tree Surgery – A passion for trees…

Safety / Diligence / Beech

During the worst of storm Eunice a magnificent veteran Beech succumbed to the savage gusts, sending it crashing down onto the bank from which it grew.

The whitest part is what’s left after the fungus has had it’s feed. So brittle it can be crushed by hand!

The root plate and base of the trunk were riddled with Ganoderma (a type of fungus that feasts on healthy heartwood) which compromised it’s structural integrity. Had it been inspected by a professional surveyor a few years ago, (considered good, routine maintenance for mature trees near highways and public spaces) the infection would have been detected, and the tree could have been heavily reduced, and preserved for many years to come, providing important habitat for the local ecosystem.

Can you see the ‘widow makers’ hanging above the lane?

When the old boy failed, the crown completely blocked a (luckily) quiet lane in Chillington, and the only casualties were a BT cable and telegraph pole. A council approved contractor attended in the afternoon to clear the road, and Openreach made a temporary fix to get local residents back online.

Although the road was cleared, locals soon raised concerns to the Parish Council about how the trunk had been left perched, precariously on the side of the steep bank. when challenged by the PC, the contractor’s response was “we were only there to clear the road”

The PC Clerk tracked down the owner of the tree, and recommended they contact Skywalkers DTS asap to inspect the site, which Jack did within 20 minutes of the call.

The whole area was a disaster waiting to happen. The crown had smashed other, smaller trees on both sides of the lane, leaving many hanging branches (widow makers) above the lane. And the trunk. That enormous trunk, was only being prevented from sliding straight down the bank, into the lane, by a small Ash (infected with Dieback) that the Beech had crushed when it fell. A road closure was immediately ordered, and Jack made a plan to make the lane safe again.

At 07:00 the following morning, Jordan from Davis Building arrived with his 25m rotary tele-handler. after a thorough risk assessment and method statement was agreed by the whole team, we set about making the lane safe again.

Sections of the trunk were carefully cut away whilst being supported by the winch on the machine. Once separated from the rest of the trunk, the sections were lifted over the bank and into the landowner’s field behind.

Piece by piece, the whole trunk was placed safely out of harms way.

Once the main trunk was cleared from the bank, the team set about removing the dangerous, damaged Ash trees that were full of Beech brash.

Spinney preparing the next section for lifting

The rotary tele-handler tells the operator the precise weight of each load it’s lifts. The total for all the sections of the main trunk? 12.6 tonnes!

With the trunk shifted to safety and the other hazards made safe, our job was complete, and the lane was reopened. Many thanks to Davis Building (SW) Ltd for providing the rotary tele-handler at less than 12hrs notice, it would have been a very different job, (and considerably longer road closure) without you.

Eunice vs Chestnut vs Volvo

tree Surgery

When storm Eunice hit the South Hams on Friday morning, thousands of trees were damaged or uprooted. One particularly elderly victim was a veteran Horse Chestnut on the Fallapit Estate, near Kingsbridge. Measuring over 25m tall, and weighing in at an estimated 9 tonnes, it fell to the ground with incredible velocity, shattering itself and sending wooden shrapnel flying in all directions.

Luckily, nobody was around when it let go, so the only victims were a couple of small Silver Birch and a brand new Volvo XC60. But trees can be replanted, and cars can be replaced.

One of the residents contacted the property management company to inform them, who in turn, contacted Skywalkers DTS. Time was most certainly of the essence, as access to the residential properties on the estate was completely blocked by the fallen Chestnut.

The first task was to free the trapped car from under a very large limb, so it could be safely moved away, and no further damage could be done (although it will almost certainly be a write-off).

Once the car was safely out of the way, we set about carefully dismantling the large limbs and trunks. Fallen trees can be extremely unpredictable. Vast amounts of energy can be stored under tension or compression, so it’s critical that the energy is released as gently as possible. One overzealous cut, and a limb could kick out with incredible force, causing serious injury, or worse.

Even for seasoned professionals, reading tension and compression can sometimes be difficult, but on this occasion the tree has smashed itself up so much, there was a minimal amount to release before we could get on with the clear up operation of cutting up the timber into manageable sizes logs and chipping the vast amounts of brash.

With five pairs of boots on the ground, the road and driveway was completely cleared before dark.

If you have a fallen tree to deal with, please get in touch.

Ashes to ash

tree Surgery

Now that Ash Dieback has a full chokehold on the population, we are, unfortunately, seeing more and more Ash removal projects coming our way.

Spinny diligently keeping the road clear of brash.

These two Ash stools in South Pool, Kingsbridge had been shedding twigs and smaller branches for quite a while. As the crowns overhung a studio roof and public highway (albeit a very quiet one!) re-coppicing was the only option. So they were carefully dismantled in a short day using the CMC-22.

