– December 2018
On 6th December 2018, Hillier Trees joined the Trees and Design Action Group (TDAG) Midlands for their quarterly meeting to promote the pressing importance of biosecurity. James Hillier, Sales Manager at Hillier Trees, lead an enthusiastic discussion with regional landscape architects and tree officers, with the conclusion that there must be more the industry can do together to prevent the real threat of importing pests and diseases.
The biological threat from imported plant materials is one of the gravest issues facing the UK tree industry. Serious diseases, like Oak Processionary Moth and Xylella could devastate our local tree population. With no unified government response to date, Hillier Trees is talking to the industry to encourage actions to minimise risk, as well as following our own Biosecurity Policy. Our advice is for those with responsibility for specifying trees to only request species with no pests and diseases (based on the regularly updated DEFRA list) and, where possible, to specify British Grown.
The Trees and Design Action Group is a national movement designed to facilitate cross-sector and cross-disciplinary dialogue to promote the role of the urban forest throughout the UK. The group believes better collaboration in planning, design and construction of urban infrastructure and spaces can better secure trees and their benefits for future generations.
Dr Emma Ferranti, from TDAG Midlands and University of Birmingham, commented: “The presentation highlighted essential information on biosecurity, which was useful for anyone working with trees. Hillier has a long growing history and Jim’s knowledge and passion for trees was evident.”
