Want to get involved in Tree Surveying in Deal, Walmer and Sholden ?

 Deal Town Council is working with external training provider, Treeconomics, to deliver virtual i-Tree Eco training to tree surveyors. The aims of the training are:

· To enable the tree surveyors to utilise the i-Tree Eco online software to map the current tree stock across Deal, Mongeham, Sholden & Walmer.

· Gain an understanding of what tree assets are in the area

· Enable the Parish Councils to better protect the existing trees

· Develop plans for new tree planting

· Gain an understanding and connect effectively with regional and nation tree planting initiatives by organisations such as The Woodland Trust and Kent Wildlife Trust

Treeconomics will tailor the training to meet the needs of volunteers new to tree surveying and will specifically cover data capture and data entry into the i-Tree Eco web-app.

Field data capture training sessions, will require two or three half day, directed sessions and two independent practical learning development sessions.

Treeconomics will provide an overview of the i-Tree Eco software to key partners and stakeholders of the project.

Field surveyors will follow the i-tree Eco Field Guidance to collect the following data:

a. land use descriptions and ownership;

b. Tree survey;

c. key biometric measurements required by i-Tree Eco, plus estimated life expectancy;

d. Other vegetation including shrub presence;

e. Photography – essential for Quality Assurance and reporting.

Survey data will be entered directly into the i-Tree Eco web-app, for consistency and cost-efficiency. All surveyors will be taught use of the web-app and submission process during training sessions, including pitfalls to prevent data loss.

If interested please contact Adrian as below:


Adrian Oliver

Project Officer

Deal Town Council

01304 361999

Adrian.oliver@deal.gov.uk

 

100 trees for Deal, Christmas and the Planet

Deal With It, Deal’s local green community group, is giving away one hundred trees this Christmas as a response to recent UN IPCC report on Climate Change.

Adrian Sullivan co-organiser of the initiative said “We wanted to do something positive and practical in response to the recent IPCC ‘life changing’ report on Climate Change.

Trees are a symbol of hope and a real investment for the future.

We see this as a first wave of this initiative and we will be looking at activities in 2019 to foster tree planting in public and private spaces.”

Sue Sullivan co-organiser of the initiative said “The trees in scheme are all native ones; Dogwood, Blackthorne, Hawthorne, Crab apple, Cherry Plum, Blind Cherry, Hazel, Spindle and Guelder Rose.

As well as locking in carbon and cleaning the air of pollution all these varieties are also beneficial to wildlife.

Trees also come with planting and care instructions.

We see this as a small first step to greening Deal, eventually creating a virtual forest in the town”

Adrian and Sue will have the trees available on Friday 14th December from 10am to 1pm at the Landmark Garden and will also be at the Deal With It ‘Winter Solstice Celebration’ on Friday 21st December between 5:30pm to 7pm.

'ASH TAG' - save our Ash trees!

From '38 degrees'
Over the last few days, news reports have revealed that British ash trees are threatened by a disease called ash dieback. The disease could devastate the 80 million ash trees across Britain. [1] But people power can help to stop it.

Computer programmers have teamed up with tree experts to make a clever piece of software called AshTag. [2] It lets people send in photos and locations of ash trees they think may have ash dieback. The photos are checked by a team of experts and then action is taken to try to stop the spread of the disease.

Once trees lose their leaves, it’s much harder to spot the signs of ash dieback. [3] So this weekend is vital: it could be the last chance to gather information about the health of our ash trees before spring. If you’re going for a walk in the woods this weekend, can you help identify ash trees in danger?

If you have a smartphone or a digital camera, it’s simple. If you spot an ash tree with signs of the disease, take a photo and send it in using the website or the AshTag app on your mobile phone.

If you have an iPhone you can download the AshTag app by searching the App Store on your phone for “AshTag” or by clicking here:
https://itunes.apple.com/app/ashtag/id574320875?mt=8

If you have an Android phone search for “AshTag” in the Google Play store from your phone or use this link:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.iasess.ashtag

If you don’t have a smartphone you can take a digital photo and upload it onto the website here: http://www.ashtag.org

Toby Hammond, one of the experts at the University of East Anglia who developed AshTag said: “38 Degrees members have proved they care passionately about our woodlands, through the amazing work they did saving the forests last year. If they could join us now in our fight to save Britain’s ash trees it could make all the difference to how our woodlands look in the future.”

Government has taken a few steps to try and stop the spread of the disease. [4] But there’s a real danger these measures won’t be enough - and without tracking tree health, we won’t know whether or not the government’s plans are working.

In Denmark this deadly disease has wiped out 90% of ash trees. [5] We need to make sure that doesn’t happen to our trees here. If thousands of us get out into our woods to get the facts, we’ve got a much better chance of heading off a disaster for Britain’s beautiful woodlands.

