📢 Join us for a free Seed Gathering Season masterclass! 🌰 Join Jon Stokes, The Tree Council's Director of Trees, Science & Research to explore the incredible diversity of tree seeds on your doorstep. When: Wed 8 October Time: 1 - 2pm Tickets: www.tickettailor.com/events/thetr...

Now is the last chance to pick any late blackberries, because 29 September is Michaelmas Day and it is the end of the harvest and agricultural year.

📢 Book competition! 📚🍂 To celebrate the arrival of autumn and the start of a new tree year, we have five copies of award-winning gardener and food writer Lia Leendertz’s gorgeous month-by-month guide to the world around us. Enter here > treecouncil.org.uk/sgs-competit... #bookcompetition

🌱 Community Tree Nurseries, we knew they existed but until recently, we didn’t know how many, where they were in the country or what benefits they offered. Our exclusive new research reveals a fascinating network of volunteers which bring people together to grow, plant, care for trees and each other

It's Seed Gathering Season! 🧡🎉 #SeedGatheringSeason Join us for 31 days of autumnal goodness! Learn how to grow trees from seeds in our Seed Gathering Masterclass, learn all about Community Tree Nurseries (CTNs) and how you can get involved, and stay tuned for competitions and more!

Just one more day until our Seed Gathering Season campaign begins! We can't wait to share with you what we've got in store. 🌰🧡

📢 Free webinar on Tuesday 23 September 1pm-2pm! Join us for an exclusive launch of our research into Community Tree Nurseries, led by Jon Stokes, Jackie Shallcross from The Tree Council, and Emma Cross from Norfolk County Council. Get your free ticket now! www.tickettailor.com/events/thetr...

Happy #FungiFriday 🍄 Our Director of Programmes, Partnership & Comms, Clare, recently spotted a shaggy bracket on an old apple tree. This fungus is quite common and can easily be recognised by its rusty brown colour and is found on deciduous trees such as ash and apple.

Last week, The Tree Council was pleased to participate in the Association of Applied Biologists’ “Creating Canopies” conference in Carlisle. The 2025 theme, ‘resilience ’, aligns closely with our ongoing work across the diverse landscape of Trees Outside Woodland (TOW).

Ian, our Head of Major Planting & Ecology Projects, has been out monitoring the survival rates of trees at various locations across the UK. 🌳

With Seed Gathering Season fast approaching, who wants to learn how to grow trees from seed? 🌳 Our handy Tree Grower's Guide is available to buy or download as a PDF over on our website.

📢 If you have grown a tree from seed, we want to know! As our Seed Gathering Season campaign approaches, we would love to see your trees grown from seed.

A beautiful evening view framed by trees, taken by our Grants Officer, Geraldine. Please do share your tree-related photos with us, we love seeing what you find on your adventures! 🌳

Who's been spotting conkers appearing on the horse chestnut trees? 🌳🍂 Conkers are the essence of autumn, each year many people enjoy collecting them. They also provide food for deer and other mammals. The flowers on the other hand, provide pollen for insects, particularly bees.

A very impressive entry for #FungiFriday from our National Schools Programme Manager, Katie, who spotted this magnificent oak tree filled with chicken of the woods. 🌳

Our National Tree Warden Scheme Coordinator, Sam, spotted this huge sycamore tree on the Alnwick/Almouth border this week.

Thank you @metecoban92.bsky.social, @debbieweekesb.bsky.social and the Mayor of London for supporting this initiative and a huge thank you to the young Londoners who participated and not only greened their school grounds but also developed skills and experience for green careers too. 🌳

The black mulberry has been widely planted in parks and gardens in southern England for its tasty, wine-red coloured fruit. Originally from Asia, it was introduced to Britain in the 14th century.

📢 Free webinar on Tuesday 23 September 1pm-2pm! Join us for an exclusive launch of our research into Community Tree Nurseries, led by Jon Stokes, Jackie Shallcross from The Tree Council, and Emma Cross from Norfolk County Council. Get your free ticket now! www.tickettailor.com/events/thetr...

Our National Tree Warden Scheme Coordinator, Sam, spotted oak galls in the village of Cudham recently. This is the knopper gall, which is caused by a wasp, Andricus quercuscalicis, that lays its eggs on the pollinated flowers of the oak, causing the offspring to deform the acorn.

Some misty snapshots from our National Schools Programme manager, Katie, up in the North Yorkshire Moors! It is starting to feel very autumnal out there. 🍂 Don't forget to tag us in your tree photos! 🌳

Our Tree Warden Scheme Volunteer Engagement Officer, Charlie, spotted beefsteak fungus in Peckforton, Cheshire. #FungiFriday This woodland fungus is known for its raw meat-like appearance and when cut, it oozes a blood-like substance. Spooky! 🍄

Happy #FolkloreThursday ✨ "When the wood of alder is cut, it turns bright red/orange, which led to superstitions that the tree bleeds, resulting in the tree's association with evil spirits.

Thank you so much to Jess for sending in this beautiful photo of a hawthorn full of berries along the canal near Kirkstall. Please do keep sending us your photos or tagging us, we love seeing what trees you have been spotting recently! 💚🌳

Trees Outside Woodland, particularly in rural settings and on the periphery of our towns and cities, are sometimes overlooked by policy and practice. But these trees are important to many people in their daily lives and are part of the real and imagined landscapes of this country.

