Managing Trees in Sheffield. A New Hope!

The unedifying events of the infamous Sheffield Tree Saga are now thankfully fading into history. Like many social events involving unrest and conflict, dramatic low points are often the catalyst for long term change for the better. This hope was very much in the air at the recent conference ‘Urban Trees in Sheffield’, which highlighted how far things have come since 2018. Showcasing new approaches and commitment to community involvement, in managing Sheffield’s street trees. It was a good-news event, yet it was reassuring to see the speakers acknowledge the complexities of managing the urban forest. Street trees are unique in terms of council managed street furniture (when is the last time you heard someone say they “love” lampposts). Despite the great strides forward over the last few years, there are still hurdles to overcome. Sometimes there are no easy answers when it comes to managing such emotive green infrastructure on dwindling budgets.

While the brand of Sheffield was undoubtedly tarnished over the last decade, the conference has shown it has been possible to transform the difficult circumstances of the Sheffield Tree Saga into opportunities for success, that will no doubt be used as a template for many other towns and cities in managing their urban forests.

Here, AWA Arboriculturist Jim Boyle gives his thoughts on the day:

The team at AWA Tree Consultants went to a recent event: Urban Trees in Sheffield. It was chaired by Glenn Gorner from Leeds City Council and hosted by the North England Regional Group and the Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF) in Sheffield Botanical Gardens.

This was my first time visiting the impressive Sheffield Botanical Gardens. The Victorian Gardens, created in 1836 and home to over 5,000 species of plants, was an excellent choice for the conference venue, arguably Sheffield’s finest collection of trees!

The event was co-hosted by the ICF – the UK’s Royal Chartered professional body offering the Chartered Forester and Chartered Arboriculturist titles. The Institute helps foresters and arboriculturists across the UK to develop their professional knowledge in all areas of research and practice. Its mission is to improve professional standards of both forestry and arboriculture throughout the UK. The North England Regional Group is a voluntary and independent body, created by its member councils.

The morning speakers presented on the genesis and growth of the Sheffield Street Tree Partnership, which is a combination of Sheffield Tree Action Groups Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust, Amey and Woodland trust. It was formed in the aftermath of the Sheffield Tree Saga. The speakers highlighted the positive new direction for caring for the city’s thousands of highway trees – by creating an urban forest that Sheffield can be proud of. The speakers discussed the importance of partnerships and how they work in practice, lessons learned and bright future plans. How the ‘Street Tree Working Strategy’ actually works, and the challenges of implementing it throughout the city. The consultation process on Local Planning Authority owned tree works, is a fundamental aim, yet the question was raised as to whether there’s a point when too much community consultation hinders effective management of the urban forest?

These presentations were followed by a walk around the Gardens to admire the trees (with a nice lunch thrown in!), including the Grade II listed large glass pavilions – home to a wide variety of trees from all around the globe with many interesting specimens that tested our ident skills!

The first part of the afternoon’s presentations was from representatives for the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification [PEFC] and the Soil Association. The speakers covered how certification can work for trees outside of woodland and its relevance to Sheffield. Soil Association Certification is an independent certification body who audit and administer certificates for PEFC, and they highlighted the crucial importance of independent auditing in the PEFC Chain of Custody (COC) certification.

Whether PEFC certification – more commonly associated with traditional forest management – is the perfect fit for managers of the urban forest, possibly remains to be seen, yet it was certainly a compelling novel idea and provided plenty of food for thought!

The second part of the afternoon’s presentations from the Woodland Trust covered elements including; the history and current state of Sheffield’s urban forests and how The Woodland Trust is helping the city with urban forest initiatives. This included a fascinating tour the historic uses of Sheffield’s trees and forests – from smelting, charcoal and making basic tools, to, as technology and production improved, helping fuel Sheffield’s famous steel production industry. The concept of Tree Equity was also highlighted – the notion of ‘levelling up’ canopy cover in more deprived areas was paramount – bringing about greater Tree Equity – in Sheffield and throughout the UK.

The final part of the afternoon’s presentations from Sheffield City Council covered the importance of Community Forestry from Sheffield City Council and the practicalities of how they carry out this work. How communities and nippers can help boost tree cover for Sheffield. Getting young people to plant more trees can help ensure they value and look after them in the future. Working with different partners and businesses, and the challenges, benefits and problems it poses. Delivering environmental objectives together and collaborating with a wide range of partners. It was clear it is better to work together than alone.

The final session was followed by some tough questions from an informed audience, comprised predominantly of urban foresters and arboriculturists.

All the speakers were engaging and interesting and it gave a valuable insight into the management of Sheffield’s urban forests. Overall, it was a great day event and an excellent opportunity for sharing cross-profession experience and networking with fellow professionals.