The final week for Autumnwatch at Westonbirt
The last four weeks have flown by and the final BBC Autumnwatch Live show will be broadcast from Westonbirt Arboretum this Friday, 28th October.
As the focus for this week’s show is woodlands, Westonbirt Arboretum will have a chance to explore different aspects of the tree collection in more detail.
Following on from filming the visual tree health inspections last week, Mark and Dan from Westonbirt’s tree team ventured out with the Autumnwatch crew to film the second half of the story – the use of technology in tree inspections.
Accompanying Mark and Dan were the team from Tree Surveys with the picus sonic tomography used to accompany visual inspections with a picture of the decay.
The picus sonic tomograph is a non-invasive tool for assessing decay in trees. It works on the principle that sound waves passing through decay move more slowly than sound waves traversing solid wood. By sending sound waves from a number of points around a tree stem to a number of receiving points, the relative speed of the sound can be calculated and an image of the cross-section of the tree can be generated.
Chris Packham spent the morning with the team as they set up the tomography, scanned the tree and made the decision on whether to fell or manage the tree in the collection.
Felling a tree is not a decision taken lightly as often the tree is very old and can be an original Holford planting. However, sometimes for health and safety reasons it is necessary. The felled tree will not go to waste however – almost all the wood material is reused, either around the arboretum as woodchip or sold through the Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum wood sales.
Around the site other activity has been underway, including some night filming of owls, the conclusion of several weeks of lapsed time filming and a look at autumn colour. We are looking forward to seeing the final show and will be sad to see the Autumnwatch team leave (they can come back any time!).
You can help to support the work undertaken by the tree team at Westonbirt Arboretum by sending a gift via Just Text Giving to the Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum.
Text a gift of up to £10 by sending the Just Text Giving Code TREE33 followed by the amount you want to donate to 70070.
Useful links:
The Forestry Commission's tree pests and diseases website
Directions to Westonbirt Arboretum (our postcode is GL8 8QS)
