Marco Bartolini
In total 40 oaks were moved: four have been relocated on the site and the others have been moved to a field for safe-keeping until they can be replanted at this site or another.
This is by no means the ultimate philosophical tale that will make you all rethink how you approach every job, but, as I prepare to slow down into retirement, it is a personal account of two projects that have helped me and I hope will help you too.
For an arboricultural consultant, making a good impression on the contractor you’re working with is not the end of the story. I once worked alongside many a well-known ‘big 10’ development company only to find myself inundated with work that I lost focus on. Keeping the company ‘happy’ by providing a detailed and accurate account of the tree stock took time away from my family and holidays were interrupted. There didn’t appear to be any boundaries when it came to arboricultural consultancy. Everyone needed their report ‘Now!’ Job satisfaction faded and my passion for trees wavered ever so slightly.
That was until I took the plunge to deflect this work to someone else to allow me to focus on the people that mattered to me – those who became more than just a name at the end of a phone or behind an email. The people who took the time to ask about you or your family and how you actually were. These people become ‘work friends’, not just colleagues or customers you’re employed by.
So, for me, it is not about making money. The financial side is essential of course, but – as plenty of people have heard me say! – my job is my hobby and my hobby is my job. So long as I feel job satisfaction and know that I’ve helped people to meet their goals or aspirations, all is good in the world. There are many people I have dealt with where knowledge is free: in fact, I even carry out some work for free because if I can bring a smile to those I work with, I know I’ve done a good job.
Purely as a result of relationships made, I’ve continued to work with my ‘work friends’. We have built a rapport and relationships that thrive today. I won’t name them to avoid embarrassing them but we have a good set of standards and teamwork is critical. Listening goes both ways.
Rewards of engagement
Managing the people who employ me to ensure they are compliant with tree legislation, regulations and guidance is my primary role. Continuing to carry out this work for the duration of the project requires me to make some form of visit, either to audit the tree protection or to supervise construction within proximity of a tree, or merely to offer guidance when the developers meet with a ‘tree problem’.
It doesn’t mean I have to go out of my way to do this. I can manage my diary and time to visit en route to elsewhere or detour to help. It becomes cost-effective for those who employ me and also gives them confidence that they are remaining compliant. Just as importantly, the tree officer has confidence that the site is ’policed’ how they expect it to be.
I don’t always have the involvement I would like to and have seen sites where they have ignored my advice for the sake of saving costs, but inevitably, I’m called back after the ‘event’ to save them from a breach of condition or prosecution.
One of the four oaks replanted on site.
Arboricultural contractors lifting trees from within the site.
I’m not a wizard! I learned from reading, experience and asking advice. It works though.
In summary, if you can supervise a project from start to finish you will see the benefits of your work and also maintain a good working relationship with the local authority you work within. You don’t have to work until you drop, pleasing clients who don’t fully respect what you do. Pick those who serve you well and reciprocate. Over time, it will make you feel a whole lot better about what you do and how you present it. Rushing a project or projects to meet deadlines may make you money, but will it make you happy? There’s a balance to be found.
The benefits of engagement with the customer who employs you are highlighted by the following case study and its outcome.
Replanting forty oak trees
On 14th September 2023 I was invited to meet with a team from Bloor Homes (Southern) Ltd to discuss a parcel of land the company had acquired for future development. I was not the first arboricultural consultant to be involved with this site but have since taken the role of retained arboricultural consultant for the project. This is a repeating theme for me and I am getting a reputation as ‘trouble-shooter’ – which I quite like and enjoy!
To set the scene, the land was bounded to the north by a Network Rail line. The east abutted an ancient woodland, the south a highway and the west an arable field. To all four cardinal points there were trees of varying ages and species. The ‘plan’ was to retain every tree where practical and provide a biodiversity buffer for the ancient woodland of a minimum of 15 m.
The Bloor Homes (Southern) Ltd team included John Lusty (Managing Director), Matthew Rutter (Technical Manager), Chloe Swain (Architectural Technician) and Chaiwat Vongseenin (Engineer).
