Staffordshire village residents urged to get involved in count - here's why

Residents of a rural village have launched a project to record and protect some of their parish’s oldest residents – including one that has stood in a churchyard for four centuries.

The Big Gnosall Tree Count is aiming to build a living record of mature, veteran and ancient trees in the parish.

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Anyone interested in helping with the tree count is invited to join, including families, schools, community groups, landowners and neighbouring parishes. No experience is needed – just a tape measure and a smartphone.

Volunteers record a tree’s location, species, circumference and a photo. The project app, which can help with identification of species by leaf and tree shape, then uses the details to estimate the tree’s age and indicate its environmental contribution, with each recorded tree able to be viewed and analysed on an interactive map.

On Sunday (October 11), residents, volunteers, community groups and councillors launched the project at St Lawrence Church in Gnosall, which dates back to the 11th century.

Stafford Borough Council member Scott Spencer, who helped Pippa Simmons measure the first tree – a 400-year-old yew – suggested the project had the potential to extend beyond Gnosall.

Gnosall Parish Council member Chris Haycock, who founded the project alongside Donna Simmons, said: “I spent most of my life living in cities; trees were of little interest to me until I moved to Gnosall 14 years ago. After being involved in creating a Tree Preservation order on a local tree, I began to realise how big a part they play for the whole community – not just from a heritage point of view but also the role they play in environmental and biodiversity factors.

“I started wondering what else was out there. How many old trees do we have that nobody has properly recorded?

“If every tree tells a story, wouldn’t it be great if local people could help us find and protect them? You don’t need to be a tree expert; if you’ve got a smartphone, a tape measure and a bit of curiosity, you can get involved.

“The app works just as well in deepest Wales or in the middle of the Yorkshire Dales, the technology doesn’t really care where the tree is. We just need people who are interested enough to go and find it.

“Gnosall is where it started, and I’m proud of that, but trees don’t recognise parish boundaries. If other communities want to get involved, we’d love to see them building their own local records as part of something much bigger.”

For more information on getting involved, including a link to install the app, visit www.bigtreecount.com.

The tree map can also be viewed on the website, alongside details of how trees are benefiting the environment through measures such has how many wildlife species they support and how much CO2 they are storing.