Frequently Asked Question

Ivy, mistletoe, standing dead wood, rot, knot holes, hollows, snags, moss, lichens, etc. are vital contributors to site biodiversity.

As well as adding to species-richness and habitat diversity in themselves, they provide exceptional ecosystem benefits in terms of food, shelter and other resources for a host of invertebrates and other animals as well as those that prey on them.

Removing these features from trees is incredibly damaging, ecologically, so we never do so unless there is a proven and material safety risk, or presence of a serious pathogen verified to our satisfaction by a suitably qualified ecological scientist/silviculturist and biologist.

When branches or trees do have to be felled, we like to use these as ecological log pile habitats or, safely upended in the ground, as standing dead wood, unless they are diseased, in which case they are removed from site and disposed of safely.