Spring 2025
Action Oak Newsletter
|
|
Dear Valued Supporter,
We're excited to bring you an update on the latest Action Oak activities in our spring newsletter.
Contents
- News
- Action Oak news
- Giveaway
- Ryan McClory’s graduation
- Bluesky
- Community News
- Observatree volunteer recruitment
- European Tree of the Year
- UK Squirrel Accord turns 10!
- The Tree of Knowledge Webinar - Royal Forestry Society (RFS)
- Applications now open for the RFS Excellence in Forestry Awards 2025
- Usman Hussain joins Dr Carrie Brady on a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) New Investigator project
- Open Woods & Workshops
- Researcher Spotlight - Dr Estrella Luna-Diez
- Events
- Upcoming
- Partner Event Save the Date
- National Plant Health Week
- 11th International Oak Society Conference | International Oak Society
Our newsletters can sometimes be clipped due to their length; if these are clipped in your mailbox, please open the full message for full details. Thank you for reading.
|
|
Competition
Action Oak & The Tree Council have teamed up to give away two copies of writer, environmentalist and Woodland Trust Ambassador, Jules Acton’s debut book: Oaklore: Adventures in a World of Extraordinary Trees.
Oaklore shines a light on how the mighty oak tree has shaped and influenced English literature, culture and history and is the perfect read for nature lovers and bookworms alike.
To find out more about the competition and how to enter, visit the competition page, hosted by The Tree Council at:
https://treecouncil.org.uk/competition/#enter
Competition closes at midnight on Sunday 16 February 2025.
|
|
Ryan McClory Graduates
Action Oak is delighted to announce Ryan McClory’s graduation and completion of a three-and-a-half-year PhD at the University of Reading.
Ryan’s doctoral research focused on the drivers of oak masting in the UK, with the aim that this better understanding may contribute to a more consistent acorn crop for conservation and forestry.
This work was supported by Future Trees Trust, The Patsy Wood Trust, Scottish Forestry Trust, Aitchinson Tait Trust, and Action Oak.
|
|
Bluesky
Connect with us on Bluesky by following @actionoak.bsky.social
|
|
Community News
Action Oak is pleased to bring you updates from our wider community.
|
|
Observatree volunteer recruitment
Observatree’s dedicated team of voluntary Tree Health Surveyors play a vital role in supporting tree health monitoring and surveillance across the UK. They train their volunteers in how to recognise certain signs of ill-health in many common tree species and how to report them through TreeAlert. They offer a multitude of training opportunities and a chance to connect with other like-minded volunteers and tree health professionals from across the project partnership. In return, they request a certain level of commitment to the project both in terms of attendance at training events and reporting. Observatree, therefore, seek individuals with interest in tree health (but prior knowledge in this area isn’t necessary) and an ability to identify some of the more common types of trees found in the UK.
To find out more about the opportunity, click the button below.
|
|
European Tree of the Year
The incredible Skipinnish Oak of Lochaber, Scotland, is the Woodland Trust 2024 UK Tree of the Year. The Skipinnish Oak won with an impressive 21% of the vote. This magnificent 400-year-old tree stands tall in an airy clearing amid a dark spruce plantation in the heart of Lochaber, Scotland. Impressive in stature and history, it's one of the largest oaks in the region and a local treasure, partially named after the renowned Scottish Celtic band. This amazing tree is also a crucial part of the ecosystem and hosts diverse lichens, including the rare black-eyed Susan, which is seldom found outside the west of Scotland. The Skipinnish Oak moves forward to be nominated for European Tree of the Year; you can vote for the oak here or by clicking the button below.
|
|
UK Squirrel Accord turns 10!
As 2025 marks the UK Squirrel Accord’s tenth anniversary, we celebrate the collaborative work of our conservation and forestry partners and stakeholders to protect the UK's red squirrels and trees. For a decade this partnership has come together to find solutions to the problems caused by introduced grey squirrels. We want to thank everyone that has been involved and offered support.
During this year we will develop a new strategy for the partnership. We wish to create a long-term vision and assess how we can best support the actions and ambitions of the various national squirrel plans and strategies. Workshops will be held in each of the four countries, ideas will be developed at our anniversary conference 25-26 June 2025 (save the dates), with the final strategy launched towards the end of the year. Together we can help the UK’s red squirrels, trees and woods have a healthier, more positive future.
