Aspen (Populus tremula) is one of our most enigmatic and alluring native trees.
It has co-evolved with an enormous range of other species, providing food, habitats and other benefits. Aspen is much more common in other countries and recent initiatives have been underway to address this - but what part could it play in Dumfries & Galloway's landscape, and when we say a tree supports other species what actually does this mean?
This event kicks off our 2025 'Knowledge Knovember' programme. We have two speakers that will be reconnecting us with the particular species of Aspen and then exploring the wider question of how our planting choices can influence wider biodiversity benefits. We'll talking about Aspen Hoverfly and Aspen deadwood fungi, and then how other tree planting choices can influence similarly dependant species in D&G.
The first speaker is Peter Livingstone from Eadha Enterprises. Peter has been a national Aspen superstar, gathering remnant Aspen clones (many of which from D&G) to establish a national clone bank and supporting efforts to turn Aspen in our region from 'Rare' to 'Uncommon'! Peter will give an overview of his Aspen journey, why he has devoted so much of himself to this enigmatic tree, and why we need to move from thinking about planting an individual tree to actually having a place for Aspen dominated woodlands.
The second speaker is Malcolm Haddow from South West Scotland Environmental Information Centre (SWSEIC). SWSEIC leads on wildlife recording in the region and Malcolm will discuss the connection between trees and related/dependant species and what the recording data shows us about trees in D&G.
The event is delivered online through the Streamyard platform, with lots of opportunity for the audience to put questions to the speakers. Streamyard requires nothing to be downloaded onto your computer, we will send a joining link out to signed up attendees in the day before the event.
This event is part of the 'Knowledge Knovember' programme of events. Three online events, on consecutive Tuesday evenings in November, all possible thanks to support form a wide range of partners, including The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The event is delivered by Dumfries & Galloway Woodlands, a charity supporting trees, habitats and the people that depend upon them in the region. For more information, visit www.dgwoodlands.org.uk.