARDED
Ancient and Veteran Tree Surveys.
Did you know that the British Isles has some of the highest numbers of old, veteran and ancient trees in Europe? Utilising the Natural England 'Specialist Survey' method, we extend our support to landowners, private estates, developers and organisations across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, the East and West Midlands, and the entire UK, managing these special trees.
Our Veteran Tree Surveys are motivated by a desire to preserve the legacy of these important trees, while also balancing the need to manage them in the context of the land on which they stand and the land use, with great care and respect.
Caring for ancient and veteran trees.
We provide expertise in surveying and managing ancient and veteran trees, with our services broadly falling under Tree Surveying and Veteran Tree Management to help protect, preserve and enhance these irreplaceable ancient and veteran trees on your land or Site, ensuring their historical, cultural, biodiversity, and landscape benefits are retained for future generations.
Using innovative technology to survey veteran trees, we offer more than assessments; we bring these historically significant assets to life, ensuring the safety and preservation of these natural treasures whilst also aiding our educating our clients in an immersive and thought-provoking way.
Ancient and Veteran Tree Surveys
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Conducting individual, detailed veteran and ancient tree inspections.
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Conducting climbed aerial tree inspections, and inspections performed using a drone.
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Assessing the habitat provided by individual veteran trees.
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Providing an assessment of tree viability using a range of methods.
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Assessing veteran tree risk vs benefit in urban, peri-urban, and rural environments.
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Prescribing veteran tree works.
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Accurately recording the location of veteran trees with GIS or using a drone.
Ancient and Veteran Tree Management
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The formalisation of detailed veteran and ancient tree tree management policies and strategies.
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Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) concerning the protection, mitigation of compensation where veteran and ancient trees have been concerned.
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Processes for appropriate veteran tree management.
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Education and training to schools, universities, landowners and developers in veteran tree management and tree surgery techniques.
How innovation shapes your Veteran Tree Survey.
Our mission is to blend cutting-edge, innovative technology such as drones, photogrammetry, and artificial intelligence, with expert precision to breathe new life into these aging trees and offer you precision and efficiency from our surveys to inform veteran tree management.
Our expertise is in embracing cutting-edge technology. Drones fly above your trees, gathering high-resolution aerial imagery and providing a bird's-eye view for an unrivalled understanding of its architecture. Photogrammetry and artificial intelligence are used to create immersive representations of trees and specific features. We use ChatGPT to analyse big datasets and provide short summaries and analytical insights.
Our commitment to technology extends to bespoke digital data capture and GIS (Geographic Information System) integration. We utilise custom data capture forms, optimising the collection of tree data in the field.
By adopting this technology-driven approach, we streamline the data gathering process. This innovative method not only speeds up the assessment (saving you money) but also ensures the data is easily accessible for future reference.
Photogrammetry in action.
Using nothing more than 4k video filmed on a smartphone and deploying our knowledge and scanning techniques, we have breathed new life into this Ancient Beech tree hidden at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire.
By employing cutting-edge 3D photogrammetry scanning techniques, we are able to preserve a more immersive and true to life history of this ancient tree, whilst also providing others across the world with the opportunity to see it for themselves.
These high-definition 3D scans, combined with detailed photographs and, where required, immersive videos, help us to visually represent our survey findings, for our clients.
Photogrammetry training sessions.
WE DON'T GATEKEEP OUR IDEAS.
Adopting photogrammetry is very straightforward once you know the principles and, importantly, your clients see the benefits for themselves. We extend our services by initially providing the equipment and knowledge necessary to capture detailed and accurate 3D models for you, but also we recognise that companies, universities, arborists, and or ecologists will need training and support to integrate photogrammetry with what they do.
We run Photogrammetry Innovator sessions - a one-day course for those who want to obtain the skills and know-how to ensure that you are not only competent but confident in integrating photogrammetry into your workflow, and capturing the models you and your clients need, using the right techniques and software available.​
Our sessions are offered as in-house training either on-site, or at your location(s).
EXPERIENCED TREE CONSULTANTS HELPING ANCIENT TREES
What is an Ancient tree?
An ancient tree is one which is remarkably old (chronological age) and ancient in years for its species. It is broadly accepted in arboriculture that ancient trees are veteran trees, but not all veteran trees are old enough to be ancient.
Ancient trees are actually in the third and final stage of their life. Ancient trees are a real treat to behold, they can be of grand proportions or small, squat and gnarly.
WHAT IS A VETERAN TREE?
Veteran trees are survivors of the day to day rigours of life and have developed some of the characteristic features typically observed on ancient trees (e.g. evidence of decay, fungal fruiting bodies, stem hollows or dead wood).
These characteristics may not be due to the age of the tree, but could result from natural damage such as lighting strikes, the intervention of management, or the tree’s harsh growing environment.
