Westerleigh Group partners with TreeKeeper on tree-mapping
The group is believed to be the first in the bereavement sector to undertake such a project, which is part of its commitment to ‘operating a greener, cleaner business’
Westerleigh Group has trained all of its grounds team leaders in TreeKeeper, a software that tracks tree data, assesses health metrics, visualises information and plans maintenance in a move towards safeguarding its memorial and tree collection.
With the team all trained, the group now plans to embark on accurately mapping all the trees located at every one of its sites.
Westerleigh Group is believed to be the first in the bereavement sector to undertake such a project, which is part of its commitment to “operating a greener, cleaner business”.
Giles Palmer, head of grounds at Westerleigh Group, said: “Accurately mapping the trees located across all our sites in England, Scotland and Wales is the first step in our journey to measure the ecosystem services our tree collection provides. This makes us more resilient to future pest and disease threats, as well as the impacts of climate change.
“Our ultimate goal is to ensure that our tree collection remains robust and healthy for the bereaved families who visit our sites, as well as for the wide variety of wildlife which call our gardens and landscapes home.”
He added: “There could be a family who have planted a memorial tree to a loved one at one of our crematoria, but the family then relocates to the other side of the world. Using the TreeKeeper software will enable us to provide families with regular visual updates of their trees, so even though they are unable to regularly visit our site, they can see the memorial to their loved one continue to grow and can take comfort from that.”
TreeKeeper, which has been developed by Davey Resource Group Inc in the US, has recently been adapted for the UK market and is supplied in the UK by Treeconomics, a company that uses the best available science to understand how trees enrich urban spaces.
Katie Screech, urban forest technician at Treeconomics, said: “We’re delighted to supply TreeKeeper to Westerleigh Group, which manages a wide range of significant sites across the UK.
“By using software to manage and capture the benefits of trees, they can ensure that their memorial collection remains robust and healthy for the families who visit.”
She added: “Equally important, the trees at Westerleigh create serene spaces that support reflection and remembrance.”
