Barcham Nursery Visit

Join our Nurseries Special Interest Group for an exciting and informative day at Barcham Trees near Ely in Cambridgeshire.

During the visit, delegates will have the opportunity to view the production of container grown trees, covering root and crown development of standard trees, root development in containers, irrigation and nutrition, formative and structural pruning, plant handling and biosecurity. There will also be the opportunity to walk through the nursery looking at different stages of production from 10-500+ litre containers. We will also visit the site of the Barcham Barn and Garden which is currently under construction and development.

There will be many opportunities for questions during the visit, as well as networking with other delegates. In the afternoon, we will be joined by a host interesting speakers including Daniel Iddon FIMechE, Professor Tariq Butt and Sir Nicolas Bacon FICFor (Hon).

Programme

Speakers

Sir Nicolas Bacon KCVO OBE FICFor (Hon) – Raveningham Estate

Nicholas lives with his family in Norfolk. He is Chairman of The Queen’s Green Canopy, Chairman of The Royal Agricultural Society of The Commonwealth and Chairman of the Plant Health Alliance. In 2024, Nicholas was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Institute of Chartered Foresters. He has had various voluntary positions in Norfolk including Chairman of the Properties Committee, Norwich Cathedral, Chairman of The Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association, Easton College, Norfolk PACT (Partners Against Crime Taskforce) and Audit Committee at the University of East Anglia. He was Lord Warden of the Stannaries for the Duchy of Cornwall from 2006 – 2022 and was President of the RHS from 2013 – 2020.

Professor Tariq Butt – Personal Chair, Biosciences, Swansea University

Tariq leads the Biocontrol and Natural Products group at Swansea University. One of the goals of the group is to develop environmentally friendly products and strategies for the control of invertebrate pests (insects, ticks, mites, nematodes, molluscs) of socioeconomic importance. Tariq is internationally recognised for his work on the development of insect pathogenic fungi for the control of pests which impact on tree health (e.g. pine weevil), food security (e.g. thrips) as well as vectors of human and animal diseases (e.g. mosquitoes, midges, ticks).  He has published over 152 papers in peer reviewed scientific journals, co-edited two books and written over 14 book chapters. Tariq works closely with industry, helping develop products for commercial use and strategies which make efficacious use of insect pathogenic fungi in pest management programmes.

Daniel Iddon FIMechE – Owner, Woodland Grow

Daniel is a Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, woodland and tree nursery owner, and is currently being funded by the Forestry Commission to develop living composts that mimic woodland soils to support increased tree production with improved plant health, soil health, disease suppression and woodland management. A career solving complex engineering problems, ranging from submarine gearboxes, aerospace jet engines and Formula One, in addition to a family history in horticulture, is the journey that brought Daniel into forestry. When it came to planting his own woodland and trees at the family nursery, he found he faced a nature gap.