>

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Arboricultural Association.

Share this story

Topics

#ARBatwork #ArbMatters #EmbraceEquity #IWD2023 #PledgeLessPlastic #WomenInArb #WomenInTrees & 12 Faces of Arb 1987 storm 2 Rope 2018 2024 30 Under 30 3ATC 3ATC UK Open 50th annual 60 years AA AA award AA Awards Aboricultural Association Accident accreditation Addiction advice AFAG AFL aftercare AGM Agrilus Biguttatus aid air quality Alert Alex Kirkley All Party Parliamentary Group on Horticulture amenity Amenity Conference Anatomy Ancient Tree Forum Annual Awards Anthropology APF APF 2020 APF 2022 APHA app APPGHG application Appointment apprentice apprenticeship Apprenticeships Approved Approved Contractor Approved Contractors ARB ARB Approved Contractor ARB Approved Contractors ARB at work ARB Magazine ARB Salaries ARB Show arb training ARB Worker Zone ArbAC ARBatwork ArbCamp Arbor Day Arboretum Arboricultural Association Arboricultural Journal Arboricultural Student Arboriculture arborists Arbsafe Ash Ash Archive ash dieback Asian Hornet Assessments Assessors at atf ATO Australia Autumn Review award Awards Barcham Trees Bark Beetle Bartlett Bartlett Tree Experts bats Bats & Trees beetle Benjamin Zephaniah Best Student Best Student Award beyond ism Bill Matthews biochar biodiversity Biodiversity Net Gain biomechanical biosecurity Birmingham TreePeople BNG Book Prize Book Shop Booking Books Bookshop boundaries branch Branches brand Brexit BS3857 bs5837 BSI Budgeting Tool bursary business Butterflies Call for Abrstacts Call for Abstracts Call for papers Campout Canker stain of plane Canopy Climbing Collective carbon career careers Cavanagh CAVAT CCS Cellular Confinement Cellular Confinement Systems CEnv CEO Ceratocystis Ceratocystis platani chainsaw Chair chalara charity Charles charter Charter for Trees Chartered Environmentalist chelsea Chelsea Flower Show City & Guilds Claus Mattheck climate climate change climber climbing code Cofor Colleges committees Community Tree Nurseries competition competiton conference Conference India Confor conifers conservation Consultant consultation Continuous Professional Development Contractor Contractor Focus Contractors Cornwall Cornwall Branch Coronation Coronavirus Coroner Council Countryside Countryside Code Countryside Stewardship Course for beginners COVID-19 CPD cross industry news Crown & Canopy Cryphonectria parasitica Cumbria DART Date for your diary David Lonsdale deadwood death debate Debt defra deployment Design Devon Director disease diversity DMM document donate dothistroma downloads Dr David Lonsdale draft Drought Dutch elm DWP EAC East Anglia ecology Economic Report economy Ecotricity education EFUF e-Learning Election elections Electricity Elm yellows Emerald Ash Borer England England Tree Action Plan England Tree Strategy English Elm environment Environment Act 2021 environmental EPF Equality equipment Equipment Theft Europe European Arboricultural Council European Forum on Urban Forestry European standards European Wood Pastures EUSTAFOR Event exeter Exhibitors Fall from Height Fatal Fatality felling Fellow Fellow Members Fera Field Trip Finance Fine firewood First Aid FISA flood flooding for Forest Research forestry Forestry Commission forests freelancers FSC Fund4Trees funding fundraiser fungal fungi Future Flora Futurebuild gardening GDPR General Election Geocells Gold Medal Gov.uk government grant grants Grapple Saws Green Brexit Green Infrastructure Green Infratructure Green Recovery Green Up Greneda relief Guarantee guidance Guidance Note Guidance Note 2 guide guides Hazard Tree Health heart-rot Heatwave Hedgerow hedges height Helliwell Help Henry Girling Henry Kuppen History HMRC HOMED Homeworking Honey Brothers Honey Fungus honours Horse Chestnut HortAid horticulture horticulturists HortWeek housing HRH HRH Prince Charles HS2 HSE HTA ICF ICoP identification Immigration import industry Industry Code of Practice industry skills Infographic InfraGreen Initiatives Inspiration Institute of Charterd Foresters Insurance Intermediate Tree Inspection International Urban Forestry Congress International Women’s Day International Year of Plant Health invertebrates Investigating Tree Archaeology Conference IPAF Ips Ips typographus Irma irrigation ISA iso ITCC i-Tree IUFC IWD21 Jo Hedger Job Job Centre Plus job opportunity Jobcentre Plus jobs judgement JustGiving Karabiner Keith Sacre Kent Kew King’s Award for Enterprise Kit Knot-Tying competition land-based Landsaping Landscape Institute Landscape Recovery Scheme Landscape Show landscaping