What made you become a member of RSFS?
I won membership in a competition at the Peebles Woodmarket event last year. I was aware of the organisation but had not had contact with them before.
Where did your interest in forestry begin?
I have always had a strong interest in natural history and my real love of trees developed after I retired and began volunteering for the Woodland Trust.
What’s your involvement with forestry now?
I help to look after the Woodland Trust’s Inventory of Ancient and Veteran trees in Scotland. The Ancient Tree Inventory is a citizen science project encouraging people to record and map the oldest and most important trees in the UK. (https://ati.woodlandtrust.org.uk/)
Where is a great place in Scotland that not everyone knows about?
The Lochwood Oaks. A collection of ancient oak trees hidden way beside a ruin just west of the M74 in Dumfries and Galloway. There are the relicts of a medieval deer park and maybe around 400 years old.
Do you have a favourite tree and why?
The Capon Tree, as it is one of the largest oaks in the Borders where I live. It is certainly the most well-known tree around here and embedded in local customs. It is not just an oak tree; it is a whole eco system as the tree supports so many other organisms.
Can you give us a book, film, TV show or podcast recommendation? It doesn’t have to be forestry related!
I really enjoyed the long read of Barkskins by Annie Proulx. An epic fictional saga that follows the forest industry in Canada from its beginnings in the 17th century up to the present. I recently read ‘Finding the Mother Tree’ by Suzanne Simard. Her family is firmly rooted in the forests and the book merges her biography with her scientific research about connections between individual trees.
What do you think is an important issue in forestry today?
The spread of pests and diseases that is being enhanced by climate change.
Outside of forestry, what is a hobby or activity you enjoy?
I spend a lot of time gardening especially growing fruit and vegetable. I am currently chair of a large gardening charity called Borders Organic Gardeners.
What was your first job?
Working for the Met Office doing research into clouds that occasionally involved directing operations from the flight deck of an RAF Hercules!
What do you love most about forests or forestry?
The timescale that trees and woodlands operate on. They just stand there growing and developing in a single spot for maybe 100s of years, despite all the human antics around them. This really helps put life into perspective sometimes.