"Biosecurity for Community Tree Nurseries" - a Growing Diversity project event at Moor Trees, Devon. February 2024.
In this post I share about the key points of an event focused on introductory Biosecurity measures that CTNs can use and also a short film that was produced as part of the event.
In this first post in a series relating to the ‘in person’ events, I share insights from the first event the project held at Moor Trees’ Dartington CTN in Devon.
Biosecurity for Community Tree Nurseries (CTNs) was held on Friday 29th February 2024 at Moor Trees’ Dartington CTN - this was the first in a series of in person events and provided a day of highly useful tips and skills to use within a CTN to make it a safe place to grow trees.
Biosecurity is such a vital aspect of running a tree nursery and the project team decided it was a priority to host an event on such at an established CTN early on in the project. A short film of key points was also produced as part of the event. You can view this further on in the post.
Biosecurity is a set of precautions that aim to prevent the introduction and spread of harmful organisms. No matter the current size or scale of CTNs, it is essential that all CTNs follow protective measures to limit any spread of pathogens, pests and diseases to wider areas in the tree supply chain.
It is recommended to have a Biosecurity policy for a CTN, no matter how small in size the project may be. This ensures that all those who are involved are informed and involved in keeping the nursery safe and minimising the spread of harmful pathogens.
The policy does not have to be too lengthly but needs to set out the recommend practices within the nursery and how to report concerns and so on.
It can seem overwhelming to know where to start with Biosecurity, hopefully the resources shared below here and the short film will provide some reassurance and straightforward guidance as to how to proceed.
Good practice guide online for CTNs
There is a good practice guide to a variety of topics relevant to running a CTN available to view through Google Drive, with a section dedicated to Biosecurity resources.
You can access the document here. You need to scroll down the document to locate the Biosecurity resources (some are links to websites and some are downloadable PDF documents).
Moor Trees & the session
The free session in February was attended by representatives from local Community Tree Nurseries and projects. Insights about the need for effective Biosecurity measures in CTNs were shared by Moor Trees staff Dave Lewis (Tree Nursery Officer) and Helen Aldis (Chief Executive) in particular. Also attending the event were: Gemma Worswick (Biosecurity and Quality Assurance Lead – Tree Supply, the Woodland Trust ) and Hayley Rogers (previous CTNC Coordinator, Fellowship of the Trees).
Moor Trees is a Devon based charity dedicated to restoring native woodland on Dartmoor with the aim of improving the environment and connecting people with their forest heritage. Supported by an active group of volunteers the charity collects local provenance seeds to grow in its community tree nurseries, assists with the designing, planning and creation of high-quality woodlands and advocates for temperate rainforests regeneration. The organisation manages two CTNs as part of its overall work. You can find out more about their important work here.
Moor Trees is certified with the Plant Healthy assurance scheme and also with the Woodland Trust’s UK and Ireland Sourced and Grown Scheme. To find out more about Plant Healthy Certification, click here. To find out more about the UKISG benchmark scheme, contact the Woodland Trust here.
Whilst it is not necessary for a CTN to apply for Plant Healthy or UKISG, it can be supportive and help to ensure that necessary measures are being adhered to within a nursery. Also it provides reassurance to buyers or recipients of the trees that they are healthy stock.
The session itself was relaxed and there was plenty of opportunity for discussion and questions. The group was relatively small too and enabled those present to share with each other on issues related to their CTN. This community building aspect of in person or on site events is a really valuable one.
The structure of the day was as follows:
Moor trees vision and how they operate
General introduction to biosecurity
PlantHealthy standards
Useful resources
Dartington site tour
Focus on infrastructure design for biosecurity
Potential routes for movement around the nursery / between sites
Group exercise (in small groups)
Looking at Pathways of introduction without biosecurity
Routes of infection around the nursery without biosecurity
Potential impacts of distributing plants
I feel very encouraged to move forwards with our biosecurity practices now, the day has given me a sense of clarity for what needs to change in our CTN. Thank you! (Jenny, participant at the event).
The short film on Biosecurity in CTNs
This friendly short film (see below), highlights some very useful and important guidance and insights for effective Biosecurity measures in a Community Tree Nursery setting. There is a summary of key actions you can apply in your CTN in the final segment of the film also provided as an image here below.
Here is the film, with thanks to Superlative Films.
In the next post, we will be headed to Norfolk to look at the Introduction to Growing session that was hosted by Gressenhall CTN with the highly experienced Adam Owen as the facilitator. (The event took place in May).
Do share this post with others you feel would be interested and let us know in the comments whether you have any questions or what you think of the post!
Thank you. Hilary - Growing Diversity Project Coordinator.