Tree Wise Urban Forestry

26/02/2026

Over the past few years, Tree Wise has grown into something far more meaningful than I ever imagined.

I’m deeply grateful to everyone who has followed the journey, supported the work, and cared about trees alongside me.

I’m going to take a step back from Facebook for a while to focus on other areas of life.

The work continues — just more quietly for now.

Thank you for being part of it.

24/02/2026

The last few photos of my trip to Sherwood Forest for the Habitat Pruning course organised by the RSPB

There was so much to take in that I was trying my best to record everything that excited my eye and keep up with the group.

24/02/2026

Some more examples of forward-thinking habitat creation (and other techniques) on trees that might otherwise just be felled.

The thinking here is to bridge the gap between the essential habitats associated with ancient trees and the surrounding trees below 100 years old.

If this isn't carried out, at some point the ecosystem will collapse as the ancient trees begin to fall apart and there is nothing to succeed them.

At the moment it is at a 12 year long experimental stage and by all accounts it seems to be creating benefits for birds, bats and invertebrates.

Thanks to Reg, Matt, Adrian and Jordan for their knowledge and insights.

24/02/2026

Ancient trees have more requirement for light.

This forest would have been managed as pastural land and the older trees wouldn't have became quite so shaded out as they have now.

A new approach is, rather than removing competing trees, habitat is created and access to light is improved by mimicking storm damage as seen here.

This approach gets attacked, usually by those who haven't dedicated their lives to managing trees up close. I personally think it is very innovative, courageous and noble.

Having attended the course last weekend, and before that over ten yers ago in Hatfield Forest, I would be confident in carrying out this work myself; I've seen it done in RSPB Scotland sites.

Hopefully the photos tell the story.

24/02/2026

I met the Major Oak last weekend. An ancient tree that has been poorly managed over the years and now looks like it's on life support.

A series of hot summers and drought conditions have really taken their toll on the tree.

It's a long haul to get there and back but I'd recommend a visit to Sherwood Forest.

I wish I had more time to explore the trees while I was there, but I was lucky to see this one.

22/02/2026

A Tree That Changed My Life

As the European Tree of the Year campaign draws to a close I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to you all.

This journey began five years ago when I was first asked to inspect the tree by its owner.

After a few visits and some careful interventions I began to think more about its story.

My own curiosity about this tree mixed in with personal grief, loss, war and constant media doom led me to pin my heart to it, study it, believe in it and present its story as a counter narrative to loss — especially at a time when the Sycamore Gap story dominated headlines.

Over the last year, this journey has changed me.
It has introduced me to people I would never otherwise have met.
It has pushed me onto radio, television, into schools and onto podcasts.
It has forced me to articulate what I believe about trees — and about courage.

I loved it more, the more I explored its history and its story began to spread far and wide. Someone told me on Friday they were in Portugal on holiday and saw our tree on television there. It was the top article in the Uplifting Stories section of the BBC website last week. I felt very proud about that.

I believed in this tree enough to know it could win UK Tree of the Year.

But the deeper aim was always:
To increase understanding of a single tree in a way that might inspire appreciation, love and protection of all trees.

To show that ash dieback can be managed.

That trees near buildings are not inherently threats.

That fear should not be the default response.

In 15 years as an arborist, I have encountered thousands of trees.
This one has taught me the most.

It has taught me about resilience.
About patience.
About narrative.
And about the power of collective belief.

It has deepened my love for Glasgow.
It has made me proud to work on behalf of something larger than myself.

Most of all, it has shown me that when passion is not closed down by narrow-mindedness, it can be expressed in countless ways — science, art, history, community, humour and defiance.

Thank you to everyone who supported it, believed in it and shared its story.

And thank you — most of all — to the Argyle Street Ash.
A symbol of hope.
A defiant giant.
A teacher.

There’s enough in this journey for a book.
When I come to write it, what would your favourite chapter be?

A special thanks to Douglas Crawford for the excellent drone photography in September 2024.

21/02/2026

This morning I had the opportunity to discuss the Argyle Street Ash on BBC Radio Scotland Outdoors programme of Doors programme.

If you go to 3:15 you’ll hear why we should think twice about felling trees with ash dieback disease and how our U.K. tree of the year teaches us that trees and buildings can coexist better than we sometimes realise.

Mark Stephen and Rachel Stewart with stories from the great outdoors.

19/02/2026

Surrounded by some of Paisley’s finest architecture yesterday in Oakshaw.

The area has a tree preservation order so we had to be patient for permission to be granted.

The goal was to reduce a row of Lime trees to establish a better form in the future to improve the aesthetics of the area while retaining trees and improving light available into the tenements.

When there are multiple pruning options available, removal should never be considered.

15/02/2026

You’ve got to love trees to spend Valentine’s Day with them.

Yesterday I attended the Habitat Pruning workshop at the wonderful Sherwood Forest 🏹

This work is very misunderstood but vital to bridge the habitat gap between ancient Oak trees (circa 500 years old) and the historic loss of biodiversity due to shipbuilding and construction.

The objective is to mimic habitat usually naturally found in older trees in those less than 100 years old.

This work has been studied for over ten years now and there are signs that bats, birds and beetles all stand to benefit.

I thought I was far travelled until I met a chap from Oslo and a team from Belgium!

See the unique ancient trees on the photos and some of the work being doing to create habitat designed to act like natural damage.

07/02/2026

This morning the Argyle Street Ash — the Defiant Giant — was on BBC Breakfast, and it was great to see Glasgow’s most famous ash tree reaching such a wide audience 🌳

For those who may not know, this tree was the first in Glasgow to be given a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) back in 1980 — a forward-thinking move that laid the groundwork for how we think about protecting important trees in the city today.

From a professional arboricultural perspective, the Argyle Street Ash also tells a challenging but important story. It grows very close to a building and it is affected by ash dieback disease.

In less careful hands, either of those factors could easily have been used as justification for removal.

Instead, this tree has been managed, monitored and conserved. That’s exactly the kind of approach we believe in at Tree Wise: prioritising thoughtful, skilled tree care over unnecessary felling.

Below is a short video showing the most recent conservation pruning — careful removal of diseased deadwood to reduce risk while allowing this remarkable tree to continue standing and thriving in the heart of the city.

26/01/2026

I'm very proud to find out that two of my articles on the Argyle Street Ash have been shortlisted for the Tom Hall Literary Award.

The award honours writing that enhances our understanding of Arboriculture in Scotland.

This is something I always thought was reserved for other people but it's really the Defiant Giant that's using me as its voice.

The first article inspired me to nominate the tree for U.K. tree of the Year - and the people chose it as their tree!