I have just listened to a rather depressing webinar on The Landscape Institute Web site on Rethinking Parks.  (It may not be available for you to open yet- so watch this space.)

It made me ask myself why Parks are so important? Not just for me but why they are essential to the fabric of a healthy and democratic society? Why are horticulturists essential to our Parks and why would a loss of 50% of the Parks’ skilled workforce be a disaster for them?

These are the questions that we should be asking ourselves, not how can we “make parks pay?” alias the American model. Look at their gun crime and rates of violence, their lack of safe outdoor parks spaces and free open environments before we try to follow suit. We have a very long legacy and rich history of beautiful Parks being provided for people, in Britain. Historically, Parks, like libraries, have been a much  valued and much loved resource.  A publicly owned national treasure for children to play in safely, Parks are free of charge at point of admission, but for how much longer?

If this Rethinking Parks initiative is anything to go by, parks will become privatised and our free access to facilities which we have long taken for granted, will be restricted by our ability to pay. Is this right or proper? A network of open spaces for the youth of Britain to go to meet friends and kick a football, in built up areas where otherwise there would be no green space to go to. At best I feel that the Rethinking Parks initiative is just rearranging the chairs on the Titanic.

Our Parks are for people; to take picnics in, to jog in, to walk in, to play or unwind in, in a safe parkland environment, away from the hustle and bustle of traffic, the mounting pressures of life, and from increasing levels of pollution and traffic noise.

If the Rethinking Parks initiative is correct, then all park buildings will eventually be commandeered for income making enterprises and these won’t be facilities which are open for the public to use- such as Public conveniences, long accepted as part of the role of Parks. Not every Park has a Sainsburys or a Tesco next to it, so where will park users relieve themselves? These are amongst the questions we should be asking.

Parks provide the Green lungs for cities, removing pollutants from the ever polluted air of our towns and cities. The trees growing to maturity under skilled horticultural care, shading and cooling the urban environment on hot summer days, providing a green backdrop, screen and tranquillity. The maintenance of trees and safety checks are made by skilled arboriculturists; we cannot expect volunteers to fill the same gap without compromising public safety.

Above all our Parks are greatly valued and appreciated as Green space and resources. Parks are a huge safety net for  people to go to when they would like to be in Greenspace, to see mature trees and shrubs and flowers. Our Parks are our public green spaces, so should be termed Our parks; what we maintain now is kept in stewardship for our children to play in and and one day for their children.

Who maintains these beautiful green spaces? Who looks after the mature Oak trees and London Plane trees in our Parks? Who prunes the roses and cuts the grass? Answer; a team of skilled horticulturists and arboriculturists.

What is a horticulturist? How do they obtain their skills? Horticulturists attend a college of higher education and then after their degree or national diploma in horticulture, they normally take many years obtaining the skills and experience they require for instance to design borders, prune shrubs properly for flowering or to operate machinery safely.

Horticulturists are trained and the machines and chemicals that they regularly use do require skilled and trained personnel. This is basic health and safety. Just because someone has a garden or a mower doesn’t make this person skilled to maintain a Park. The maintenance and long term management of Parks is a highly specialist area of amenity horticulture and should not be undervalued in this way by asking volunteers to do this work under the guise of “Rethinking Parks”.

Undervaluing horticulture has long been a gripe of mine and the “Rethinking Parks”in this way will do little to boost flagging morale amongst our horticulturists. Some people actually have decided to train as horticulturists as they think it is a well respected and valuable vocation; a worthwhile career. So “initiatives” like Rethinking Parks” strike me as a negative undermining force and will do little to encourage future horticulturists who may be thinking of this subject for their possible career path.

At present, despite the cutbacks, the maintenance of Our Parks is undertaken by a skilled horticultural work force. The horticulturists have training in how and when to prune shrubs, how to prune trees safely, how to cut hedges safely and at the right time of year, in the right way, in the right weather conditions to be safe and not cause harm to Park users or wildlife. How to avoid causing harm to nesting birds, to encourage the species in the hedges, such as birds and to maintain the Parks in an optimum condition. These are things that we value and realise not everyone can do, because the people who do them are trained operatives; horticulturists and groundsmen. So, we don’t all take this for granted. We value this expertise, don’t we? There is a place for volunteers, and horticulture has long used people with learning difficulties, but we need our skilled horticulturists to oversee the tasks that these groups do.

However, it seems moves are afoot to turn the running of the parks over to bands of volunteers with chainsaws. This, we are told is because we have already lost 50 % of the staff of our Parks due to cut backs.  How, we are asked, can we make money out of our parks, on the American model? Well, let’s rack our brains shall we? How do you put a price on a picnic with your child in a beautiful public Park? Why should you have to do this? Well, the reason is, that some may mightily enjoy hacking our Parks to pieces to make profit. Short term gain and long term pain. So, we will need to fight to keep our skilled workforces and to keep our parks alive and open for people.

Volunteers to run our Parks in the same way that horticulturists do? I don’t think so. Selling off or leasing of our Parks, or access to them and their buildings, such as our Public toilets to make money? Highly undesirable, but nonetheless on the cards and up for discussion.