Lantra law Leaf Minor Lectures legal legislation Letters Liability licence Local Authority Treescapes Fund London longevity LTOA Lynne Boddy Magazine Malawi Managegement Plan manifesto maple Mayor of London MBE Melbourne Member Benefit Member Survey Membership Mental Health mentor MEWPs Midlands Morphophysiology moth' motion Moulton College Myerscough NASA National Geographic National Hedgerow Week National Tree Safety Group National Tree Week NATO Natural England NatureScot Netherlands New Year’s Honours News NHS nominations Northern Northumberland Notice notification NTIS NTOA NTOC NTSG Nurseries nursery trees oak 'oak Oak Processionary Moth Oak-boring Beetle obituary Observatree occupation of OHRG On-Demand online opm Padua Papua parks parliament Past Awards Past Chairs Perennial Pest Alert pests Pests & Diseases Pests and Diseases Petersfield petition Petzl photo Phytophthora Phytophthora pluvialis Pine Processionary Moth plan planning Planning Law Plant Health Plant Healthy planting Plantsman Plantsmans Choice Pledge Plumpton College policy poll Poster Power PPE practice Preston Twins Prince Charles Prince of Wales processionary Product Recall Professional Members prosecution Protect and Survive protected tree protection PUWER Qualifications Queen’s 70th Jubilee Questionnaire Quotatis ramorum RC Recruitment Red Diesel reference Reg Harris Registered Registered Consultant Registered Consultants Rehab Rememberance Day renewal REnvP Report Rescue research Research grant Resilience response results Retirement retrenchment review RFS rhs RHS Chelsea Flower Show Ride for Research Ride4Research rigging Rodney Helliwell rogue tree surgeons Royal Forestry Society RSFS Safe Working Practice Safety Safety Bulletin Safety Bulletins Safety Guides Safety Notice Saftey Salaries Sale school science Scotland Scotland Branch Scottish Branch SDG Accord security Seed Gathering Season Seminar seminars Share Sheffield Show Sierra Leone Site Guidance skills skills survey SocEnv Social Benefits of Trees soil soils South East South East Branch South West Speaker spotlight SRT SRWP staff Standards statement Stationary Rope Stationary Rope Technique statutory STIHL Stonehouse Storm strategy student Student Book Prize Student Conference Study Trip Sub-contractors Succession Successsion Supporter survey Sustainable Soils Alliance Sweet Chestnut sweet chestnut blight Sycamore Gap symposium T Level T Levels Tatarian maple TDAG Technical technical guide Technical Guides technical officer Technical Officers Technical Team Technician Members Technology Ted Green Telecommunications tender TG3 Thames & Chiltern The Arboricultural Association The Forestry and Woodlands Advisory Committees The Plantsman’s Choice The Queen’s Green Canopy The Woodland Trust Thinking Arbs Thinking Arbs Day Timbersports Tony Kirkham Tools top-handled chainsaws,Elcoat, TPBE4 TPO Trading Standards trailblazer training transport Tree Tree Care Tree Champion Tree Council Tree Fayre tree felling Tree Health Tree Health Week Tree Inspection Tree Life tree loss tree management Tree of the year Tree Officer Tree officers tree pathogen tree planning Tree Planting Tree Production Innovation Fund Tree Protection tree register Tree Risk Tree Shears tree species Tree Supply Tree Surgeon Tree Surgeons Tree Week Tree Work at Height Tree Workers Zone TreeAlert Treeconomics tree-felling TreeRadar trees trees' Trees & Society Trees & Sociey Trees and Society Trees and the Law Trees for Cities Trees, People and the Built Environment trust' trustee Trustees TrustMark Two Rope two-rope typographus UAG Uitlity UK favourite UK&ITCC ukas Ukraine UKWAS urban urban forest Urban Forestry Urban Tree Challenge Urban Tree Challenge Fund Urban Tree Cover Urban Tree Diversity Urban Tree World Cup urban trees UTD4 Utility Approved Contractors Utility Arboriculture Group UTWC vacancy Vanuatu VETcert veteran trees video Videos Virtual ARB Show volunteer voting VTA WAC Wales Wales Branch Warning Watering Watering Campaign watering solutions Watering Young Trees Webinar webinars website Wednesday Webinars Wellbeing Western Westonbirt Wharton White Paper WIA Witley Women Women in Arb women in arboriculture Womens Arb Camp woodland Woodland Carbon Code Woodland Carbon Guarantee woodland trust woods Work Work at Height Workshops World Environment Day World Fungi Day Xylella young Young Arboricultural Professional Young Arboricultural Professional Award Young Arboricultural Professional of the Year young arborists Young People’s Breakfast Event Young Tree Aftercare Youth Programme zoo

