Ellen Boardman

MSc, BSc (Hons), MArborA, Senior Arboricultural Consultant

‘I was attracted to work with trees after I applied to undertake voluntary work on a project tracking wolves in Poland but it was fully subscribed and as a result I was offered tree pruning in Slovakia. I jumped at the chance. Here I saw what a difference tree management could make to local residents. I worked with schools to plant trees and create tree guards. The children were interested in what conditions trees require to become established and we discussed the ongoing need to water the ones they had planted.

‘Despite the language barrier it was amazing to be involved in empowering local people to improve their surroundings with green infrastructure. We also worked on the streets to prune trees back from buildings, lift crowns over roads and footways, and manage trees within parks and open space. It was an amazing experience and gave me the bug to look for a paid role working in arboriculture.

‘Before I joined the sector, I thought that the industry would be more supportive than it has been. Working in tree surgery operations, I was exposed to many preconceptions and stigmas surrounding gender. Those early years in my career were tough, but they also taught me a lot about trees, and I gleaned information from sources I would not otherwise have been in contact with.

‘One of the aspects of working with trees that has most surprised me became clear when I was a tree officer. I couldn’t believe the number of calls we received about leaves! Trees dropping leaves; trees not dropping leaves and casting shade. I found that the public perception of tree management is tree pruning! Residents did not understand that it encompasses a much wider remit.

‘The reactions that trees invoke in people are wide ranging: love and hate, leaves and shade. People are often interested to hear what I do, but this generally leads them to say something like, “I like trees but …” They either want to chat about trees and show me pictures of their gardens or to complain: it’s a mixed bag! I enjoy being able to have a dialogue and discuss trees on many different levels.

‘The biggest challenge for me came early in my career when I found it hard to get a paid position in arboriculture. I stuck at it and was rewarded with a role where I could learn. Getting people to take me seriously, especially in a site situation, was also difficult. My perception is that this is gradually changing, and I have had some rewarding site interactions. Today, working as part of large design teams on planning applications, permitted development, asset management and risk assessment takes me to a range of places and I get to see many different sites.

‘I love having the opportunity to shape clients’ planning submissions from an arboricultural perspective and help them to organise their sites with a view to delivering a streamlined project, on time and in budget.

‘It is frustrating that we do not have an Environmental Impact Assessment chapter for larger planning submissions, and this sometimes gets missed in the early stages of planning a project. It can lead to issues when an arboricultural constraint is flagged but the design is already fixed. However, I do enjoy the problem-solving side of the job; there are many occasions where you have to think on your feet to find a solution to satisfy the needs of the tree and the client.’