I think most people would agree that trees are an amazing asset to a town or city. But with more and more developments being squeezed onto any available parcel of land, urban trees are under threat. You might have read about the outcry in Sheffield, where the council has felled more than 4,000 trees to make room for a £2bn highway maintenance scheme.
It will take many years for the benefits of those trees to be restored. Trees cool the environment. They slow water run-off to help prevent flooding. They absorb particulates from air pollution. And they provide a habitat for wildlife.
It is my job as a tree officer to ensure that no tree is destroyed without due consideration. I’m officially known as an arboricultural officer and I’m employed by the council to protect and conserve urban trees. These trees ultimately make urban living more comfortable and will help keep urban areas habitable into the future.
Local government cuts have meant that when tree officers leave, not all the positions are refilled and many of the support staff that used to work with us have been moved to other departments. Today, I work as one in a team of just two covering a whole borough council area.
We have powers to protect trees from activities that may be to the detriment of the wider environment, and to all of us. It can mean going up against developers, who employ arboricultural consultants to advise where trees should be planted, preserved or felled. Sometimes, the aims of the developer and the need to protect valuable trees in the interests of the wider community may come into conflict. This is where tree officers come in.
Developments close to trees have the potential to damage roots and kill trees - sometimes hundreds of years old and hugely important to the character of an area. Overly-invasive tree surgery can also have a negative impact, and many trees have died after being cut back too far. We effectively provide the checks and balances required to stop that from happening. But as council resources across the country come under increasing pressure, and the number of public sector tree officers is reduced, that vital balance is threatened.
Tree officers can place protection orders on significant individual trees or groups of important trees. This means that the trees and all of their benefits are protected by law.
We can input in to any development plans, require developers to protect trees on site during construction, and ensure any significant trees on a site are taken in to account at the planning stage. Where protected trees are damaged, tree officers have significant powers to hold those responsible to account.
The community and environmental value of urban trees is rising, but the pressures on them are mounting too. It’s great to have a job which feels worthwhile and which is about protecting something, but the real question is; how long will councils be able to afford to pay public servants to do the job?
This series aims to give a voice to the staff behind the public services that are hit by mounting cuts and rising demand, and so often denigrated by the press, politicians and public. If you would like to write an article for the series, contact kirstie.brewer@theguardian.com
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