£14.5 million upgrade at Forestry England’s tree nursery to grow climate-resilient trees

Author:  Forestry England
  17/10/2024
Last Updated:  17/10/2024

Forestry England is spending around £14.5 million to upgrade its tree nursery near Delamere Forest, Cheshire, including building a brand-new seed extractory. This will produce seeds for millions of high-quality, UK grown, resilient trees in the decades ahead. The new facility, which is due to open in spring 2025, will be the largest in the UK, testing and processing up to four tonnes of tree seeds each year. It will replace Forestry England’s current seed extractory at Alice Holt Forest in Surrey which was built in 1964. Most of the funding for the upgrades is being made available from the Defra Nature for Climate Fund with Forestry England also contributing.

The project will boost Forestry England’s resilience in supplying suitable genetic material for woodland creation and regeneration for the rest of this century. In particular, the development will allow Forestry England to process more seed, and from a greater variety of tree species located in 13 specially planted orchards and 39 seed stands spread across the nation’s forests. Douglas fir, western red cedar and Norway spruce will be amongst the focus species because they are expected to grow well and become more prominent as sources of high-quality timber in England’s future climate conditions.

As well as processing seeds and growing trees for the nation’s forests, Forestry England also supplies other forestry organisations. In 2025, depending on the seed crops, they expect to supply around 450 kg of conifer seeds to the private sector as well as around 7.5 million trees for planting in the nation’s forests. Building a secure supply of high-quality tree seed from diverse species over the years ahead will significantly improve availability for UK nurseries and reduce the amount of seed imported from overseas. This will benefit the UK forestry sector as a whole and plays a major part in boosting diversity in timber producing tree species.

The new seed extractory building will be equipped with the best available processing machinery alongside expanded areas for cold and dry seed storage that will enable several tonnes of seeds to be stored in the best conditions before germination and planting.

As well as building the new seed extractory, Forestry England is creating a new miniplug growing facility at the nursery, which will more than double the capacity of the ‘standing out area’. This is the protected area where tree seedlings continue to grow after they leave the glasshouse and become acclimatised to outdoor conditions. This will complement the glasshouse which Forestry England opened in 2018 as its first major project to build resilience against changing weather patterns. This computer-controlled environment uses a combination of fans, shade screens and roof ventilation to regulate the temperature, humidity and light levels for the growing trees. Cell-grown trees can be planted all year round and so help in extending the planting season in the nation’s forests. Together, these tree nursery investments support Forestry England’s work growing, planting and caring for sustainable, wildlife-rich, productive forests across the country.

Lead contractor Willmott Dixon has begun construction on the Cheshire site and recently completed the facility’s timber frame which covers almost 2,000m2. Adopting best practice construction principles, the facility has been sustainably designed to achieve excellent levels of environmental performance and will be net zero carbon in operation.

Horticultural engineering company, Cambridge HOK who designed and built the nursery’s glasshouse are building the new miniplug growing system. This will include a production line and irrigation system within the existing glasshouse operation and a new building for equipment, packing and dispatching trees ready to be planted. The specialist equipment and machinery are being provided by Swedish company, BCC.

Imam Sayyed, Forestry England Head of Plant and Seed Supply, said;

“This investment marks an exciting next phase in developing our forest nursery and seed processing operations. It’s vital we that we continue to grow millions of resilient trees which will be well suited to the climate we expect in the decades ahead and these new facilities will help us meet that challenge head-on.

“The amount of tree seeds available to collect can dramatically fluctuate from year to year with peak years producing as much as four tonnes of tree seeds to store ready for processing and germinating. The new facility will give us the flexibility and storage we need to respond to each season’s supply of seeds.

“We’re delighted to be working with Willmott Dixon and Cambridge HOK on these projects who share our commitment to building sustainably. Forestry England is a leading tree seed supplier to the public and private sector and this investment builds our capacity to deliver high quality service in the decades ahead.”

Michael Poole-Sutherland, north west director at Willmott Dixon, said:

“We are delighted to be working again with Forestry England in Cheshire and creating a truly sustainable seed processing and nursery facility. Just as with the Delamere Forest visitor centre we completed in 2020, our experts are prioritising sustainable materials and construction methods. The building will be net zero carbon in operation and built using cross laminated timber (CLT) frame, as a sustainable alternative to steel, concrete and masonry. It will also feature solar PV panels, triple glazing, sustainable drainage solution and benefit from our extensive EnergySynergy performance monitoring process to reduce costs.

“We share Forestry England’s passion for creating employment opportunities and skills in this community. We will create apprenticeships and engage local students through our bespoke Green Skills Academy, combining curriculum-enhancing practical, construction-based STEM and sustainability focussed lessons. Our team will be also leading and supporting local community projects, focussing on protecting nature and improving mental and physical wellbeing.”

Jason Tether, Project Manager for CambridgeHOK, said:

“We’re delighted to work with Forestry England on this innovative project. We have designed and are installing a specialist conveyor system which will allow the heavy containers of growing trees to be moved seamlessly between different zones during the growing cycle.

“Having worked with Forestry England on the glasshouse growing system a few years ago, we’re pleased to create the best solution for this important expansion to their container and benching system and be part of increasing the capacity of their growing operation.”

For more information visit forestryengland.uk. Forestry England is an agency of the Forestry Commission.