Observatree and the BRIGIT project

Learn more about the signs and symptoms of tree pests and diseases with the Observatree field guides. Credit:Forest Research

How are your trees?

Suzanne Sancisi-Frey, Forest Research talks about two pioneering tree health citizen science initiatives, BRIGIT and Observatree and the training options and resources they offer

There is a wealth of freely available information and training resources to help you to understand and manage the health of your trees. Many of these resources have been developed through past and ongoing research and citizen science projects in the UK.

In particular, two pioneering tree health citizen science initiatives – BRIGIT and Observatree – have been raising awareness and understanding about tree health. The training in these projects has been led by Forest Research and the associated training resources developed are available to forest owners and managers and members of the public alike. They are highly regarded by tree health professionals within the forestry sector and beyond, with the training contributing to continuous professional development (CPD) portfolios.

Observatree (www.observatree.org.uk) is a multi-award-winning citizen science project which operates as an early warning system for non-native pests and diseases of trees, whilst also monitoring the spread and movement of pests and diseases already present in the UK via a nationwide network of volunteers. It invests heavily in volunteer training and as a result has developed a highly skilled and knowledgeable network of citizen scientists who are an integral part of tree health monitoring in the UK.

Observatree tree health training consists of face-to-face workshops in the field which focus on how to recognise when trees are unhealthy and important tree pests and diseases such as ash dieback, Phytophthora infections, oak processionary moth and many more. Tree health surveying, the fundamentals of biosecurity, tree identification and sampling trees for disease also form part of the sessions.

The BRIGIT project (www.jic.ac.uk/brigit/) aimed to enhance UK surveillance for and response to the threat posed by Xylella fastidiosa specifically, a devastating nonnative bacterial pathogen of a wide range of important woody plants and trees,

BRIGIT concentrated on delivering training to identify the main hosts for Xylella fastidiosa, along with building awareness of the signs and symptoms seen in infected trees and shrubs and practical techniques for monitoring the insect vectors of the disease (www.spittlebugsurvey.co.uk).

Tree health resources available online

Both BRIGIT and Observatree have provided a packed on-line training schedule including webinars on pests and diseases that are impacting trees in the UK, as well as some that are lurking on the horizon such as the emerald ash borer and the pine processionary moth, amongst many others. Many of these training webinars and films can be viewed on the projects’ websites.

In 2021, BRIGIT hosted an on-line Xylella awareness week providing digital training events and many of the extremely informative talks and presentations are well worth a watch and are freely available to view (www.jic.ac.uk/event/brigit-xylella-awareness-week/).

As a result of these projects, you can also obtain pest and disease field guides, printed on waterproof paper at Summerfield Books (www.summerfieldbooks.com) or you can download them for free from the resources page on the Observatree website where you will find other useful tree health training materials, such as pest and disease calendars, and posters as well as practical biosecurity tips.

Tree health training packages

Observatree offers training packages to industry and other interested groups. Many organisations and commercial stakeholder groups within the forestry sector, from managers of small community woodlands to substantial land and forest owners, have benefitted from Observatree training and resources. Recent workshops held for the Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF) allowed members to learn about tree pests and diseases such as P ramorum and Sirococcus tsugae, that are threatening trees in Wales and at the same time they boosted their CPD.

If you see any pest and disease symptoms on your trees that you are worried about then please report them to the Tree Health Diagnostic and Advisory Service at Forest Research through TreeAlert https:// treealert.forestresearch.gov.uk

Contact If you would like to volunteer as a tree health surveyor with Observatree please email observatree@woodlandtrust. org.uk and if you are interested in tree health training for your organisation please email suzanne.frey@forestresearch.gov.uk.