David Treanor
The Scotland Branch’s spring field trip to Gargunnock Estate, just west of Stirling, was a welcome chance to slow down, look closely, and see trees as they are – not constrained or shaped by urban settings, but expressive, diverse, and quietly spectacular.
It was a peripatetic experience, led with characteristic warmth by Chris Knapman, whose thoughtful observations set the tone for a day of shared learning and good humour.
We began in the estate’s walled garden, a carefully curated space that gave the group a moment to orient itself before heading out into the wider landscape. Framed by the ochre-yellow of the grand house and its distinctive dovecot (a colour that sparked as much curiosity as the trees themselves), we were joined by contributions from Chair Simon Stuart and former Chair Chris Simpson, both adding depth to the dialogue throughout the day.
The attendee list spanned a rich cross-section of the profession: a rookie preparing for their felling assessment (surely destined to pass, given their enthusiasm), a planning officer equipped with a rainbow umbrella seemingly attuned to aerial fruit bodies, a countryside ranger with a surprising taxidermy sideline, a tree and woodland officer whose passion was palpable, a woodsman with an eye for detail and a camera to match, and three men from BEAR Scotland who had assumed a perfect catalogue pose against the woodland backdrop every time I turned around.
This eclectic mix became a real strength. The range of lenses – from ecological to engineering, planning to conservation – meant that trees were read through multiple perspectives. Where one saw risk, another saw habitat. Where one saw potential decline, another saw adaptation. These layers of interpretation made for a fuller understanding of the trees we encountered, and reminded us how much value there is in collective intelligence.
Clothing choices ranged from prepper-chic to optimistic minimalism, thanks to the dramatic shift in weather from drought to deluge just days before. Fortunately, the rain held off, and we were treated to a series of exceptional specimens: sycamores with architectural presence, limes thriving in sheltered microclimates, sweet chestnuts teeming with tree-related microhabitats (TreMs), a remarkable layering cut-leaf beech, a veteran oak sporting oversized apple galls, and a Korean mountain magnolia with downward-facing flowers, perfectly adapted to beetle pollination. At one point, we found ourselves deep in discussion on the eight orders of branching – a moment that prompted more than one tongue-in-cheek reference to the ‘Treemasons’.
As the afternoon wore on, there was a sense that many paths remained untaken – an invitation for a return visit. Before departing, we rallied around the rookie with encouragement and goodwill, and conversations turned to international perspectives. It was a reminder that, although our work is local and practical, it connects to something global in scope – and that participation in wider networks and events matters.
If you didn’t make it to this field trip, I’d encourage you to join the next. There’s immense value in seeing trees in their unfiltered, natural forms – not simply for their aesthetic appeal, but as reference points: for structure, form, biodiversity, and ecological function. Doing so can deepen our understanding and, perhaps, help us reframe the everyday trees we manage in the built environment, recognising in them something greater than the sum of their constraints.
I, for one, plan to return – to see the oaks in their autumn undress, and to check those galls for worms come September.
Veteran sweet chestnut: a haven for biodiversity. (© Chris Knapman)
Entrance to a nuthatch nest, the cavity made smaller with mud to restrict access. (© Chris Knapman)
The Scotland Branch would like to express our thanks to the Gargunnock Trustees and Willie Campbell, our contact at the gardens in particular, for supporting and enabling our visit, during which we found much to discuss as we peeled back layers of landscape to learn about Gargunnock’s tree story.
Thus ev’ry kind their pleasure find, The savage and the tender; Some social join, and leagues combine, Some solitary wander.
— Robert Burns
This article was taken from Issue 210 Autumn 2025 of the ARB Magazine, which is available to view free to members by simply logging in to the website and viewing your profile area.