Development and ancient and veteran trees.
Ancient trees, ancient woodland and veteran trees are defined as an 'irreplaceable habitat' in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) owing to their contribution to biodiversity, whilst also providing cultural and heritage value of the tree.
This includes felling, lopping, topping, uprooting, and other intentional destruction. Cutting roots is likewise not permitted and requires the written consent of the LPA.
Development can have both direct and indirect consequences for ancient woodland, ancient and veteran trees. Direct impacts include physically damaging the roots or crown, whilst indirect impacts could be increased light, water, air, or soil pollution.
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Paragraph 180 c) of the NPPF states:
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Any development resulting in the loss or deterioration of irreplaceable habitats (such as ancient woodland and ancient or veteran trees) should be refused, unless there are wholly exceptional reasons and a suitable compensation strategy exists.'
Exceptional reasons include infrastructure projects where the public benefit clearly outweighs habitat loss or deterioration.
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Our BS5837 Tree Surveys for Planning identify the presence of ancient woodland, ancient and veteran trees during the initial feasibility stages, providing advice on appropriate buffer zones and development close to ancient and veteran trees. Our aim is to ensure that your development understands the constraints and opportunities afforded by these trees.
How to identify ancient and veteran trees in the field.
Whilst chronological age is a determining factor for ancient trees, there is no exact age for a tree to be considered ancient, as different species age at different rates. For example, a Birch tree may be considered ancient at 150 years old, whilst a yew tree could be 800 years of age before it is considered ancient.
Most commonly found in wood pasture, parkland and hedgerows, ancient and veteran trees often possess exposed, open cavities, signs of decay or dead wood, perhaps the presence of fungal fruiting bodies or a large stem girth comparative with other trees of the same species.
Large girth for the species.
Although a veteran tree may be a tree with a relatively small girth, a large stem girth for the species is a good indicator of veteran and ancient trees.
The trunk or stem will be large in comparison with other trees of the same species. The girth of the stem can be greatly affected by factors such as tree species, soil, local climate or growing conditions.
Scars of age.
Exposed heartwood caused by bark loss or bark damage giving the tree distinctive ‘scars’ and decay in the stem, branches or buttress roots.
Most veteran and ancient trees usually have a hollow trunk or stem, cavities at the base or in the crown framework, with signs of decaying heartwood - although this isn’t always the case. To the untrained eye, it can also be tricky to confirm the presence of hollowing unless there is a cavity present to examine further.
Deadwood.
Volumes of larger diameter deadwood may eventually form hollows and holes for birds and roosts for bats. Deadwood also supports a huge quantity and diversity of specialised saproxylic invertebrates.
There are at least 2,000 species of invertebrates in Britain, all of which rely on dead and decaying wood. Many of these invertebrate species are rare, endangered, and in decline because of the shortage of deadwood habitat in the UK.
Burrs.
A burr is a growth on a tree which has formed in an irregular manner. It might be a single growth on a tree, or multiple profuse growths.
The growth is often a reaction to stress, such as injury from damage, insect attack or bacterial, viral or fungal infection.
Retrenchment.
Dieback (stag-headed appearance) or growing downwards, in the upper crown or at the ends of the branches with new, epicormic growth, forming in the lower crown.
The dieback of the crown promotes the growth of new shoots below the original crown. This crown reorganisation is a natural part of the aging process in an old tree.
Fungi or fungal associations.
Evidence or the presence of fungi and fungal fruiting bodies of species known to cause wood decay and cavities.
Fungi can live on any part of a tree, from the leaves to the roots, with some fungi persisting in the tree from germination (latent fungi) which are present in the tree as dormant cells. The hollowing of trees occurs when heartwood decay fungi start to breakdown the wood that the tree no longer needs (static mass), releasing the minerals for the tree to re-use.
We wouldn't be innovators if...
...we didn't provide the knowledge shared above, in a more engaging and immersive way by employing cutting-edge 3D photogrammetry scanning techniques.
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Explore the model by navigating between the annotated hotspots.
Want to learn how to do this? Book a workshop with us!
JOIN A COMMUNITY OF INNOVATORS
Let's start a conversation.
Please reach out to us if you’d like to work with us. We have a broad range of experience providing tree surveys and tree reports across all aspects of arboriculture, and we are looking for those who want a fresh perspective.
If you are interested in working with an innovative and versatile arboriculture consultancy on your next project, collaborating on a current project for one of your existing clients, or just want to geek out over all things trees and innovative technology – I would love to hear from you.
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- Callum Throw, Arb Innovators
Tree Survey Questions? We've got you.
We're sure you've got a lot of questions and we're more than happy to answer them. When it comes to arboriculture and understanding trees, tree surveying and the various tree surveys and reports available, we're happy to provide the answers. After all, knowledge is power.