BTC/132/2018 - Site Guidance Notes: Plugging the tree protection gap on construction sites
In February 2007, I attended the American Society of Consulting Arborists’ Consulting Academy in Sacramento. It was held on the 9th Floor of the Downtown Hilton and, during the breaks, delegates took refreshments on a balcony that provided views out past the State Capitol Building (complete with Arnold Schwarzenegger who was the State Governor at the time) and across the city. I saw a city with buildings nestled within a framework of trees, which was the reverse of similar views in London, i.e. trees squeezed into a framework of buildings. The difference intrigued me and a desire to understand why has dominated my professional life ever since. The stark contrast in my observations prompted an informal review of my UK contracting and consultancy experiences, which resulted in a realization that our urban tree canopy cover was declining, and nobody had realized it!