Following a review of the trees across the site and taking into account the NHBC foundations guide, a number of trees were identified for removal. The oaks growing within a narrow section of land to the north of the site and adjacent to the railway (likely self-set) were a significant issue for Bloor and Network Rail. Their future growth would be significantly hindered by management and they were likely to have a short life. In addition to these individuals, a further number of oaks were identified within the western boundary. They were suppressed by the parent tree and a group forming an understorey shelterbelt.
In total, 40 trees were identified as ‘surplus to requirements’ for the development.
Whilst on site with Tim Holman, the Local Authority Tree Officer for Guildford, I suggested that rather than felling and destroying the 40 trees, there should be a scheme to save them to either replant on the site or place within a temporary nursery for future use at alternative sites. The Bloor team agreed that the trees would be lifted with a tree spade and relocated to a nursery for future use.
Bloor selected InHurst Landscapes Ltd, based in Swallowfield near Reading and led by Steve Dance, as the arboricultural contractor to take on the challenge. The team lifted the 40 trees using a tree spade. Thirty-six trees have been relocated to a local field for safe keeping within a nursery area dedicated to support Bloor Homes (Southern) Ltd. Four trees were relocated within the development envelope to be a part of the final landscape scheme, adjacent to a green open space and swale. The remaining trees will, in time, be relocated back to this project or planted at other projects managed by the company.
An internet search provided a guide price for a 2–3 m tall Quercus robur (less VAT and delivery) of £320. The trees from this site had a collective value of circa £12,800 (less VAT, delivery and planting). You might argue that it is cheaper to get the trees from a nursery and have them delivered and planted. Well, this is not so.
Bloor Homes (Southern) Ltd have kindly declared that the work to save the trees and relocate them cost circa £12,000. (I am not going to declare the exact amount as that would be unfair to the contractor involved.) Don’t forget, this includes tree acquisition, planting and aftercare. It does show that trees can be moved and replanted for a lower fee than acquiring new, plus with a negligible carbon footprint and using trees of provenance with some local disease resistance. In addition, the status of this approach rather than clear fell speaks for itself.
This is not the first time this has happened. In 2016, I engaged with the consortium director of five development companies (over a huge site) who agreed that felling trees would be wasteful. In total 148 were lifted, planted into a temporary nursery site within the development boundary and managed until they were replanted into the landscape of the scheme. I lost one tree through drought and the remainder are still growing to this day! Coincidently, the person I met on that site still employs me: testament to a good working relationship.
With BNG (Biodiversity Net Gain) now firmly set out for developers, have Bloor Homes (Southern) Ltd set a benchmark for others to follow? Of course, BNG is still in its infancy and there will be amendments. I am not sure if this approach is permitted as a method of retaining trees on site, reducing the number of biodiversity units required to achieve net gain. Nonetheless, Bloor Homes (Southern) Ltd has given many organisations something to consider.
Being part of the wider team involved with the overall design of a project is really important. Having a voice in the room to offer advice and ideas (sometimes a newcomer to the concept can see beyond what the team are stumbling over) with the vision to protect as many trees as possible is very satisfying. As an arboricultural consultant, there’s power and control in what you tell the project team. They listen, become engaged in trees and actually begin respecting the environment just a little bit more each time you meet them. It’s almost reached a point where the ecologist and I are first in line to guide the process. We don’t always get our own way but interestingly, we are asked for mitigation initially rather than the developer waiting for a condition to tell them what to do. It’s a real pleasure to revisit a site once it’s completed and say to yourself ‘I did that.’
Marco Bartolini is a military veteran, arboricultural consultant, ecologist and adventurer. He is the official tree tour guide of the Italian Garden, Ipplepen, and Fairthorne Manor, Botley, as well as providing tree tour talks to tree and garden enthusiasts. Marco is the Arbor Day UK (south) coordinator.
This article was taken from Issue 206 Autumn 2024 of the ARB Magazine, which is available to view free to members by simply logging in to the website and viewing your profile area.