ISO 14001 tree shelter procurement used to be a niche concern. It is now a routine part of tendering. Buyers on public contracts, large estates and corporate planting schemes are asked to evidence the environmental credentials of their supply chain, and an environmental management certification is one of the few pieces of evidence that is…

The 2026/27 tree planting season starts when the trees go dormant and the ground is workable, realistically November through to March, with the best planting window often narrower than people plan for. September is when the season is won or lost, because almost everything that derails a planting scheme is a decision that should have…

Windbreaks and shelterbelts are among the oldest conservation practices on American farmland and among the most quietly valuable. Across the Midwest and Great Plains, rows of trees and shrubs planted along field edges cut wind speed, hold soil in place, shelter livestock and buildings, and buffer crops from desiccation. This guide covers how they work,…

The biodegradable mesh guard has been the missing piece in plastic-free tree protection. Soil-biodegradable shelters have been available in the UK for several years, but almost entirely as solid-walled tubes. Mesh guards, where a planting needs airflow rather than a greenhouse, have stayed plastic. The Vigilis Bio Mesh Guard closes that gap. As far as…

Agroforestry carbon farming moved from principle to paperwork this summer. In July 2026 the European Commission adopted the first certification methodologies under the Carbon Removals Certification Framework (CRCF), and one of the three covers agriculture and agroforestry on mineral soils. For anyone planting trees into farmland in the EU, that changes what a scheme has…

English vineyard planting in 2026 looks different from the boom years. The rush to put new hectares in the ground has cooled, and the work that matters now is quieter: replanting blocks that have underperformed, and gapping up rows where vines have failed. Both jobs need vine guards, and both are easy to under-specify because…

Removing tree shelters is the step every planting project plans for and very few enjoy. Once a tree has outgrown its guard, that protection has to come off and be dealt with, and across thousands of trees on difficult ground, retrieval is slow, costly and easy to put off. This guide covers when a tree…

Vine guard sizes matter more than most new growers expect. A guard that is too short leaves the graft union and lower buds exposed to rabbits, spray drift and strimmer damage; one that is too tall or too tightly sealed can trap heat and humidity around a young vine in a warm season. Matching the…

Urban tree canopy has become one of the fastest-growing areas of public tree planting in the United States. Cities from Phoenix to Detroit are pledging to plant hundreds of thousands of street trees to cool neighbourhoods, clean the air and correct decades of uneven investment. Behind the headline numbers sits a practical question every program…

Native woodland creation in Scotland is some of the most ambitious in Europe. From the remnants of the ancient Caledonian Forest to vast landscape-scale rewilding in the Highlands, Scotland is working to restore native pinewood, birch and montane scrub across ground that has been bare for centuries. The vision is expansive, but the practical battle…

Rewilding in Europe has moved from a fringe idea to a continent-wide movement, with Germany, France and Portugal each restoring native woodland at scale. The approaches differ, from Germany’s abandoned military land to Portugal’s fire-scarred hills, but the establishment challenge is shared: young native trees have to survive browsing, drought and competition long enough to…