Click here to help protect our woodlands and find out how to spot signs of ash dieback: http://www.ashtag.org


Thanks for being involved,

Belinda, David, Robin and the 38 Degrees


NOTES
[1] Channel 4 - Q&A ash dieback disease: http://www.channel4.com/news/q-and-a-ash-dieback-disease
[2] The Daily Mail - The mobile phone app that could help save Britain's ash trees: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2224796/The-app-help-save-Britains-Ash-trees.html
[3] Foresty Commission - Chalara dieback of ash: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/chalara
[4] Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs - Government bans import of Ash trees: http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2012/10/29/ash-trees-import-ban/
[5] The Guardian - Dieback kills off 90% of Denmark's ash trees. Britain faces a similar threat: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/07/disease-killing-denmarks-ash-trees

We are looking for Tree Warden for Deal

One of Deal With It's local initatives is find volunteers to act as Tree Wardens in Deal and Walmer.

Tree Wardens are a national force of local tree champions and a key part of The Tree Council's community action programme.

The Tree Council, which launched the Tree Warden Scheme in 1990, co-ordinated it nationally. It works with local authorities, voluntary organisation, parish councils and local partnerships to set up and develop Tree Warden networks - in towns, city and countryside.
Today there are around 8,000 Tree Wardens in over 150 local networks throughout the UK, forming a volunteer force of immense value to the environment.

The Kent Tree Warden network is co-ordinated by BTCV

All Tree Wardens are required to attend a series of 1 day training courses organised by BTCV. These courses are free of charge and provide an excellent opportunity to learn more about tree issues and meet fellow wardens. The courses cover tree identification, laws and grants, coppice ecology, hazardous trees and hedgerow ecology and management. In addition to this BTCV also provide a selection of reference materials and a regular newsletter to keep you up to date with events. Existing wardens have assisted with conducting surveys of trees and woodlands, offering advice to communities on suitable species to plant, how to manage a habitat and from where to obtain project funding, notifying the relevant person of hazardous trees and organising public events such as tree planting days and guided walks. There is also the opportunity to get involved with publicising the scheme through parish newsletters or distributing leaflet.

Becoming a Tree Warden is simple. Just contact the Kent BTCV Tree Warden Network Co-ordinator
Due to the community work involved in being a Tree Warden, we would recommend you also contact your local parish council or conservation group. This will ensure they are aware of you and can also act as valuable support.

Contact us at dealwithittoday@yahoo.co.uk

Free Trees from KCC

Kent Free Trees scheme 2011

This year more than 20,000 trees are available to community groups, schools, parish councils and charities across Kent to ‘green’ their spaces.
The 2011 scheme is focusing its attention on local community groups and the spaces they use and maintain.
Groups are being offered free-of-charge packs of 25 trees. There are five different types of pack, including a Hedgerow mix, Woodland mix, Foragers mix, Wildlife mix and Schools mix. All of these contain native species suited to Kent.

More details at WCCP & KCC

Victoria's Green Matters - 23rd Feb 2011

Deal With IT's Secretary Victoria Nicholls writes a regular column in the East Kent Mercury:

Good news this week about our forests. A burst of people power – the campaigning website ‘38 degrees’attracted 532,000 signatures - has caused the government to think again and cancelled plans that would have enabled them to sell off the entire Forestry Commission estate.

For those of us who only use forests for leisure pursuits, it was unthinkable that this part of our country could have been removed. For those who work with the forests, no doubt they would have feared losing their jobs in this depressing economic climate.

There obviously has to be commercial forestry in our country to raise money to help pay for the upkeep of the less profitable but culturally important woodland that we like to visit. In fact, we need to plant more trees and provide many more forests near to towns and cities for people to enjoy.

Forests are ‘carbon sinks’. Trees are the best thing we have to soak up the carbon emissions we create from our every day lives and which are causing the climate to warm. If an extra 4% of our land was planted with trees over the next forty years, it could lock up 10% of the nation’s predicted carbon emissions by 2050. It is not only the Amazon rain forest that we need to protect; we must care about our own forests.

A very interesting option for the future of our forests that has come to light is for the government to continue to run the commercial forests and to offer the rest to communities for free, to enhance protection for the forests and access for the public. The National Trust looks to be the body that might be the one to achieve this. Giving communities a vested interest in their trees results in responsibility and conservation.

Free Trees for Deal - Kent CC Free Trees scheme...

This scheme offers individuals and organisations up to 25 native trees each, free of charge. All you have to do is collect them, plant them and care for them as they grow.



It is easy to apply for your free trees, and make your personal contribution to Kent's natural environment.

Why are KCC giving trees away for free?

Trees have a positive effect on the landscape and biodiversity of Kent's towns and countryside. The planting of trees in our local environment improves health and wellbeing long term. By planting 25 trees, up to 7 tonnes of CO2 can be absorbed in their lifetime.

What are the trees like?

The trees are two-to-three year old 'whips', typically up to 1metre tall. They may be supplied bare-rooted. Twenty-five trees will easily pack into a bin bag and fit into the boot of a car. The trees can be planted as single trees or used to create a woodland, copse or hedgerow.

How do I apply for my free trees?

The 2010 Free Trees Scheme is open from 12 July, with a closing date for applications on 30 October 2010. The trees will be ready for collection at the beginning of December. more details here

Trees: The Convenient truth

Deal With It are showing the Forestry Commission Film : 'Trees: The Convenient Truth' at our April monthly meeting at DealAbility, 43 Victoria Road, Deal CT14 7AY - at 7:30pm. All Welcome


Copy of the leaflet > Here