Climate adaptability in the UK and Middle-East
The UK is blessed with a relative abundance of trees classed as Ancient or Veteran when compared to most other countries and there is a growing awareness of their importance. Currently there is no automatic legal protection in place for them so we must raise awareness and look after these unique and valuable habitats. They
Why Water and Soil are just as Important. The world has become fixated on Carbon; emissions are the problem, so removal is the solution. This is, unfortunately, an over-simplification of the troubles we find ourselves in; we have Carbon-Tunnel Syndrome. We think we have to find a way to ‘fix’ the carbon problem, then all
To create more vibrant, ecologically oriented urban landscapes, we need to change our perception of what landscapes are and how we manage them. Usually, maintenance is seen as a burden, when it should be appreciated as an asset, providing social and environment health and ecosystem services. A landscape ecosystem should not be a static thing,
It’s August and the woodland edge garden has become a bit shady and dense; time for a bit of summer pruning. Multi-stem small trees like Corylus, Euonymus and Viburnum all throw up epicormic shoots and get congested, especially the hazel, whilst the understory plantings have finished flowering and look tall, bedraggled and invaded by the
I find that more and more I want to connect to the essence of a place and express that through generating adaptive ecosystems, creating vibrant, healthy places full of life, with natural resilience and adaptability. A large part of the cycle of life is death and in an ecosystem that meads deadwood. If we want
Of all the ecosystems out there, forests and woodland are possibly the most abundant and diverse. Think about it; we have a thin layer of soil on the surface of this planet and without foliage, nothing between us and the stars. Plants and especially trees, add layers in-between, build microclimates and nurture life. We should
On this last day of the year, it’s wet and dull outside, so I thought I’d look back at some of the amazing trees I’ve had the privilege to encounter this year whilst visiting and working in the UAE. Some of these I have worked directly with, surveying them as part of a project or
Some of you will know that I have been following the ups and downs of a brownfield site in Abu Dhabi, near the Corniche. I’ve written two articles on it already, one in 2018 and one earlier this year. Links to these are at the end of this post. I visited again last week, the
What is an adaptive landscape, how is it different from other forms of landscape? Is a regenerative landscape also different? Simply put, they are landscapes, either natural, man-made or modified, that demonstrate an ability to adapt, survive and thrive under current and future conditions. Adaptive and regenerative are both expressions of this statement, with some
It’s not easy to express what the Soul of a garden is. Explanations use language that is logical, linear; yet for this we must use language more akin to the poetic. As we tend to be out of touch with our own sense of Soul, it’s difficult to understand when we find something that resonates
