On the Road with Observatree: Science Day Highlights

Hello! I’m Vicky Bolton, Citizen Science Officer for Observatree, representing the Woodland Trust on the Observatree project. I work closely with our amazing partnership team and manage our brilliant network of volunteers.  

Ever wondered what happens after you submit a TreeAlert report? This Autumn at our Science Day events, our volunteers got an exclusive peek behind the scenes - and the discoveries were fascinating! 

How Reports Shape Tree Health Research 

Each Autumn, the Observatree team travels across Great Britain to deliver in-person Science Days. I teamed up with our Science Co-ordinator, Matt Parratt, and local experts, including Pathologists and Entomologists from Forest Research and FERA, who host our volunteers for an exciting day of activities. 

Each day began with a presentation by Forest Research colleagues, providing Observatree volunteers with a yearly round-up on what had been received by the THDAS team (Tree Health Diagnostic Advisory Service), which triages all reports submitted through TreeAlert. Colleagues were able to share how Observatree volunteers have been contributing to the wider Tree Health database, how their reports have been aiding in the understanding of pest and disease spread, as well as supporting management.  

Entomologist colleagues gave a presentation on the Plane Lace Bug (PLB- Corythucha ciliata), which was an Observatree priority pest species found in London last Summer. Observatree volunteer were among the first to be informed of the outbreak and mobilised to go out in search of the pest, also reporting back if Plane trees were healthy in their local areas. Combining their efforts with officials, over 1,600 individual trees were surveyed in a range of urban environments, and it was established that PLB has not spread from either of the three original outbreak areas. This information fed into DEFRA’s decision in 2024 not to recommend statutory action against PLB. Volunteers are still encouraged to report the pest and continue reporting healthy trees, as negative findings are just as important!   

Tree First – a new signs and symptoms guide 

Matt, our expert Science Co-ordinator, is proposing creating a signs and symptoms guide for the Observatree network, which has been born from a potential shift to Tree First reporting as part of Phase 4 planning for the project. To aid Matt with this new creation, Observatree volunteers were challenged with an activity. Working in teams, they were given a stack of photos of different signs and symptoms and were asked to group them in whatever way made the most sense to them. Each team then presented their groupings and explained why they’d chosen their arrangements. It was fantastic to see how this activity sparked conversation and to explore how some teams’ groupings differed. These insights are helping to shape Matt's proposal for the new guide, which I’m sure he’ll update you on in the future. 

To the lab!  

We were hosted by three amazing teams and venues for each of our events: Forest Research’s Alice Holt in Surrey, Feras headquarters in York and Forest Research’s Northern Research Station (NRS) in Roslin. At each site, we received a behind-the-scenes exclusive peek at the inner workings of each respective host's laboratories.   

For each event, Entomologists and Pathologists shared the process for when a TreeAlert report is submitted and what steps are taken to verify the reports. For Entomologists, this could be a quick process if provided with quality photos and descriptions of the affected trees. Each site holds specimen collections of both pests and wood samples, which scientists have carefully curated to provide references to support identification.  

We learned just how tricky pathogen identification can be, as only a small number of pathogens can be confidently identified from images alone; samples are increasingly required for verification. Pathologists highlighted the sampling process, how they take leaf or wood samples and culture these in the laboratory to establish which pathogen is affecting the tree. This is a longer process and could also require DNA testing for a definite answer. 

Site-specific experiences 

Entomologists at NRS are combating the spread of Great Spruce Bark Beetles (Dendroctonus micans) in Scotland by releasing a predatory beetle called Rhizophagus grandis in areas where the pest has been found. This amazing insect predates solely on the bark beetle, seeking them out where there may only be a few infested trees. But where do they get these hungry beetles from? They rear them! Scientists at NRS are raising populations of Rhizophagus grandis which are proactively released in areas where the bark beetle has been sighted.  

At Fera, volunteers were treated to a guided tour of the glasshouses, which are bespoke-designed climate-controlled facilities to grow both healthy plants while also hosting quarantine areas, which allow scientists to assess and analyse a range of known and unknown pests and diseases.  

At Alice Holt, we got the opportunity to take a peek at the lab on wheels, which you can read more about here. 

3 Venues, 40 volunteers, 1 Enlightening Autumn  

All Observatree events take a lot of planning, coordination and collaboration by colleagues across the partnership, but the Science Days are thoroughly worth the time and energy to provide the opportunity for Observatree volunteers to peek behind the curtain and see the reality of where their reports end up. 

And the feedback affirms this! Volunteers told us how much they valued the opportunity to connect with our scientist colleagues.   

“Thank you for organising the science days, I thoroughly enjoyed the day and for me it sparks that interest to widen my surveys, explore & learn more!” 

“Please continue with these events; they are invaluable for keeping Observatree volunteers connected and making them feel valued by the scientific professionals.” 

“Chatting with other volunteers was lovely and helped to give me more confidence to go and find diseases and pests” 

“Thank you for organising a very informative day in a really interesting location. Much appreciated!”.

What’s Next? 

The Observatree team are catching up with their desk work back in the office and getting ready to say goodbye to 2025. With this comes exciting plans to open recruitment for volunteers in 2026! If you’d be interested in becoming an Observatree volunteer, you can be notified of our recruitment by signing up to our E-Newsletter here. 

Thanks for reading, and a huge thank you to all the colleagues who supported the Science Days this year.