lecture 1: cumbria's top 50 trees project - the 360 degree toolkit tree recording method - iris...
TRANSCRIPT
The 360o toolkit tree recording method
Iris Glimmerveen
Project Coordinator
1
Introduction
• Tree recording
• What is Cumbria’s Top 50 Trees
• Tree recording: why, what & how?
• 360o toolkit
• Questions and feedback
2
Ian Jack – Forester
www.cumbriastop50trees.org.uk
Tree recording:
• Only when the purpose of the tree
recording is clear, can you determine what
needs to be recorded and how you’re going
to do it.
• So (project) background is needed before I
can get to the why, what and how
3
Joanne Hunter – Manager Ginger Bread Shop
Annie O’Shea Pensioner
Annie’s Barrow Plane
4
A childhood trip to the dentist provided
the inspiration for one pensioner’s tree
nomination in the heart of Barrow.
What is Cumbria’s Top 50 Trees?
• A project raising
awareness of individual
trees
• Local to Cumbria, a county
in North West England
• A brain child of Ted Wilson
and myself
5
6Rowan – Calbeck Common
Oak – Blencathra Hawthorn– Little Asby
Scots pine – Derwent Water
Cumbria
Cumbria’s Top 50 Trees concepts
• Focus on individual trees because:
• they fall in between the stools of woodland and
agriculture
• are the ones people come across most often –
street, garden, park trees
• Linking people with trees because then trees:
• become ‘personal’ – close to home
• will be ‘valued’ – less vandalism
• will be ‘seen’ – not taken for granted
7
Duncan Darbishire – Photographer
Cumbria’s Top 50 Trees concepts
• Using competition format (Top 50 trees)
because it is easier to:
• enthuse the general public
• get message across to local media
8
Marilyn Leech – Graphic Designer
Cumbria’s Top 50 Trees concepts
• Asking people to nominate their favouritetree because it gives a:• wider geographic and community spread
• sense of how trees are currently valued
• potentially greater variety of trees highlighted
• Making use of volunteers because then:• forestry skills can be passed on
• it provides an opportunity for people to be active outdoors with a purpose
9
Jimmy Beveridge – Farm Worker
Iris Glimmerveen
Project Coordinator
Miranda Morgan
Volunteer Manager
Alan Air
Public Relations
Manager
Cumbria’s Top 50 Trees team
10
Cumbria’s Top 50 Trees time line
1 January 2016 – project start
21 March 2016 – project launch
• 28 February 2017 – nominations close
• 1 March 2017 – Cumbria’s Top 50 Trees exhibition
tours 6 districts for 14 days each
• 31 May 2017 – voting closes
• 15 June 2017 – project booklet and map produced
• 30 June 2017 – award ceremony & project close
11
Kath Peters – Cinematographer
Christopher Pilling Poet
The sessile oak
12
Two’s company, three’s a love poem…
Tree recording: why?
• The purpose for tree recording with
Cumbria’s Top 50 Trees is to:
• record trees that are important to people
(snapshot in time)
• highlight the importance of individual trees
to those that look after them and their
funders
13
Gillian Kartach – Parish Clerk
Tree recording: what?
• Data that is useful for Cumbria’s Top 50 Trees
• characteristics so that the tree can be recognised: Species, photo – Core
• tree context: Surroundings – Social
• why the tree is important to the nominator: (local) name, photos, story – Cultural
• why the tree is important to the audience: District, history, story – Cultural
• can the audience find it: Grid ref, Access –Cultural
14
Jonathan Kaye – Hotel Owner Restaurateur
Tree recording: what?
• Data that is useful for Cumbria’s Top 50
Trees output
• Species, size, age, wildlife signs, plant life, trunk
health, tree & nominator photos, story, access,
location – website & booklet
• Species, tree photo, grid ref, access, location –
free leaflet with A3 size map to be distributed by
libraries and tourist information centers
15
Louise Whitehouse – Personal Fitness Trainer
Tree recording: what?
• Data that is useful/meaningful for the end user (tree officers, archivists of local councils and state forestry service)
• compatible with their tree databases: species, girth & height – Core
• tree condition: trunk, dead wood, leaf canopy -Biology
• tree biodiversity: age, wildlife, shape, plant life -Ecology
• easy to find: grid ref, access – Cultural
16
Tom Speight – Journalist
Tree recording: how?
• record within budget
• using contractors is easy, but has predictable
outcomes
• using nominators & volunteers may notionally be
cheaper, but outcomes are not predictable
• volunteers are not professionals, they’ll need
training, patience and a realistic notion of what
they can achieve
17
Heather James – Marketing Manager
Tree recording: how?
• Make sure your data is:
• within the capacity for the type of volunteer you
employ – interview, train and check for consistency
• logical/clear – group data, use plain English
• easy for the recorder – saves time in the field
• easy to transfer – website looks similar to
recording sheet, allowing computer to create a
‘comma separated value’ database
• tested – by both volunteer and end user
18
Henk Glimmerveen – Aviation Consultant
Tree recording: how?
