Join us for #MembersHour during National Plant Health Week on 8 May with Matt Parratt.
Since the 1960’s we have seen a rise in the rate of non-native tree pests and diseases appearing in the UK, from Dutch elm disease in the 60’s and 70’s, through Oak processionary moth in 2006 and most recently Plane lace bug in late summer 2024. But it was the discovery of Chalara dieback of ash in 2012 that prompted the question, could citizen science provide a network of skilled volunteers to help monitor the health of trees across the UK?
In this #MembersHour during National Plant Health Week, Matt will present a summary of the first 12 years of Observatree, covering its inception, how it works/the activities carried out by the volunteers, and some of the ways the data is being used. Finally he will pose a question of his own – is it working?
Speaker
Matt Parratt – Observatree Scientific Coordinator
Matt began his career in 1989 working as an agricultural seed analyst and field crop inspector before swapping cereals for trees, moving to Forest Research at their Alice Holt site in 1994 as a tree seed analyst and researcher where he worked to check seed quality and crack the challenges of dormancy in a range of tree species. He then moved on to seed and seedling ecology, working to determine the foraging behaviours of Apodemus sylvaticus and which tree and shrub seeds they found most irresistible.
Around the same time Matt began working on setting up and managing trials of tree species for forestry, developing skills that paved the way for his involvement with the REINFFORCE trials at their UK locations. In 2012 Ash dieback hit the British Isles and in 2013 he was responsible for setting up one of the biggest tolerance screening trials in the UK, overseeing the planting of more than 128’000 ash trees in a series of trials across south-east England.
Matt also worked extensively with UK Arboreta at Westonbirt and Bedgebury, fortunately this also involved working on the newly discovered Cupressus vietnamensis and a trip to Vietnam, and collecting Abies alba, Acer lobelii and Tilia platyphyllos seeds from their most southerly populations in Southern Italy. In 2017 he transferred to the Northern Research Station near Edinburgh and added Entomology to his palette, working with colleagues in Poland to look at mating disruption as a possible control for Dendrolimus pinii, and running a series of trials looking at management of Hylobius abietis.
Alongside working full time for Forest Research Matt found that he had a knack for botanical training, delivering courses on tree and general plant identification for the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, The Wildlife Trusts, local Flora groups and independent ecological consultants. In 2022 he combined his broad forestry experience with his training skills and took up the role of Scientific Coordinator with the Observatree citizen Science project. Acting as a bridge between research science and volunteers for the project he develops and delivers training and resources for the 200 citizen scientists.