We are excited to announce that we have produced a brand new guide! 🌳 ‘Caring for newly planted trees’ was produced thanks to support from @nationalhighways.bsky.social and its 3 Million Trees initiative.

Come along with Katie, our National Schools Programme Manager, on a stroll down a path in the North Yorkshire Moors. It seems to be that autumn has arrived early in Yorkshire, with leaves changing colour and falling to the ground already.

Another chicken of the woods spotted by our Comms and Marketing Manager, Amelie. #FungiFriday Who else has been spotting fungi recently?

Our next 'Meet the Team' feature this month is Cat, our wonderful Head of Development! Discover what she enjoys about her role and learn more about her love for trees. 🌳 #TeamTreeCouncil #TheTreeCouncil

🎉 Congratulations to our #TreesInSummerPhotoComp winner, Olivia Young! 🎉 A beautiful summer photo of an English oak in Richmond Park. Thank you so much to everyone who entered the competition. Please do keep an eye out for more upcoming competitions! (c) Olivia Young

Perhaps it's not just acorns that are larger this year! Sam, our National Tree Warden Scheme Coordinator, has been spotting large conkers under the horse chestnut trees. Let us know in the comments if you have been spotting them to!

Happy Bank Holiday Monday! Join Katie, our National Schools Programme Manager, for a visit to the beautiful apple tree in her garden. She began collecting apples to make homemade apple juice when she spotted nature enjoying the apples too. 🍎

🚨 Giant acorns spotted! Have you noticed acorns larger than normal this year? If so, we would like to know where in the UK you have been spotting them. Let us know in the comments below!

Our team member, Margaret, tells us about the work we have been doing to support The Passage Homeless Shelter at their roof garden. A huge thank you to the Greenwood Community Initiative, in collaboration with The Tree Council, for supporting the donation of plants for the garden.

We Spent the afternoon at The Passage in London weeding, pruning, watering and planting on their roof garden. Using the donated plants and trees we filled in the spaces in the plant beds, creating a beautiful space outdoors for people to enjoy.

Head over to our Substack to read our latest Tree Talk! Help our hawthorns > treetalk.substack.com/p/help-our-h...

A beautiful sunset picture from Katie, our National Schools Programme Manager. Don't forget to enter our summer tree photo competition by tagging us and using #TreesInSummerPhotoComp 🌳

Our National Tree Warden Scheme Coordinator, Sam, spotted an oak artichoke gall in Devon recently. It is caused by a parthenogenetic gall wasp which lays a single egg within a leaf bud, which then produces the gall.

Jon, our Director of Trees, Science and Research, came across a devil's bolete (or Satan's bolete). It is a rare fungus which lives under beech trees on the chalk in southern England. Beautiful but deadly...👀🍄 #FungiFriday

Historically, rowan was planted to keep witches away from houses and churches. The berries can be turned into jelly, which is excellent with cold game or wildfowl. Wholesome 'perry' or 'cider' can also be made from them. #FolkloreThursday

Red oak is a non-native species that can flourish on poor, dry soils and tolerates drought and urban conditions, as well as exposed locations with saltladen winds.

Since the arrival of ash dieback, The Tree Council has led research into the early responses and coping strategies of public landowners to this widespread disease. We have two ash dieback toolkits available to download for free on our website.

Great to see hedgerows with an abundance of berries in an urban area, spotted by our Comms & Marketing Manager, Amelie. 💚 These urban hedgerows will provide plenty of food and shelter for city wildlife. 🌳

How's your tree leaf ID? 🍃 Here are 5 trees you might see when out on a walk and tips on how to identify them. Identification guide has been taken from Trees of Britain and Ireland, written by our very own Jon Stokes!

Take a seat with our table of experts in our latest episode of the Trees Outside Woodland podcast. Our five Project Officers share their experiences and evolving learnings from working directly with farmers on our Trees on Farms trials. 🌳 Listen here: treetalk.substack.com/p/more-farmi...

What a fungus! 🍄 #FungiFriday Cat, our Head of Development, spotted this humongous chicken of the woods last week. Chicken of the woods is an easy-to-spot bracket fungus that can often be found in tiered clusters on oak.

Did you know that in Roman times, small-leaved lime was known as 'the tree of a thousand uses'. The wood is soft and was used for carving, wood turning, and making keys for pianos and organs. #FolkloreThursday (c) Jon Stokes

In my first year as Deputy Mayor, I made it my mission to show up, listen and work with communities in every corner of our city. I’ve visited all 32 boroughs - meeting community organisers, volunteers and Londoners driving real change ✊🏼✊🏾

In episode three of the Trees Outside Woodland Podcast, we explore the project’s work establishing more trees on farms. Head over to Tree Talk to listen and find out more: treetalk.substack.com/p/more-farmi... #treesonfarms #substack #trees

During our live Force for Nature Festival, our fantastic Young Tree Champion Ambassadors got involved in a series of Treemaster challenges inspired by the BBC show, Taskmaster. Watch the Apple Bobbing Challenge below and find out how they got on!