Overall the Guide seems to me to be a splendid document that
does exactly what it claims – to offer guidance (note guidance, not
prescriptions) to those involved in making or influencing decisions that shape
the spaces and places in which we live.
And, by “those involved” I mean far more than the Tree Officer – the
target groups include local interest groups and local politicians, as well as
the technical experts required.
The Guide is well structured into four complimentary groups
of three principles under the broad headings of Plan, Design,
Plant/Protect, and Manage/Monitor and as such is a development
of the classic Deming cycle – Plan, Do, Check/Study, and
Adjust. The text is
very clearly laid out so that the key players for each group of principles (who
change throughout the document) are identified and their roles and actions, in
seeking to improve the quality and quantity of trees in the townscape, are
clearly stated. The Guide is also
extensively illustrated with case studies from the UK and overseas, some of
which will be familiar to the student of this particular genre but others will
have been brought into the light here perhaps for the first time.
The authors state that some overarching principles that
appear to be common to all good decision making have been set down for everyone
involved in making or influencing decisions that shape the spaces and places in
which we live. Target groups that are
specifically mentioned here include
local elected members, policy makers and community groups
together with large land estate owners, such as registered social landlords. [The Guide] will also be useful to
those professionals who bring their technical expertise to facilitate delivery,
such as engineers, architects, landscape architects or urban designers.
I found this list of professionals, which specifically
excludes the arboriculturist, to be refreshing, encouraging and most welcome! My own view is that many of those
professionals in arboriculture that I have come across have been too intimately
involved in the minutiae surrounding individual trees and so “fail to see the
wood for the trees”. The Guide should
encourage arboriculturists to lift their vision so that they too see the same
vistas as the politicians and other professionals who are involved, the
unwritten threat of course is that if the arboriculturist can not adapt and think
more strategically and consider the broad sweep as well as the fine grain then
he/she will be increasingly marginalised in the decisions that influence the tree
cover in the spaces and places in which we live.
TDAG have developed the Guide after extensive consultation
with what they describe as a star chamber, of
key knowledge holders in the built environment sector
including civil engineers, insurers, developers, designers, planners, tree
officers, sustainability specialists, arboriculturists, tree nursery managers,
ecologists, academics, and not-for-profit organisations specialising in
community engagement and trees.
The guidance
The twelve principles which have been laid down are divided
amongst four broad groups, and are listed below. It is to the authors credit that such direct
and simple messages have been delivered in a supportive way throughout the
narrative.
Plan
1. Know your tree resource
Create and maintain easy-to-use records of the existing canopy cover and the nature and condition of the tree population2. Have a comprehensive tree strategy
Produce, adopt and implement a collaborative strategy for
protecting, developing and managing a thriving, benefit-generating urban forest
which is in tune with local needs and aspirations
3. Embed trees into policy and other plans
Adopt
clear standards for the protection, care and planting of trees in the local
plan and key corporate policy and investment documents
Design
4. Make tree-friendly places
Create
places where tree species can thrive and deliver their full range of benefits
without causing harmful nuisance
5. Pick the right trees
Select
and use trees appropriate to the context
6. Seek multiple benefits
Harvest
the full range of benefits trees can deliver as part of a local green
infrastructure system, focusing on key local aspirations
Plant/Protect
7. Procure a healthy tree
Plant
healthy, vigorous trees that have been adequately conditioned to thrive in the environment
in which they are destined to live
8. Provide soil, air and water
Ensure
trees have access to the nutrients, oxygen and water they need to fulfil their genetic
potential for growth and longevity
9. Create stakeholders
Work
with local political, professional and community stakeholders to champion the
value of trees in the townscape
Manage/Monitor
10. Take an asset management approach
Inform
all planning, management and investment decisions with a robust understanding
of both the costs and the value trees deliver
11. Be risk aware (rather than risk averse)
Take
a balanced and proportionate approach to tree safety management
12. Adjust management to needs
Conduct
proactive and tailored tree maintenance to ensure optimum benefits in response
to local needs
Much
of this rings distant bells from my days as a forestry student at Bangor and resonates
with what I have been trying to do more recently with strategic documents that
I have drafted for a variety of clients building upon my training and
experience.
Overall
this Guide is an excellent piece of work that deserves a space on the desk of
all those who are, or who want to be, involved in the decisions that shape the
spaces and places in which we live.