As they were located in a conservation area, SHDC were given a notification of intended tree work, to which they had no objection. Even if they hadn’t been so heavily infected with Dieback, we still would have used the machine to access them, as climbing them would have been far too precarious due to the very old and hollow stools. This also meant the road was closed for the shortest amount of time possible.

The client was left with a considerable pile of logs, ready for splitting, stacking and seasoning for next winter. The remaining brash was stacked neatly as a habitat for pile to support the local ecosystem.

Catching Ash Dieback early, may mean using a machine like the CMC-22 may not be necessary. If you have an Ash or Ashes you think may be infected (more likely than not) we can come and inspect it for you, free of charge, with no obligation.

Ellen Ripley: “I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.” (Aliens, 1986)

tree Surgery

Yes, Sigourney Weaver’s character was talking about the Xenomorph, but she could have just as easily been talking another highly dangerous, acid-dripping monster… The Leyland Cypress, aka Leylandii.

Why we still plant these hideous hybrids is beyond me. If you need a fast growing, evergreen hedge, consider one of the Laurels, or Griselinias. Both can be can cut back hard when required, so they can always be kept to the dimensions required. Leyland Cypress will quickly outgrown your requirements, but cutting it back past green growth on the sides, will stay brown forever. Over time, it will also change the pH of the surrounding soil, meaning only acidic, dry soil loving plants will grow successfully nearby.

If multi stemmed hedging plants are left to their own devices, watch out! They soon become enormous. Like a black hole, they will swallow vast amounts of light and space. They also get too heavy for themselves, and drop branches readily. Not a huge issue at the bottom of your garden, if that’s your thing. However, looming dangerously over a very busy road and footpath? Complete removal – it’s the only way to be sure.

Thankfully, unlike the Xenomorphs from the Alien films, they are unable to reproduce successfully without human interaction. They’re normally sterile so have to be grown from cuttings. They also won’t regrow from a stump. Stumps can be left to rot out, but this can take many years, and Stokenham Parish have plans to turf the whole area, so for these huge stumps we brought the big gun out. The REALLY big gun!

As usual, nothing has gone to waste. The wood chip will be used by a local farmer, and local residents will be kept warm for a few winters by the logs.

Who you gonna call?

tree Surgery

Skywalkers! and that’s exactly what Landmarc did, when they needed assistance with some technical tree works.

Landmarc are a prestigious environmental engineering company based near Totnes, who provide water and landscape solutions for clients nationwide. Skywalkers DTS were honoured to be asked to provide assistance on several local projects recently. There’s isn’t a lot they can’t deal with, using their vast array of machinery and highly skilled operators, but sometimes, a chainsaw in an experienced pair of hands is called for.

Carefully dismantling a large Sycamore that had outgrown it’s surroundings, and was overshadowing an Oak that really needed some extra space and light.

There’s usually several ways to ‘skin a cat’, and Marcus introduced us to a whole new way of shifting brash, when a tired old Leyland Cypress hedge had to be removed.

At Skywalkers we always treat tree removal as an absolute last resort. Everything we removed for Landmarc on these projects was for very good reason. Removing non-native species in favour of replanting natively, or Ash trees that were becoming dangerous due to Dieback infection and their location. Throughout the projects, far more is being replanted than we removed.

Removals, pruning, hedge reshaping, you name it, we did it.

It’s all in the preparation. It was truly fascinating to watch a filthy bog get transformed into an enormous lake.

There’s pond liner, and then there’s lake liner – 1.2t per roll.

Monty’s Done

tree Surgery

At the end of 2020 we were asked to look at a Monterey Cypress at Torcross. The tree was an iconic landmark overlooking the whole of Torcross and Slapton Sands.

5 years ago it had been heavily reduced by another firm. The intention was to reduce its windsail, as it was growing rather precariously at the edge of a steep slope, directly above the often busy main road to Dartmouth. In hindsight, the reduction was too much for the tree to cope with, and since then it had been in a steady decline.

If the tree had failed in high winds, it should have fallen across two gardens, but trees are inherently unpredictable, so public safety had to take priority over sentiment. Therefore the very difficult decision was taken to remove the tree.

Using a state-of-the-art narrow access MEWP (cherry picker) and specialist rigging equipment, the behemoth was carefully dismantled.

It was very much a bittersweet project. On one hand, it was immensely satisfying to tackle such a complex task, but on the other, it was a little gut wrenching to be taking down such an iconic, and once beautiful tree. However, public safety was priority one. The extent of the decay within one of the main trunks was quite shocking. Had it have been left for another season, a catastrophic failure would have been highly likely.
Nothing has gone to waste. The wood chip as been used at a local equestrian centre, and the logs will be heating many local homes next winter.