More information on our conference and how to book your space will be available soon via our website: www.squirrelaccord.uk/events
|
|
The Tree of Knowledge Webinar
The Tree of Knowledge project brings together three Future of UK Treescapes projects: DiversiTree, MEMBRA and newLEAF. They are running a lunchtime webinar with Dr Stuart Smith and Dr Ruth Mitchell (James Hutton Institute), Dr Estrella Luna-Diez (The University of Birmingham), Dr Stephen Cavers (UKCEH) and Dr Victoria Stokes, Dr David Edwards (Forest Research). This webinar, presented by The Tree of Knowledge project, will explore how tree species diversity, within tree species genetic diversity and epigenetic effects can increase forest resilience and in particular the synergies and trade-offs between these different types of diversity. It will end with a discussion around how these different types of diversity and their synergies can be implemented in practice.
Join the Royal Forestry Society & The Tree of Knowledge project for a free lunchtime webinar at 12.00 noon on Tuesday 18 March 2025 to learn more about this important project.
|
|
Applications now open for the RFS Excellence in Forestry Awards 2025
The Royal Forestry Society (RFS) has opened applications for its flagship Excellence in Forestry (EIF) Awards, offering £3,750 in prizes across five categories, with the Duchy of Cornwall joining as a key sponsor of the 2025 awards. The competition, widely regarded as the premier forestry awards across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, celebrates the best of woodland management and forestry education in one of five regions each year.
These many and varied aspects of the sector are reflected across five categories and aim to mirror the industry’s response to economic, social and environmental challenges.
Applications are open now, with entries closing on 30 April. Shortlisted applicants will be visited by independent judges appointed by the RFS, and winners will be announced at a ceremonial event on 25 September 2025.
|
|
Usman Hussain joins Dr Carrie Brady on a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) New Investigator project
Usman Hussain joins Dr Carrie Brady on a BBSRC New Investigator project. Usman Hussain’s PhD ‘Identifying disease suppressive microbiota to future-proof native oak health and their associated services’ was supervised by Professor James McDonald supervised his PhD, through this connection is related to Action Oak. It’s a positive story of a PhD supported by the network going on to do a Post-doc in the same field.
|
|
Open Woods & Workshops
Woodland Heritage are soon to launch booking for their new initiative Open Woods & Workshops. This initiative sees a network of woodlands and workshops hosting open days across the UK. Woodlands, sawmills, artists and architect’s studios, furniture factories, makers and beyond!
Some spaces open to visitors all day. Other places host small group tours. What unites everyone is the desire to champion homegrown timber and sustainable productive woodlands for present and future generations.
Woodland Heritage is the hub, helping woodland and workshop owners to share their passion and expertise across the nation.
Find out more and sign up for updates on the Woodland Heritage website.
|
|
Researcher Spotlight
This #InternationalDayOfWomenAndGirlsInScience Action Oak was pleased to spotlight Dr Estrella Luna-Diez, University of Birmingham, who is working to understand the priming of defence in forest trees.
Learn more about Dr Luna-Diez's work by reading the spotlight below.
|
|
|
If you have an upcoming event where you think an Action Oak presence would be valuable, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
|
|
|
Partner Event 2025
Save the date! Action Oak's next partner event is set to be on the 13th of May 2025. More details to follow soon.
|
|
|
|
National Plant Health Week 2025
In 2025, Action Oak will be celebrating National Plant Health Week by convening for its Annual Partner Event. This year, we will be hosted by RBG Kew. Additionally, National Plant Health Week will see the launch of the highly anticipated ‘State of the UK’s Oaks’ report. This report intends to present an accurate picture of the state of the UK’s native oak trees, informing the sector’s approach to future conservation efforts.
|
|
|
National Tree Week 2024 11th International Oak Society Conference 2025
From Sunday, 5 October 2025 to Wednesday, 8 October 2025, the 11th International Oak Society (IOS) Conference will be held at the facilities of the Universiadad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM, the National Autonomous University of Mexico) in downtown Oaxaca. International Oak Society Conferences are unique opportunities to talk, learn, and laugh with oak enthusiasts that hail from vastly different horizons: botanists, geneticists, ecologists, arborists, creators of oak collections, conservationists, nursery operators, taxonomists and students, all passionate about the genus Quercus. The 11th IOS Conference will feature presentations on a wide range of topics relating to oaks, as well as hands-on workshops, poster sessions, and a field trip.
|
|
|
|
Thank you for your ongoing support.
To keep up with what we're up to, visit the website & follow us on social media.
|
|
|
|
|
