It is well known that trees often significantly enhance the land on which they are situated. However, as all things, unless properly managed, minor defects can develop to present an unacceptable risk of harm to the people around them.
As a landowner or manager, you have a legal ‘Duty of Care’ to ensure that a reasonable attempt has been made to protect any person from incurring harm as a result of their property. We can help you to fully understand and meet this obligation through establishing a tree management strategy for your site. The management strategy can consider both long-term and short-term goals, and will be tailored to meet the requirements of each site and its context, ensuring that every tree population can be managed in a cost-effective way.
The creation of a dynamic tree inventory, in our experience, is the most effective approach in increasing long-term tree management efficiency.
A tree inventory is a working document that will provide you with an overview of the trees under your care. It will list whether trees are protected by tree preservation orders (TPOs), record when each tree was last surveyed and when subsequent inspections are required, and track the status of previous work recommendations.
The creation of a dynamic tree inventory, in our experience, is the most effective approach in increasing long-term tree management efficiency.
As standard, our tree surveys utilise GIS/GPS mapping of the tree population.
This method is used to produce accurate and intuitive plans to help you and your contractors easily communicate work requirements.
Additionally, our mapping system can be combined with risk zoning information to further increase the efficiency of the tree management system.
Using our tree inventory and maps, we are able to oversee the complete management of your trees. This includes the creation of specific work schedules, collation of tenders from tree work contractors, and procurement of planning permission for the specified works.
Where appropriate, we are also able to work closely with your own grounds maintenance staff, to ensure that minor maintenance tasks, such as the formative pruning and aftercare of any newly planted trees is undertaken in-house.
The primary aim of any tree survey is to identify any immediate hazards, and specify remedial action and a timeframe for completion. We refer to this as a “reactive” management system; where it is too late to prevent a significant defect from developing.
Although we do specify “reactive” tree work when required, our inspections are also aimed being “proactive” in nature. To achieve this, we identify minor developmental issues in young and semi-mature trees, such as crossing branches and competitive stems (two features which commonly develop into notable issues), and prevent the fault from developing further. This often means that pruning cuts can be made with secateurs instead of chainsaws, potentially reducing long-term management costs, significantly.
The detail and frequency of our tree surveys often vary depending on the level of care expected of each client, and the nature and context of the trees within the site. This leads to some surveys requiring a detailed assessment of each individual tree, and others where only trees possessing a clear and current risk of harm are recorded. In many cases a multi-year combination of detailed and walk-around surveys are included within the long-term tree management plan.