As Guernsey comes to terms with losing more than 1,000 trees in the 80mph winds of Storm Goretti, tree consultant Hugo Ciotti said this was the perfect time to discuss proactive tree management.
‘Every big storm, there’s always going to be trees that come down, But a lot of the damage is preventable,’ he said.
‘We had Ciaran which was the first big shock and we had property owners and the States looking to remove trees they thought were at risk without really looking at the trees’ health. Trees are incredibly strong organisms, there’s still trees who have survived every single storm and are still going strong.’
He said there were signs of tree health that anyone could look for, these included heave in the plate around the roots, and new fungal growth – some of which could be good, but some could show the tree was compromised – and changes in the foliage.
‘If foliage keeps getting less and less, that normally means the tree is struggling a little bit,’ he said.
‘Most of the time that doesn’t mean you have to take the tree down, but maybe reduce it back so you take some of the weight off it, thin it out to let the breeze come through, so it doesn’t have such a sail area. But the important thing is to get a health check. It’s similar to going to the dentist. Be proactive and when the next storm comes you’ll find you have less to worry about.’
Mr Ciotti worked for eight years in the UK as a climbing arborist – a tree surgeon specialising in rope work – before focusing on tree consultancy.
‘A tree surgeon is someone who comes in to do the physical work, whereas a tree consultant is someone who will do assessments, whether it’s planting, health and inspection, building and construction,’ he said.
‘We’re trained to think in the long-term and with a scientific basis.
‘Basically a job to help people live better together with trees.’
He said that work to remove healthy trees after Storm Ciaran had stripped out the shelter that neighbouring trees had enjoyed, putting them more at risk.
‘I think that’s what happened last time, people were panicked,’ he said.
‘We need to get everyone to think a bit a bit more and have a bit more trust in trees, and get a bit more foresight with some professional advice.’
And like many others he believes climate change will make the likelihood of powerful storms more frequent, which meant keeping on top of tree health even more important.
‘Moving forward, especially because Guernsey is in the mouth of the channel, we are seeing a higher frequency of these named storms. I think if people are more proactive about their management, and they can take back control of their trees, rather than be scared of them, then I think future storms don’t have to be as devastating as Goretti.’
He added that the same consideration on existing trees should be put to planting new stock.
‘Thinking about the type of tree, how fast they grow and how close to buildings they should be,’ he said.
