A DECADE of dedication by two South Lakeland tree champions has been acknowledged at a special presentation at the House of Commons, reports Lisa Frascarelli.

Edward Mills, project director for Cumbria Woodlands, and John Chapman, tree warden for Skelsmergh, joined fellow arboriculturists from all over the country to receive awards for their commitment to the Tree Council's National Grid Tree Warden Scheme.

The initiative to form a group of volunteers dedicated to their community's trees was launched in 1990 and is co-ordinated by local authorities and voluntary organisations on behalf of conservation charity the Tree Council.

Cumbria Woodlands, a not for profit partnership who provide an advice and grant service to farmers and woodland owners, has run the scheme on behalf of South Lakeland District Council since it was launched.

Edward Mills, director of Cumbria Woodlands, estimates he has nearly 50 voluntary wardens on his books helping to shape South Lakeland's woodlands.

He explained that wardens come to him with designs on anything from plans for new woodlands to the planting of a single tree in a community park.

"We encourage wardens to work to their strengths. Some do survey work, others work with farmers on riverside and streamside planting and hedgerows while some work with schools and youth groups."

"The projects vary from a few trees in a park to thousands in a woodland. A farmer in Holme planted along the old canal while another warden worked like a Trojan on roadside planting at Ings."

Mr Chapman has been helping to keep the parish of Skelsmergh verdant during his ten years as a tree warden.

With three millennium planting projects under his belt he has been involved in the planting of oak trees along the A6 near Skelsmergh Hall, the planting of the parish's two-acre millennium woodland and he is now helping to manage a section of river bank near Gurnal Bridge.

Originally encouraged into the role by the parish council he has also conducted a long-running survey of woodlands and trees in the parish, written articles and led environmental walks.

Jon Stokes, the Tree Council's director of community projects, who co-ordinates the scheme nationally stressed the importance of the volunteers like Mr Chapman:

"Tree wardens are the eyes and ears of their local communities on tree matters and they form an increasingly important force in the conservation and improvement of Britain's treescape.

"However, without long-term support from their local authorities or those co-ordinating organisations the efforts of individual tree wardens would not be so effective. These Tree Council awards are our way of recognising all this hard work and saying thank you to those who have run local networks with such commitment over the past ten years."

January 10, 2003 14:00