I just wanted to thank you for having Jean, Jane and myself along to your meeting this evening. It was good to meet with you all and discuss how we are going to move forward regarding the unfortunate decline in the trees at Williamston Wood. As Jean said we are waiting to hear back from Forest Research with their findings to determine which species of Phytophthora we are dealing with. This could take up to 2 months and when we have this information it will in turn determine how we move forwards. In the meantime we will assess the safety of the trees on site and act accordingly. I had confirmation from our tree contractor that he is going to be on site tomorrow (Friday) to fell two trees, one of which is dead and one that is affected by a wood rotting fungus. Both trees are in close proximity to the school and therefore need to be felled on safety grounds.
We will be sure to keep in touch with you regarding how things develop beyond today and what we plan to do next . As discussed in the meeting communication will be key and it would be helpful to work with you to get information out to the local community once we have it. In the meantime if you have any queries do please get in touch. Below is the link to the Tree Alert system discussed at the meeting. It is run by the Forestry Commission and allows people to log suspected ill health in trees which in turn can be monitored to get a better understanding of the spread of pest and diseases in trees across the UK.
https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/tree-alert/
Nick Porter
Assistant Site Manager
Woodland Trust, South Inch Business Centre, Perth, Perthshire, PH2 8BW
01738 635 544
www.woodlandtrust.org.uk