Tree Wardening is not just about planting and caring for trees, it involves nurturing the younger generation and growing Tree Wardens of the future. This month we hear from a passionate young Student, Jakki Jackson from Perthshire who was so inspired by the Tree Wardens she met, she went on to lead a mini tree conference for fellow students to spread the word
The spark of an idea
As part of my University module ‘Engaging with External Agencies’, I joined the Perth & Kinross Tree Wardens’ Network a few months ago as a volunteer. I learnt so much about the importance of trees and the passion of Tree Wardens to ensure trees and the environment are healthy. I wanted to share this with fellow students to make them aware of Tree Warden-led projects so that they too have the opportunity to make a difference. I also wanted to highlight the work of local environmental and naturalist related organisations that may be of interest to students in upcoming work placements, project assignments or even employment.
How the idea came to fruition
The hour-long event took place on 10th November. Each speaker had a ten minute slot to share their organisation’s interests, goals, passions and of course, the hard work dedicated to ensure the best outcome for trees and their environment. Mike Strachan from Scottish Forestry explained the legislation around trees; Alistair Godfrey, the Perthshire Botanical Recorder, outlined his local work on behalf of the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland; Sheena Howden from Lantra Perth gave details of apprenticeship opportunities and training; and Catherine Lloyd from the Perth & Kinross Tree Wardens outlined the projects and awareness-raising currently taking place.
My aim was to invite four organisations to deliver a mini conference on “Perthshire Trees & Woodlands” via Webex to students within Environmental Science, Bioscience and Forestry degrees. All four organisations are dedicated to the health of the environment and hold a particular love for trees. After five weeks of chatting with the speakers via email, I was pleased to produce a timetable of the day’s sessions. As technical issues were expected – we had never tried to link so many in the University of Highlands & Islands’ network before – we made sure to do a trial run beforehand so that the day could go as smoothly as possible for everyone.
Celebrating success
Other than a few connection hiccups, the event was a great success and was attended by 23 people in total, 15 being fellow students. As study sessions like this are not mandatory for students to attend, it was wonderful to know that these students had read the timetable and genuinely wanted to find out more about trees and their local environment. Many students engaged in question and answer opportunities with our speakers showing a great interest in all presentations. I would be excited to see what else students could learn if each speaker had more time to share their expertise, but the session was a very good introduction and I hope I can use the experience gained in future events.
Jakki Jackson, Perth