Category: Callophrys Tree Consultancy
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Earlier this month I was engaged to inspect the trees on Helensburgh Golf Course. One idyllic day walking the tree-lined fairways looking for potential defects and other failure-prone characteristics, and a second (somewhat less idyllic) day surveying the trees in a heathland to the north of the golf course. Compared to the well-manicured fairways of…
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Immortalised by our nation’s bard, the birch trees that cloak the steep glen on either side of the Moness Burn, to the south of Aberfeldy, were the source of inspiration for one of Robert Burns’ most well-known compositions, The Birks o’ Aberfeldie. ‘Now simmer blinks on flow’ry braes, And o’er the crystal streamlets plays, Come…
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Yesterday, I joined more than 100 other delegates at the second-ever Trees and Development conference at the University of Stirling. The conference, curated by The Trees and Design Action Group, Future Woodlands Scotland and The Institute of Chartered Foresters, set out to tackle the issue of how we create places that work for people, work for nature, and work for…
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We find ourselves in a dynamic period for arboriculture. The sector is burgeoning, which brings a heightened public profile and places tree professionals well and truly in the spotlight, including our behaviour and attitude. We must be professional. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a Professional as: Professional ► noun a person engaged or qualified in a profession. ■…
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Over the course of the past three weeks, I have spent several days working alongside Keith Logie MICFor on a tree inspection programme for two Angus estates managed by Scottish Woodlands. The 6,500 ha Cortachy Estate is mixed agricultural land, gardens, policy woodlands and parcels of productive forestry. The Airlie Estate is much smaller at…
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Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of inspecting the trees of Methven Castle as part of a wider inspection of trees on the Pilkington Estate, Perthshire. Methven Castle was once home to Margaret Tudor, the Queen of Scotland between 1503 and 1513, and the 17th-century tower house – built to the designs of John…
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On Friday, I completed my fifth, and final, tree condition inspection of the year for the Camping and Caravanning Club. Over the course of August and September, I had the pleasure of visiting five of the 16 Camping and Caravanning Club sites in Scotland, including, Tree condition inspections are intended to identify distinct defects and…
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There’s nothing much remarkable about these two young sycamore trees (pictured above) at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Galashiels, other than these two trees were the final trees Callophrys Tree Consultancy inspected as part of a two-month long project for UK Landscapes Ltd, managed by Rainfords Arboriculture. Over the course of 21 days…
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Callophrys Tree Consultancy’s first job of 2025 was a tree survey in the grounds of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Cumbernauld. A very much enjoyable day of surveying, admittedly in sub-zero temperatures, but under the most vibrant azure sky. The aforementioned site is one of 32 sites I have been asked…
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Exactly, how did I arrive at the name Callophrys Tree Consultancy? Family, friends and colleagues were quick to offer advice, Whoops! The ‘Callophrys’ element – a word I frequently misspell myself – harks back to my entomological background. Callophrys rubi is the scientific name of the green hairstreak – Britain’s only green butterfly. A somewhat…