• Two equally important elements to
Cumbria’s Top 50 Trees survey:
• Record tree data
• Record why the nominator likes his/her tree, in
short: the story
• Both are captured in the 360o toolkit
• it encourages the volunteer/surveyor to look
both at the tree and its setting
19
Jane Porter – Pensioner
Suzanne McNally Photographer
Suzanne’s Surreal Sycamore
20
Suzanne first noticed this ethereal looking tree - at one end of a frankly somewhat rough looking
plantation - three years ago. She gradually fell for it. On her way to the station, or just on a walk around with her camera, she would look at its odd shape
and smile inwardly. Being a photographer she started taking pictures of this odd but surreal looking Acer family tree; the results are stunning...come see!
360o toolkit consists of:
• tools, supplied by project:• 10m measuring tape – girth
• wooden stick, equal to volunteer’s arm length –height
• microphone & wind muffler – story
• jumper, weather writer, pencil, data recording sheets, folder, mileage & out of pocket expenses – volunteer comfort
• training: tree measuring & identification, interview techniques – volunteer confidence and consistent data
21
Robin Smalley – National Trust Volunteer
360o toolkit consists of:
• mobile phone, supplied by volunteer:
• geographic positioning system app – location
• winter & tree identification apps – species
• camera – photos
• voice memo/recorder – story
22
Patricia Ross – School Teacher
360o data sheet – basic elements
23
Richard Temperley Little – Writer
Dave Camlin Musician
Borrowdale Yews
24
A tree associated with death that is actually one of the longest living plants on Earth offers a spiritual experience for a West
Cumbrian musician.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_Ix_I2WZ2Q
360o toolkit datasheet – detail
25
Wendy Meredith – Head Teacher
360o toolkit datasheet – detail
26
Patrick Everingham – Pensioner
360o toolkit datasheet – detail
27
Maureen Foster –
360o toolkit datasheet – detail
28
Martin Clark – Director
360o toolkit datasheet – detail
29
Mildred Gavican – Teaching Assistant
Mencap Carlisle Grace Little'scrab apple
30
A splendid crab apple tree, that has
witnessed the comings and goings of
aircraft during war and peacetime, was
bursting with fruit when we visited on a
glorious late summer afternoon.
31
32
Laura Wilson – Estate Owner/farmer
Results so far
• website up and running
• 18 volunteers
• 89 nominations of which 28 are visible on
the website
• promotion postcard – 1,000 print run
33
Peter Frost Pennington – Castle Manager
Anticipated results and outputs
• Reached out to all of Cumbria Community• through 20 talks in libraries and hard to reach groups
• media promotion traditional & social
• 100 nominations minimum on website
• Roaming exhibition held in 6 districts with:• 50 tree images & accompanying stories (A2)
• 10 stories (audio format with close up image of nominator)
• 1 project video (already shot)
• Booklet (80 page) – 2,000 print run distributed to tree carers, participants and interested parties
• Tourist trail map (A3) – 2,000 print run distributed to libraries and tourist information centers
• Inventory of ±100 individual trees created and distributed
35
Sheila Gregory – Chief Executive
Sue Bond Pensioner
The Courageous Tree
36
One tree's astonishing act of survival
against all the odds is a source of
inspiration for one woman who has loved
it for 20 years....
Any questions??
Thank you
37
38
Veteran tree site assessment protocol applied @ Geltsdale, Cumbria
Field Measure Possible thresholds High value Medium value Low value Primary assessment criteria
No. of veteran trees >100 10-100 No. ancient trees >15 <15 0 No. trees >1.5m dbh >15 5-15 <5 Secondary assessment criteria
Extent of site >50ha 11-50ha 10ha or less Tree cohort continuity (assessed by tree size)
At least 1 cohort per 100 yrs similar spp and distribution to veterans
Future generations present but gaps in cohorts/new generations do not reflect spp/ distribution of veterans
Large gaps in cohorts/veteran trees only
Visible deadwood (standing and fallen & incl. rot holes, hollow trunks etc)
Abundant Present but evidence of removal
Little present
Ground vegetation Unimproved grassland/semi-natural woodland
Semi-improved or significantly disturbed
Arable, improved or suppressed (bare)
Veteran trees near-by (sites and trees in the landscape)
Adjacent Within 1km >1km away
Diversity within veteran tree population (species, form, age, situation)
Diversity in at least three characteristics (species, age, form and situation)
Diversity in two characteristics or significant diversity in 1 characteristic
Little diversity
Associated species interest (eg lichens, saproxylic invertebrates)
Known to be high Some interest known
Documented habitat continuity – historical continuity
Documentary evidence of habitat continuity (several centuries)
Potential Interest likely to increase in short- to medium-term
Interest likely to increase moderately in short- to medium-term
Interest likely to decline in short- to medium term
Other field measures
Density of veteran trees (over site) 7/ha Species composition of veterans alder, rowan, birch, ash Scrub (incl. bramble and hawthorn) hazel, hawthorn, apple, holly
Site management/threats year round low intensive cattle grazing Water-bodies/wetland habitat wet ground conditions Shape rectangular Surrounding landuse hill sheep farming
Local pollution load low
Geltsdale,
important for
old trees
Alan Air
PR Manager
Squishy sequoia
39
A giant sequoia in Carlisle’s magnificent Victorian cemetery on Dalston Road
played a key role in Alan Air’s childhood.