Half Day Course
About
Tree pests and diseases have never been so great a problem as they are now, but the issues are often poorly understood. With a broad range of problems affecting trees, it can be difficult to know where to begin as an amateur or entry-level professional. This course will summarise tree health and biosecurity issues, give you the opportunity to see pests and diseases on trees in the arboretum and get you off to the right start with an introduction to good biosecurity practice.
Aims
Biosecurity basics is a half day course for people who want to know more about pathways of introduction and spread of pests and diseases in plants and trees, along with biosecurity measures to reduce risk. Teaching in the classroom and a short tour will be used to familiarise learners with some high-profile tree pests and basic categories of problems that affect tree health.
Objectives
Portray the environmental, economic and social impact of tree pests at a national level using introductory examples of priority tree pests.
Provide a brief overview of the UK Plant Health Service.
Combine introductory lecture and a short tree health tour of the arboretum to raise awareness of frequently found and priority pests and disease.
Talk learners through the minimum information to collect to report tree disease.
Highlight the importance of reporting concerns accurately, and where to report them.
Introduce simple biosecurity measures that may limit the spread of tree diseases.
Outcomes
By the end of the workshop, you will be able to:
Justify why it is important to limit the spread of tree pests.
Outline who is responsible for the management of tree pests in the UK.
Begin to categorise and recognise basic types of tree problems.
Give named examples of public priority tree pests and describe the common symptoms that are useful to identify them.
Use recommended resources to continue developing knowledge about tree pests.
Limit the spread of harmful organisms by practicing basic biosecurity.
Audience
People working in landscape or countryside management, gardening, plant nursery trade, nature conservation volunteers, landscape design, utility contracts, forestry, management of public and private woodland resource, or as lead conservation volunteers and tree health volunteers.
