Harlow Tree Hunt
Harlow Tree Hunt
Harlow District Council working in partnership with Epping
Forest Countrycare and the Woodland Trust need your help in
tracking down all the large, fat old trees that grow in the Town.
These veteran trees date back to a time when Harlow was mainly a
farming community and the trees played an important role in
providing timber for housing and cooking. Join us in the search to
uncover Harlows living history.
What is a veteran tree?
A veteran tree is defined as ‘a tree which, because of its great
age, size or condition is of exceptional value culturally, in the
landscape or for wildlife’. Some trees are clearly old and would
instantly recognisable as veteran. Others may not grow to a great
size or reach a great age but they may be veterans for the
species of wildlife they support.
Oak pollard along Latton Street
Why does the District Council want to identify veteran
trees?
Veteran trees are very special and are an important part of our
heritage and Britain is unique in Europe for having a large number
of old surviving trees. Many of these ancient trees have cultural
associations with people places or events. Veteran trees are also
very important for many forms of wildlife, the holes and hollows
found on old trees are nesting sites for birds, or roosting sites
for many species of bats.
How many veteran trees are there?
We have little information about the numbers of veteran trees
within the District, what sort of condition they are in and whether
they are under threat. For this reason we intend to carry out a
survey to find out how many veteran trees there are, where they are
located and what condition they are in.
Where are veteran trees found?
Veteran trees are found in many places including ;
-
· old wood
pasture,
-
· church
yards,
-
· old field
boundaries, trees were often used to mark boundaries of properties
to define land ownership.
-
· along old rights
of way, trees often marked cross roadsin ancient woodlands.
-
· roadside
verges
-
· riverbanks
What are the threats to veteran trees?
The threats to veteran trees are many and varied. Development
pressure, the expansion of our urban settlements and pressure to
build can threaten veteran trees. Although the Council has policies
to protect valuable trees with Tree Preservation orders (TPOs)
some trees can be threatened by development.
How can you help?
The Council wants to identify all the veteran trees growing in
the Harlow District with the aim of building up a database so
they are mapped and recorded forever. To do this we need your help
in identifying where these fat old trees are and letting us no by
recording as much information as you can on the type of tree, size,
girth and location on the recording sheets attached. A picture
would also help us to locate the tree.
Volunteers measuring a tree
What will we do with the information?
The information gathered will be used to assess the condition of
Harlows veteran trees and identify any that are in need of
protection. All the trees will be put on a map and a selection will
go into a leaflet so members of the public can easily visit
them.
How you can get involved?
Throughout the summer we shall be running workshops to learn
more about veteran trees and how to record them on the database. We
shall also run several walks and days out looking for old trees in
previously unsurveyed areas.
Workshops and local walks will be advertised in local papers,
libraries or on http://www.harlow.gov.uk/
To search the current local database which is run by Epping
Forest Countrycare see http://www.favouritetrees.com/
Or to see the national database run by the Woodland Trust go to
http://www.ancient-tree-hunt.org.uk/
For more information contact Harlow Council Biodiversity Officer
Glenn Mulleady on 07773390214 or glenn.mulleady@harlow.gov.uk
