Tales of a lifelong adventure with trees and tree folk.

Treetime

 

by Ted Green MVO, MBE.

A collection of tales from over 80 years spent observing, questioning and caring for the natural world and all its wildlife, especially fungi, trees and birds.

Published by the Arboricultural Association.

Ted kindly funded the production and printing of this book, and all the proceeds from sales will go to the Arboricultural Association charity (Registered Charity number 1083845), to support its work on education in tree ecology.

£25 plus postage, hardback, 15 November 2023

Friendships made under a tree last the lifetime of the friends. This book is a record of the adventure so far.

The Association is very excited to formally announce the publication of Treetime, the new book by Ted Green MVO, MBE.

Ted Green is one of the country’s leading authorities on Ancient Trees, woodland fungi, forest soils and associated micro-organisms. He is recognised by many not just as a legend of arboriculture but across green disciplines; Professor Mick Crawley, an internationally renowned ecologist, calls Ted ‘the complete naturalist’ in his book The Flora of Berkshire. Although Ted prefers to define himself in his own inimitable style:

“Throughout my life, I have used the word layman to describe my role in this adventure because of a definition I found in a dictionary which matches what I think defines me: ‘Layman: a non-professional, one not at all an expert.’ So, no need to live up to standards. I am not an arborist, neither am I a forester or an expert, but I am somebody who has lived with these people most of my life and like them, I love trees and the world they bring to us. I let Nature be my teacher. And you could say tree people are my people.”

Aside from being a great read, which we are certain contains the seed of a PhD thesis on every page, Treetime will itself help fund additional work and research into the concepts it covers. The Association has published and produced the book, but Ted has funded all of it himself, and the proceeds the Association generates from sales will be reinvested into the charity and used to support all of the work we do, including increased training and education in the subject of tree ecology.

Ted Green MVO, MBE is a founder member and Founder President of the Ancient Tree Forum and Honorary Vice President of the International Tree Foundation. He was made a Member of the Royal Victorian Order for his services to the Crown Estate, primarily for his work on the conservation of fungi and ancient trees, and has also received the MBE in recognition of his work in conservation. He was given the Arboricultural Association Annual Award for his contribution to arboriculture and the Gold Medal by the Royal Forestry Society for his distinguished services to forestry. He was given the Freedom of the city of Calgary by the Canadian Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture and was made an Honorary Lecturer by Imperial College, London University. Ted is Conservation Consultant to the Crown Estate at Windsor and a regular broadcaster, writer, and speaker at international conferences on ancient trees and fungi.

At the 2022 Arboricultural Association Conference, his friend and colleague Neville Fay of Treework Environmental Practice, the Sustainable Soils Alliance and the Ancient Tree Forum had a message of appreciation for Ted at the end of his talk. He said, ‘Standing back, how you’ve done this is a bit of a mystery, but I think the ingredients include your little boy mischief, your unique ability to embarrass, the gift of friendship and a passion for Mother Earth, an immense capacity to irritate and push people and organisations off balance. A small glimpse of what you do but taken all together, I think you’re a bit of a modern shaman. As you’d say Ted: “We can do it!”’

Treetime tells the unique story of over 80 years spent observing, questioning, and caring for the natural world and all its wildlife, especially fungi, trees and birds. It is available to purchase from the Association’s online Book Shop and will also be celebrated with a special Wednesday Webinar on 22nd November which will be available on our website and YouTube channel.

For further information, or to speak to Ted Green, please contact:

Steve Hodsman, Marketing Manager
steve@trees.org.uk 07917 413308

Order Treetime here