What do you think? You can leave a message here. Thanks for listening!

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Biodiversity offsetting can be a very useful way of mitigating for new development. At Landvision, we feel that there are some cases where offsetting can be used to great effect to mitigate and to enhance landscape and ecology. Despite what the UK government say, we feel there are also some instances, however, when biodiversity offsetting cannot be used. One such instance is ancient woodland. The Woodland Trust have mounted a petition to save ancient woodlands.

Biodiversity Strategy 2011 – 2020 and UK BAP.

The Biodiversity Strategy of 2011 and UK Biodiversity Action Plan and associated Habitat Plans, enable us to protect the unique habitats of ancient woodlands. The Biodiversity Strategy of 2011 and UK BAP recognize that broad leaved, mixed woodlands support almost twice as many species of conservation concern than any other habitat, such as chalk grassland or even heath land. What in particular makes ancient woodlands special and why preserve them? Biodiversity offsetting simply cannot replace ancient woodland. Only 2% of our UK ancient woodland remains intact.

Ancient woodlands and Biodiversity Offsetting.

Frequently, ancient woodlands were located on the farthest edges of Parishes and towns, left over pieces of land, from previous activities because they were too wet or too steep to be cultivated. This has resulted in the irregular outlines and wavy edges of many ancient woodlands. In the High Weald of Kent and Sussex, they are often called ghylls or gills after the steep sided valleys that they are located in. The plants that these woods contain are characteristic of ancient woods and they also often contain bryophytes or lichens. This is due to their undisturbed nature, their management may not have changed much in hundreds of years. One of the reasons why they are irreplaceable, is because they contain a unique set of plants, soils and fauna that are characteristic of ancient woodlands. The loss of these ancient woodlands cannot be offset by planting of new woodland. It is simply impossible to offset or recreate an ancient woodland- just as it is impossible to repaint a master piece. Despite their scarcity though, some ancient woodlands are under threat. Perhaps one of the biggest threats to ancient woodlands, is through poor  management and neglect. 

Management for ancient woodlands; as an offsetting tool.

At Landvision, we understand how to manage your sites to enhance biodiversity. This management can also help to increase the CO2 take up of the woodland We can help and advise you on how to offset biodiversity loss from some habitats. These habitats may be scrub or secondary woodlands; these woods differ from ancient woodlands, which must be protected. We will also be able to come to site to advise you on how to maximise the biodiversity of an ancient woodland, by sensitive management, saving you both time and money.

Knowing when to undertake biodiversity offsetting and when to do certain woodland operations can help to keep you on the right side of Wildlife & Countryside Law by taking care of protected species. It will also mean that you can program works in to an appropriate time of year, avoiding costly delays. For advice on how to make the most of your woodland and natural habitats on your site, contact Landvision.

A rare and rich resource under threat.

Protecting and managing ancient woodland is a vital part of our role. Keeping woods safe as a resource, by restoring and maintaining levels of biodiversity means that we can’t afford to lose these woods. Ancient woodland is under threat on a daily basis from man’s activities; fly tipping, dumping and neglect, plus lack of sustainable woodland management. So why can’t ancient woodland loss be offset? Ancient woodland  has unique plant and animal assemblages. These communities cannot be recreated by the mitigation schemes of planting of new trees or the creation of new habitats from scratch. Ancient woodlands are timeless places of great antiquity and are not commonly found or widespread as habitats. Instead, they are becoming more fragmented and more vulnerable to pressures from man’s activities. What other characteristics do these woods have?

Bluebells, Wood Anemone and Ransoms; ancient woodland indicators.

Ancient woodland is home to more threatened species than any other habitat. One of the things that is so special about ancient woodlands is their plant communities. These are unique, as the plants which are characteristic of these ancient woods are slow colonisers. Often the woods have a highly distinctive character, with unusual distributions of wild flowers, which can be traced back to woodlands on these sites hundreds of years ago. These plants might include wood anemone, yellow archangel and wild garlic or ransoms. Bluebells are an ancient woodland indicator. These species are protected and should not be dug up or removed from ancient woodlands.

Other signs of ancient woodlands, include Bronze and Iron Age earthworks, ancient park boundaries, ridge and furrow, park pales and wood banks. Often, mossy old coppice stools, large mature Oak standards are found in ancient woodlands. Archaeological remains of ancient activities, such as smelting and charcoal burning, have left hollows and lime kilns as round pits in these unique woodlands. The communities of plants, trees and bryophyes/lichens growing within ancient woodland are unique to each wood. They vary according to the different soils and conditions such as the micro climates within and between ancient woodlands. This is why each ancient woodland is impossible to offset as each individual woodland is irreplaceable. Biodiversity levels are extremely high and the species composition of these woods is unique; for this reason and for their archaeological and historical value as links to the past management of the woods, they cannot be offset and need to be preserved.

For advice on how to make the most of your woodland or the natural habitats on your site, contact Landvision.

If you need to discuss a project, give us a call on 01892 782200 or visit our Contact page

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Dealing with Excavations within the Root Protection Area or RPA.

