Healthy Trees for a Healthy Future

Trees are an essential part of our lives, shaping our landscapes, enhancing our wellbeing and even providing the oxygen we breathe. Their health directly relates to our health, but all is not well in the woods.

Trees in the United Kingdom are threatened by an unprecedented array of pests and pathogens - some already present in this country and causing great damage, while others have not yet arrived or become fully established here, while climate change adds another set of challenges. The implications of tree diseases are profound, and affect every one of us as our landscapes are diminished and the ecosystem benefits trees provide are reduced.  We are all stakeholders in the wellbeing of our trees.

Based at the Yorkshire Arboretum, The Tree Health Centre is a pioneering initiative that aims to make people more aware of the importance of a healthy treescape, and the problems caused by tree pests and diseases. It offers specialist training in tree health matters through a wide range of courses to develop awareness of tree health issues and appropriate tree management for anyone with a professional or personal interest in trees. Courses are held in a mixture of classroom and outdoor learning settings in the Yorkshire Arboretum.

Funding for the project has come from the Peter Sowerby Foundation, the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund, the Government’s Local Growth Fund, secured by the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding (YNYER) LEP, and the generosity of donors to our fundraising campaign.