Ancient and Veteran Trees

Learn about Ancient and Veteran trees and how to recognise and record them.

About the event

Ancient and Veteran trees are a wonderful feature of our landscape and we are only just beginning to understand their contribution to biodiversity.  This study day discusses the important characteristics of veteran trees and how to recognise and record them.

The morning session will take place in the classrooom at Tyland Barn.

We shall discuss how we acquired such a rich heritage of ancient and veteran trees and why they are so important for wildlife.

We are then going to discuss how to recognise them and the features that make them particularly important.

After lunch we travel to Mote Park to enjoy and discuss individual trees and practise recording them and assessing important features.  Recording such trees is useful and fun and we can discuss and practise the various recording methods and techniques.  We also discuss the management of Ancient and Veteran Trees.

By the end of the day it is expected that you will be able to:

• Decide whether a tree is ancient or not and record the principal features
• Describe the main features of veteran trees and their importance for biodiversity.
• Understand the historical and cultural aspects that have given us this rich heritage of ancient and veteran tree
• Have an understanding of the principles of conserving such trees for the future.

Led by Neil Coombs, Kent Wildlife Trust Land Management Advisor

Suitable for beginners and improvers