We’re going on a tree hunt……………. (no bears in sight!)

Sophie van den Bergh

In this blog post Sophie describes how the latest project for Rockingham Forest Vision came about. It's something that her beloved dog Mollie is enjoying taking part in too!

About a month ago my friend, Barrie Galpin, and I were walking one of the many paths of Fineshade Wood with our dogs Benjie and Mollie. Barrie and I were chewing the cud about what next for Rockingham Forest Vision? We were looking for a project that was flexible, fun and allowed us to explore and support our wonderful Rockingham Forest.

A few more walks in and Barrie and I along with Adam Cade, another friend and colleague from RFV started to see the seeds of a potential project emerging. A project whereby with a bit of support and training we could encourage local people to go on a tree hunt to find the notable, veteran and ancient trees of Rockingham Forest. Then people would be able to record their finding on the Woodland Trust’s  Ancient Tree Inventory and be part of a citizen science project to map the oldest and most important trees in our area. Then maybe we'll be able to collect seed to grow new trees from these ancients.

To see just how simple and easy it would be to help  map our significant  local trees, I decided to sign up with the Woodland Trust Ancient Tree Inventory myself. A very simple procedure for someone like me who is better outdoors than with a computer!

Having signed up as a recorder I then set out for a walk with Barrie and the dogs  from Wakerley Woods across to Laxton to spot some trees.  It was a glorious spring day  with many of the trees coming into bud and the Hazel catkins wafting from their branches. Before too long we came across a magnificent  oak in Wakerley, which we thought was worth recording.

It’s a really simple process to record.  All you need to take with you is a tape measure and smart phone. We started with measuring the girth of the gnarly beauty – the minimum distance round her trunk measured at about chest height. Then we took photos of her key features – holes, dead wood, shape of the crown, fungi, exposed roots etc as well as some photos to capture her overall shape and grandeur.

The final step was to take a grid reference. This was done simply by using an App on the mobile phone. We used Gridpoint GB as shown here. The important bit is the 10-figure grid reference SP98146 98276

Once back at base, Barrie input the data for the Oak onto the Ancient Tree Inventory. More on this later from me.

Having spent some time looking at the Ancient Tree Inventory website  I then decided that I could use my daily dog walk with Mollie  to look  out for important local trees when I was walking solo or with family and friends. And so far I’ve found some wonderful beeches, ash and a variety of willows.

Following the Woodland Trust’s guidance and having already measured a few trees with Barrie and Adam, I felt confident enough to record my own findings. It really is a simple process – put in the grid reference, girth of tree and any key features plus a few photos. Don’t worry if you’re not sure of the exact species – someone from the Woodland Trust will do that when they verify the tree. Think of yourself more as a tree scout – finding these wonderful trees!

As I write this, I have now managed to record three trees onto the Ancient Tree Inventory and to my great excitement two of the three have now been verified as an ancient white willow and a veteran crack willow. Waiting to see about a beautiful, coppiced ash along a public footpath that I think could be a veteran that has survived ash dieback!

I am really enjoying  getting involved in this citizen science project and opening my eyes to our local trees. I’ll keep you posted in my next blog about how I’m getting on  …..