A space for everyone – Part 2
Eight female consultants share their diverse stories and encourage more women to join our industry
Stella Bolam
Our industry has historically been male dominated, and undoubtedly there are various factors which have played into this bias.
Despite the evolving cultural and social landscapes beyond our working lives, this gender imbalance is proving to be pretty persistent, with women accounting for 15% of the Arboricultural Association’s membership, according to the latest available data. What’s more, in a diversity report by the London Tree Officers’ Association (LTOA) published in 2022, only 23% of respondents were female.
Since changing my career to join the sector in 2021, I’ve noticed how more women are forming networks and supporting each other to make strides into the world of arb, and, in my experience, the times appear to be gradually changing. Some might say change is happening at the sedate pace of ‘tree time’, but a shift is underway towards arboriculture becoming a more gender-balanced industry.
One powerfully simple method to propel this trend is storytelling – sharing the experiences of women working in the sector to help inspire other women to think ‘Oh! That could be me’ or (if she’s a mum) ‘Maybe that’s a possible career for my daughter.’
The arboricultural team I work in at ADAS – the UK’s largest independent provider of agricultural and environmental consultancy, policy advice and research and development – bucks the industry gender trend, with a predominantly female group of arboricultural consultants.
So, with the aim of encouraging more women into our sector, here are our stories...
Stella Bolam
Dip Arb L4 (ABC), TechArborA, Assistant Arboricultural Consultant
‘When people ask me what I do for a living, I feel proud to say “I work with trees” or “I’m a tree consultant.” I would be even prouder to say “I’m an arboricultural consultant” but I’ve tried that and just get blank faces staring back! I hope one day we will get to a point where the level of general public awareness about tree care professionals can make this possible.
‘I’m a mid-life career changer. I hadn’t heard the word “arboriculture” until I came across an online webinar organised by the Arboricultural Association’s Women in Arb Working Group as part of Sheffield Tree Week during the COVID lockdown of summer 2020. Somewhere in the Zoom description it said something like “work with trees”, and after attending that session, I had an excited and scared feeling, because I knew I wanted to change my career and that this was a mysterious path I had to explore!
‘I grew up on the Essex coast, spending a lot of time climbing trees and playing freely in nature, and after many years of deskbound screen work, I was strongly drawn to a job which took me outside and cared for trees and associated ecosystems.
‘My first job in the sector focussed on establishing trees, developing and delivering planting projects in schools and public green spaces as a community forestry officer at Sheffield City Council. I then started working in consultancy as an arboricultural technician, and went on to join ADAS in early 2025.
‘I actually heard about the vacancy and put my CV forward for it through my existing connection to my colleague Ellen, who I’d first met when we were both involved in the Women in Arb Working Group.
‘Everyone in the team is supportive and we work in a collaborative way. I think the prevalence of female colleagues broadens all our perspectives and can often bring fresh ideas or solutions for our clients. I love the fact that you’re always learning in this role – tree biology is endlessly fascinating – and the variety of sites and clients we work with constantly develops my technical understanding and skills.
‘In my current and previous roles, I’ve not experienced negative reactions from male colleagues or clients, but I’ve met women older than me who were actively discouraged from joining forestry or arboriculture when they were young.
‘I think this “closed door” mentality probably contributed to the historically low proportion of women in the arboriculture workforce, but the sector now recognises it needs more women – and men! – to care for and advocate for trees, now and in future.’
Stella is also an Arboricultural Association Board Trustee.
Find out more
Obviously consultancy is just one of the many paths that can be taken in arboriculture. More inspiration about other options that can be explored – whether you’re just starting out in the sector or are changing careers to join – can be found in the Careers section of the Association’s website - www.trees.org.uk. If you want to find out more about ADAS Arboriculture visit: www.adas.co.uk/get-in-touch.
This article was taken from Issue 213 Summer 2026 of the ARB Magazine, which is available to view free to members by simply logging in to the website and viewing your profile area.