OAKBANK NEWS AND BLOG

The following are good reasons for pruning broadleaf trees in your woodland: to clear rides and tracks for safety reasons to improve appearance to improve the form of the trees for timber and therefore value purposes, i.e. formative pruning   This article covers the last two.   What is Formative Pruning? Formative pruning is an operation carried out on young trees with the objective of ultimately producing a single straight stem of at least 3 m in height with small branches t

Today, the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published the new Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) for England , - a "detailed roadmap" to deliver legally binding environmental targets under the Environment Act 2021. Alongside the EIP, the government has announced £500 million in public funding for Landscape Recovery , designed to leverage private finance such as Biodiversity Net Gain units and carbon credits, and £85 million to improve and r

When planning new tree planting, increasing the diversity of our woodlands is an important way of strengthening them against future threats, such as changing temperature, pests, diseases, wildfires and winter storms. This diversity includes the age and species of trees and the provenance of the plants (i.e. where they come from). Different species will adapt in different ways, so planting lots of different species spreads the risk and increases resilience to a wider range of

As the next Ashes series looms on the cricketing calendar, it’s timely to reflect on how the iconic contest between England and Australia creates a broader spotlight on the raw material behind cricket bats. The sport depends on quality timber from English willow and growing that timber may offer opportunities for landowners. When a bat made from prime English willow is used in Tests, from the famous stroke-play of national heroes to the domestic grass-roots club games that fe

At Oakbank, we spend a lot of time helping clients design and establish new hedge plantings. Done well, they can transform a farm - in...

The start of August saw us welcoming our newest member to the Oakbank team. Max Cowell is currently studying at Harper Adams University...

Version 3 of the Woodland Carbon Code (WCC), the quality assurance standard for verifying woodland carbon credits in the UK, was unveiled...

Discover how to make the most of the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) including tree survival during extreme drought - with innovative mulching, GPS planning and sustainable grant-backed solutions.

Harper Adams placement student Louise Webster reflects on her year with Oakbank - from woodland planning and environmental surveys to Groundswell and social media strategy.

[APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED] Defra's offer of £150m capital grants for farm investment in England.

In a previous article, I discussed the statutory duty of care that landowners in the UK have in relation to trees on their land. I...