Using any type of mechanical digger within Root Protection Areas RPA will damage roots. Air spades which use compressed air may be a better solution to hand digging in some instances. Air spades use compressed air and are much less likely to damage the tree roots. At the very least we recommend in order to avoid damage to roots, that hand tools should be used such as forks and spades. Care should be taken to minimize the disturbance to the roots beyond the work area. Ground protection sheets can help to stop compaction by wheelbarrows and site operators. Also, ground protection sheets can be used to temporarily store spoil from any excavation works. Small roots and fibrous roots should be retained. These small roots should not be allowed to dry out and damp hessian should be used to cover them. All roots should be retained, but if that is not possible, they should be cut cleanly, using sharp secateurs or a sharp saw. Roots of 10cm or more in diameter should only be cut after consultation with an arboricultural consultant.

Tree Root Protection Zone

What is the Difference between Tree Root Protection Area (RPA) and Tree Root Protection Zone (RPZ).

There is really no difference between the terms Tree Root Protection Area and Tree Root Protection Zone. It refers to the area of ground around the tree/s which has/have been calculated by the Arboriculturalist using the data recorded when they carried out their tree survey.

Landvision offers an arboricultural supervision service for projects which require a high level of input while a development is ongoing. This will include giving advice to the client as well as to site personnel, architects and engineers. Landvision will keep records of all meetings and site inspections which may be required by the Local Planning Authority. We can also set up and manage landscape contracts or any proposed landscaping. Call us now at Landvision 01892 782200 to discuss your next project.

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Then 3pm to 430 pm we will look at some historic landscape features such as old hedgerows.

Join us to walk along some of the old historic hedgerows in East Sussex and learn about our amazing botanical heritage. Come along to spot Wild primroses, Foxglove, Dog Violets and other early spring plants.

Ancient hedgerows are often located on hedge banks with ditches. They can form old boundaries to fields and Parklands, such as deer parks, perhaps King Henry VIII’s old hunting grounds.

Many of the East Sussex hedgerows have been managed by hedge laying,for hundreds of years, to make them stock proof. These hedgerows are connected to Ancient semi-natural woodlands and they form part of the historic landscape surrounding the village of Wadhurst. These hedgerows are impossible to recreate authentically and are vulnerable to disturbance. For these reasons, it is important to protect our ancient hedgerows and their species of plants and animals, as well as the soils associated with them. We will take you on a tour of our unique old historic hedgerows; landvision.co.uk.

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What are the site restrictions and what characteristics do you want from the tree?

Trees with interesting bark can contribute so much in winter. For instance, Betula utilis jacquemontii, with its white bark. Prunus serrula- with its shiny mahogany bark- these two trees are exceptional in urban parks.

Good autumn colour is important for a street tree. What better than the leaves of bright yellow falling from an Acer campestre for children to scrunch through in the autumn? If there is room for the tree’s roots and for its crown, this is a lovely tree. If space is more limited, try fastgiate (upright) hornbeam which is yellow/brown in autumn, or fastigiate beech, for bright orange autumn leaves.

If you prefer red autumn colour, trees with scarlet leaves are numerous and the scope is greater ,if space allows. Choose from Quercus rubra if there is plenty of room or even a Liquidambar styraciflua. If space is restricted there are some pyramidal forms of Liquidambar. Both these specimen trees have fabulous autumn colour- scarlet leaves and stunning interest from October onwards. They make stunning urban trees and transform an urban street in autumn. It is best if there are soft landscaped beds for the tr.)ees roots to develop.

Above all, try not to restrict yourself to planting tiny trees with small crowns (such as Malus or Sorbus) unless space is really tight. These trees are more suited to a small garden and generally have a more limited impact on street amenity than larger trees.

Do not plant trees closer than 3 metres form your house and always bear in mind services runs, so that tree roots do not restrict affect services.

On sites where there is a medium amount of space, you can think about using more native trees to attract wildlife, Prunus avium (Wild gean) makes a lovely large tree, with white blossom and fabulous autumn colour. The white beam, is a smaller tree but just as attractive to wildlife and produces silvery leaves and in winter red berries for birds and wildlife. Plant Sorbus aria or use another native, hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) where space allows width.

For urban gardens, Prunus or orna.)mental cherry, have white and pink blossom, in single and double flowered forms, from weeping to fastigiate. If space allows you can choose a round crown for maximum shade and interest. Useful trees are Prunus Ama-no-gawa (a very narrow,fastigiate cherry tree) for very limited space.

Finally, look at using the maximum size and best shape of of tree for each site, as this will contribute the most to the neighbourhood in which it grows. In maturity these trees will provide more foliage, blossom and increased wildlife interest if thery are native, supporting birds and mammals all year round. If you are generous about tree size and spread, the ultimate rewards will be to your whole community; the street’s “end users”, not only inhabitants of the urban space but also visitors who will enjoy the spectacle of a softened street, lots of autumn colour and winter interest, all year round. Plant bare root trees from Nov- March. See our other tree blog for details.

For more ideas, see our protfolio of trees and designs at landvision.co.uk. You can ring us to arrange a visit to our landscapes or email;charmaine@landvision.co.uk Happy tree planting! .)

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