Jeremy Barrell

Opinion...Green improvement must come faster

The Government has bold ambitions in the proposed environment bill. One of its five target areas for improvement is to "restore and enhance nature", resulting in a burst of consultations, including protecting and enhancing trees and woodlands.

Opinion... Highways authorities failing on risk

Research commissioned by the National Tree Safety Group (2009) indicated that tree failures cause about six deaths and 55 serious injuries annually, and more than 75% occur on highways. However, very few of those incidents ever get to court (fewer than 2%).

Opinion... Healthy trees work harder for longer

UK satellite images after heavy rain show river estuaries engulfed by massive swirls of muddy-brown water extending out into the surrounding ocean blue. It is soil scoured from our mismanaged land because of Government policies that focus on food production at the expense of sustainability.

Opinion... Consumers can drive major change

I wrote my first opinion column 10 years ago. After all that time, I would love to report trees are flourishing and the environment is thriving, but I can't.

Opinion... Urban tree policy gap must be plugged

The ambition to embrace a natural capital accounting management approach in the Government's draft 25-year environment plan is to be applauded.

Opinion... A wish list for unblinkered thinking among our politicians

Barrell On... how science and collaboration can help city trees

Brisbane is hot and its people need trees for heat relief, so when an aggressive fungus, Phellinus noxious, began killing its biggest figs in 2006, the city reacted with a corporate programme to stop the rot.

Barrell on... Unjustifiable tree felling

Wandsworth London Borough Council is going to fell an historic avenue of horse chestnut trees on Tooting Bec Common based on 696 responses to its public consultation.

Barrell on...The shocking state of trees suffering in new developments

Drive anywhere in the UK and you will find tree planting on new developments in a dreadful state.

According To Barrell ... Street tree management should serve community interest

Some 50-60 million bison roamed the North American plains before European settlers began displacing indigenous peoples around 1800.

According To Barrell ... Government must seize Opportunity to reverse tree loss

A new Government is a new start, and with it comes new hope that past failures can be recognised to shape a future with brighter prospects. Despite the losers' lament that change is inevitably bad, the opportunities for betterment are everywhere.

According to Barrell....Good environmental policies don't mitigate harm done by other EU policies

For anyone confused about trusting politicians, the 2009 MP expenses scandal provided some useful insights. If that wasn't convincing enough, then the wild extremes of political speculation emerging from the EU referendum debate should be enough to remove any doubt.

According to Barrell...Quarantine needed to defend London plane trees

Plane wilt is a vascular disorder similar to Dutch elm disease and just as deadly, evidenced by its devastating impact in France. Just one short boat trip away and a London without plane trees will be the reality, not some remote scenario way down the list of national priorities.

Barrell On ... Rediscovering the multiple benefits of biochar

Amazon basin soils are often poor and once the forest has been slashed and burned they become increasingly unproductive, driving people to slash more and burn more.

Barrell on...Residents let down by tree loss in Sheffield

I heard that more than 1,000 street trees had been felled over four months in Sheffield, with many more for the chop in 2016, so I visited to see for myself.