What's it about

Trees and forests are vastly complex, although this is not always apparent as they move in cycles over such spans of time that it can be difficult for us to comprehend. They seek alliances with other organisms and quietly produce a material which has been linked with our own development since the beginning of our species. They also recycle gases and contribute volumes of life giving oxygen to the environment. Trees also leave structural clues to their integrity and safety which can be read with accuracy by the trained eye as they deal with the stresses of their day to day existence and try to cope with everything the elements can throw at them.There is also evidence that trees communicate with each other. Trees and forests are a major component of the temperate ecology and without the influence of human kind our landscape would quickly revert to forest. Indeed there was a time in history when the majority of our islands were covered in forests. Today woodlands still play a vital role in our society with the production of timber, havens for wildlife and places of recreation and contemplation.

We will explain how trees grow and develop and how this growth effects the quality and use timber can be put to. The course also covers the complex relationships to be found between trees and other organisms and study in depth how the body language of trees reveals a trees responses to the external forces which act upon them.

We will also discuss forest and woodland history tracing our forests back to the last ice age and relate this colonisation to management systems. We cover aspects of modern and traditional forestry practice and how this affects the wildlife that depends upon these lungs of the planet exploring how landscape can be enhanced for biodiversity.