Spike's Countryside Management Blog

Considering my current goal is to join the Maydencroft Arb team I thought it would be useful to do a little research on tree mensuration as a basic concept as in any arborist role it would be a useful skill to have. After doing a little research, the RFS Learning  page seems to be a great source of information. https://rfs.org.uk/learning/how-do-foresters-measure-trees/ First of all there are two different definitions of height: The total height of a standing tree – is the vertical distance from its base to the uppermost or highest point or tip. and The timber height – the vertical distance from the base of the tree to the point on the main stem where the diameter is a minimum of 7cm. This is because a diameter of 7cm is the minimum size for a trunk to be saleable timber. It's important to note that timber height probably would not be relevant to me as I would not be going into forestry in the role I am looking for, but it is good to know regardless. Knowing the height of a tree...

Considering my employment at Maydencroft started in October and it is now January - I have been working in cold weather for my entire time at the company. As this is the case, it's probably worth discussing the impacts of weather while working outdoors, from the individual, employer and legislative perspective. My expereience with Cold-Weather working: As previously mentioned, almost every day that I've worked since starting in October has been "Cold." For the sake of this blog I'll refer to the only day that it has snowed while on the job since I have started - with that being the 6th of January where I was Tree planting in Hatfield in -2 ° C. This Photo was taken minutes before the snow had started, as you can see, I'm in just a shirt. This is because I tend to overheat easily with multiple layers, especially with sleeves and I'm doing a physically demanding task as well. As it started snowing, we took a break, waiting for the snow to subside and obvious...

For three days last week I was tasked with amenity Tree planting around Hatfield, mainly on verges in neighbourhoods. In addition to the method listed in the journal below I also had to do some map reading, which doesn't come up too often, when looking where to plant Trees. The planting itself was fairly straightforward all week with barely any complications. That being said, we dug a hole in the wrong place once and had to refill it and then we also had residents come out and complain multiple times about not being asked about the trees first or them, being planted without their knowledge. We apologised each time they would come and ask but the council of Welwyn and Hatfield was not obliged to inform these residents in any way and we are just contractors on their behalf after all. Below is a journal entry that describes the method we used and some pictures. Journal Entry -  06-01-2026 : Today I planted six trees in neighbourhoods around Hatfield. The process was slightly different...

  Over the Christmas Break I visited Jordan's Mill with family, originally it was just for lunch but as I walked around I realised there was lots of useful information for someone on a course such as Countryside Worker. I learned a lot from the Info Boards below: A Wholegrain is made up of 3 separate sections: Bran, Germ and Endosperm, which all contains different vitamins and minerals - often the bran and germ are removed during milling Agricultural intensification has lead to a decrease in wildlife and biodiversity as nature could more easily coexist with traditional farming methods. Try not to cut hedges in spring/ summer when they are flowering and birds are nesting Trim berrying hedges every other year to allow them to fruit in alternate years and so provide food for wildlife If you plant a new hedge, try to use a mixture of native hedge species like hawthorn holly and field maple to encourage wildlife Most Birds have a food storage organ called a 'Crop' Many farms hav...

What is the role and purpose of Maydencroft? Maydencroft is an environmental and land management company that aims to be an industry leader in the Green Sector - focussing on sustainability and the future of not only the world but the people who inhabit it. As such the company states part of their mission is not only to take care of the envronment but provide opportunities in rural employment and educate future generations. How does Maydencroft operate? Maydencroft Ltd is separated into different divisions: Arb Contracting, Consultancy, Grounds and Estates, landscape & Environment and Leadership, Finance & Support. We offer a vast amount of services that fall under one of the following categories -  all of which being far too many to list here: Arboriculture, Ecology, Environment, Forestry, Grounds & Estates, Heritage Works and Landscape. Here are 3 services offered by Consultancy, Arborist and Landscaping respectively: At least on the operator side people are usually s...