Dr Kristina Sodomkova
The Arboricultural Association offers a grant annually to support research into a relevant arboricultural topic.
The recipient of the 2024 grant is Dr Kristina Sodomkova, a member of the Association and an independent researcher whose article in this spring’s issue of the ARB Magazine introduced a unique group of urban ash pollards found in Plymouth, south-west England, suffering from ash dieback. Her latest research project is also concerned with the disease.
The total cost to the UK of ash dieback has been estimated as £15 billion (including loss of ecosystem services and clean up and replacement costs), with a projected annual figure of more than £30 million as a cost to a single local authority, which was considered most impacted, to deal with diseased ash along its road network.1 Local authorities are bearing the brunt of the situation whilst operating in an increasingly financially challenging environment. How have these organisations fared in tackling ash dieback since the issue surfaced more than a decade ago?
Kristina’s research sets out to identify effective internal mechanisms at local authorities’ disposal for securing ash dieback management funding. It aims to inform future practices for ash dieback management in local authorities and share knowledge and learning. This is important because it is inevitable that a new tree disease or a biosecurity threat of the scale of ash dieback will emerge in the future.
Kristina conducted semi-structured interviews and document analysis and compiled five case studies of local authorities in England and Wales. She said,
‘I am delighted to have been awarded this year’s Arboricultural Association’s research grant and I am very grateful to the two esteemed sector professionals who endorsed my application.
‘The role of a social scientist is about giving voice to others as well as revealing that which is hidden, to quote the renowned sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. I hope my project shows the value of researching tree-related topics using qualitative research methods.
‘As part of this project, I had very inspiring and insightful conversations with tree professionals across the country and I am thankful for their time. I look forward to sharing the research findings with the Association and the wider arb community in due course.’
This article was taken from Issue 207 Winter 2024 of the ARB Magazine, which is available to view free to members by simply logging in to the website and viewing your profile area.