A SURVEY of trees in Petersfield is moving forward as volunteers – including environmentalist Robin Hart, pictured left – start measuring them and checking their overall health. The town is the first in the South Downs National Park to have its own tree survey, aimed at cataloguing them and pinpointing their importance to the green environment of the town. A spokesman said: “We don’t how many trees there are, their size, or state of health. We aim to survey some 200 sample plots across Petersfield, taking observations on things like tree condition and age class, and making measurements of height and diameter. The survey will identify the importance of trees to the life of the town. We are at the beginning of a project in which we intend to significantly increase the number and resilience of our tree landscape.” The volunteers began the inventory of the parish, and its conservation area, last week, and it is being overseen by the Petersfield Society. The project is supported by the South Downs National Park Authority, Petersfield Town Council and East Hampshire District Council. Andy Moffat, a member of the Institute of Foresters and an environmentalist, is the project manager.
For details, visit the website www.petersfieldtreesurvey/home