Rachael Forsyth

A group of Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) traders and growers are urging importers to ensure oaks being brought into the UK not only comply with current legislation to combat Oak Processionary Moth (OPM), but are not sourced from Italy’s recently declared Pest Free Area (PFA). The HTA are seeking guidance…

Celebrating 5 years of Pro Arb magazine.

Trees and woodlands must be at the forefront of Government thinking when tackling the climate emergency – and the time for action is now. That was the message from a range of experts at the Confor Woodland Show at Longleat.  Guy Shrubsole, of Friends of the Earth, said at the…

In preparation for the upcoming typhoon season, the MTR Corporation has put in place a number of measures to minimise the impacts from adverse weather on railway facilities and services. New tree management technology has also been introduced to further enhance preventive maintenance and contingency measures along open sections of…

At a meeting of Bridgnorth Town Council on Tuesday evening (20th August) Bridgnorth Town Council voted to sign up to the Tree Charter developed by the Woodland Trust. The motion was the idea of Councillor Carol Whittle. It commits the Council to working towards 10 principles that will encourage the…

The London College of Garden Design (LCGD) has committed to plant trees to celebrate every student that graduates from one of their diploma courses in the future.  As students prepare for graduation this week LCGD will be donating a tree for each of their 50 students who are graduating from the Garden…

More than 10,000 hectares of new woodland have been planted in Scotland for the first time in almost 20 years. Confor has welcomed the figures – 11,200 hectares of new planting, up from 7,100 the previous year – and called on the forestry industry to maintain the momentum and drive…

Some of Scotland’s largest nature conservation organisations are coming together in a bid to save the country’s dwindling rainforests – found on the west coast from Wester Ross down to Argyll. Members of the Atlantic Woodland Alliance have gathered at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh for the launch of a…

A four-point plan to fight ash dieback, the deadliest threat to the UK’s trees since Dutch Elm disease, has been launched in Leicestershire. Ash dieback was first recorded in the UK in 2012, with only a small fraction of trees proving resistant. The Tree Council, Fera Science Limited, and the…

Sales have grown steadily for Avant over the last decade. Main reasons for the success are a large market area with a continuously developing modular product range. Avant’s Vice President for production Saku Vastamäki says: “The current investment plan is about €10m. Our target is to increase weekly production by…

Making sure tools are safe and fit for purpose is essential. Paul George has some handy guidance to get the job done. Chainsaws are highly powerful tools for carrying out some seriously tough jobs. Whether you are managing woodland or dismantling a dangerous tree, a chainsaw is one of the…

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has told the timber industry that big changes are afoot in the way timber operations are managed in Wales. Clare Pillman, Chief Executive of NRW, says that recent high-profile issues in its commercial timber department will soon be a thing of the past and that it…

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is making major changes to its commercial timber operations after publication of an independent report. NRW called in experts, Grant Thornton, to review its processes and procedures after its accounts were “qualified” for three years running by the Wales Audit Office. Grant Thornton’s report, published on…

Pro Arb’s sister publication Pro Landscaper has announced the winners of the second-ever Pro Landscaper Business Awards. Highlighting the industry’s leading landscaping companies, the awards took place today at East Wintergarden in Canary Wharf, London. Now with over 15 categories, there were more opportunities than ever to shine a light…

With the focus on people, tech and sustainability at FutureScape Spring, the spotlight shines across the seminar programme, putting the landscape’s key influencers, leaders and heroes front of stage, just for you. You’ve come to expect a high calibre of thought-provoking, inspirational and ground-breaking speakers, experts and topics from FutureScape.…