Have you got permission?

When I were a lad!

Some of you will remember that at one time, chainsaw sculpture was not my primary activity. I originally studied commercial forestry operations at college and then moved into arboriculture.  On the plus side it’s given me a good understanding of the wider subject of tree cycles, be that natural or farmed. Studies have shown that having trees in our environment is not just good for the bugs and the beasties but it’s also good for our physical environment as well as our mental health.

Scottish Working Wood

I’m often asked where my timber comes from and as an authorised member of the  Scottish Working Wood Label I am required to know the chain of custody from me back to where it was grown and that the timber was harvested legitimately. You might think the word “legitimate” is an unusual word to use but there are both legal and moral restrictions involved in the process.

In commercial forestry the flow of timber is controlled by Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) and in order to harvest your crop which may have taken between maybe 30 and 80 years to grow, you’re required to obtain a Felling Licence. This might dictate thing like how much can be felled and what needs to be replanted. Many forests are planted through grant schemes to ensure we have enough timber stock, but that means government bodies still hold the reigns.  I have worked on some jobs where the land owner has disagreed with FLS requirements and chosen to pay the fines in favour of their own continuation plan.

In urban environments you’re more likely to find legislation called Tree Preservation Orders (TPO’s) and or Conservation Areas. These are controlled by local government, that’s the cooncil to you and I! This can be equally frustrating to navigate particularly as cutbacks continue to effect efficiency. Either way I have a responsibility to ensure that nothing unlawful as been committed at any point up to which I acquire the timber.

This time of year nesting birds are also a hot topic.  Actually the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 protects wildlife 12 months of the year and not just between certain suggested dates on a calendar. It also effects lots of other creatures like newts, badgers, bats and red squirrels to name a few. Red squirrels have a long breeding season and I’ve been on sites which have been shut down just because an opposing local has yelled “squirrel!” This of course then has to be investigated  and a conclusion made which may inevitably lead to more paperwork and grant of more licences. It’s expected that all of this is done by respectable and trust worthy  persons who are not operating on a “slash and dash’ basis.

Bullshit baffles brains

It’s actually a really good example of why the term “sustainable” is used incorrectly as timber produced for example, from an urban environment in particular, was never planted with the intention of being sustainable in the first place. One of my favourite things about being a chainsaw operator is that the timber I carve is often cut down by me or by the people I work with. There are actually project in the States which aim to have a forecast of intention of every tree before its even cut down, and that’s not just firewood and biomass.

I once recovered a load of logs for a local authority site close to my workshop. Makes sense to have minimal “wood miles” in my opinion. When I cut them open I discovered an anomaly in the trees growth and asked for the survey report to see what the reason for cutting the tree down was. Unfortunately there was no correlation but I did discover that as the site was covered with a blanket TPO, a stipulation of the felling was that it had to be replanted.  I later discovered a significant shipment of young trees had been received from a nursery which appeared to be located in England, many miles away.  Despite being potted, these young trees still need to be treated with care and looked after carefully. It wasn’t unusual that in passing, I’d pick up the trees after they’d been blown about the yard. The process of tree planting is not that hard but it does require some basic understanding.

The needs of a living organism need to be considered in order to decide on a suitable location. Sunlight and water might be two important factors. How the tree is planted to ensure there’s no air pockets nor root compaction. Is there enough nutrition to get the tree established. Protection from animals which might brows the young growth is important and the selection of these materials as well as installation are all key to the trees success. The trees will still need attention for the first few years which might include watering and weeding and possibly maintenance of the protection.  Under the stipulations of the original TPO the success of these replanted trees should be scrutinised to ensure the requirements are met but given how thinly our public resources are being stretched, it’s unlikely anyone official will ever follow up.

Shooting yourself in the foot

This is just one example. There are some charities who give saplings away with the best of intentions but I can’t help but feel that these efforts are wasted due to lack of knowledge. Keep your eyes open next time you’re out and about and see how many empty tree tubes you can find and ask yourself why!

Are we fighting a losing battle in our own back garden?