Robin Walter, Chartered Forester from Trees for Transition has written to us in his search for ancient trees.  Can you help put these  on the map? Please contact him directly at the link below.

Robin Walter:

This Ancient Tree project on the Dorset / Wiltshire border may be of interest to your SWOG members:

The Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs AONB has asked me to research Ancient Trees within the AONB in February and March 2013. This Ancient Tree Pilot has two aspects:

• Gather information on ancient trees in the whole AONB from all available data sources (such as specialist groups, wildlife groups, estate records, tree wardens, local authorities, record offices); these are to be recorded on the Ancient Tree Hunt website

• Focus on the Hampshire part of the AONB (the parishes of Damerham, Rockbourne and Martin) for more detailed investigation by volunteers, with a view to testing these records in the field

From the AONB’s point of view, it is useful to know that an area has been mapped, that there are ancient trees there and the manager / owner is looking after these valuable trees.  It is also useful for the AONB to have some idea of the ancient tree population in its bounds – perhaps it is unusually rich or poor in ancient trees in certain areas; perhaps this requires a more landscape-scale approach to their very particular conservation and ensuring ancient trees of the future.

So if your members have any records of trees, do let me know.

I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks
Robin Walter
[email protected]