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December 2025

Training

  • ECSA runs the ECS Academy which aims to share citizen science training, promote training opportunities,  facilitate the work of citizen science educators and trainers. Check it out to see if the resources can help with your projects.

Policy

  • In his reflections of the NBN Conference 2025, the NBN CEO Gareth Thomas made reference to tree health citizen science when he said “….there is real energy for doing more together. From iNaturalistUK ……. to Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’s interest in early-warning systems for pests, the opportunities for collaboration are growing”
  • Based on the latest surveillance results, the EU have amended legislation to recognise that eradication of canker stain of plane (Ceratocystis platani) and Xylella fastidiosa is no longer possible in affected areas.  This demonstrates the importance of surveillance aimed at early detection, and of course, import controls to exclude pests from entering.

Surveillance and intelligence

EPPO have reported the following:

  • Emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) has been found for the first time in Issaquena County, Mississippi, USA in November 2025; is now present in 20 Federal States in Russia ; and has been found in Belarus (Gomel Region) where it under official control
  • Phytophthora ramorum has been confirmed for the first time in Jersey on rhododendron plants in two private gardens . With striking parallels to the first findings in the UK back in 2002, infected plants in one garden were imported directly into Jersey on plants originating from Germany and grown on in Belgium
  • Further findings of Citrus long-horned beetle (Anoplophora chinensis) have been made in Croatia since it was first found there in 2007. The latest findings have been adults caught on traps in woodlands of Pinus and Juniperus neither of which are known hosts of A. chinensis
  • Ambrosia beetle (Euwallacea fornicates)  has been confirmed in Turkey on Norway maple (Acer platanoides) – a first record,  Box elder maple (Acer negundo) and London Plane (Platanus x acerifolia). An eradication programme has been initiated

November 2025

Policy

  • Woodland Trust, RHS, National Trust and Horticultural Trades Association have recently published the “Strong Roots: Growing British Tree Nurseries” which explores the key barriers to domestic tree production and identifies solutions to increase the availability of homegrown trees, with evidence-based recommendations for improved governmental support for the sector.
  • RHS have just published “RHS State of Gardening Report 2025 ” which contains loads of information and data relevant to biodiversity and biosecurity.

Surveillance and intelligence

  • EPPO have reported on Phytophthora mediterranea,  a newly described species of Phytophthora previously associated with collar and root rot of myrtle (Myrtus communis) in Italy but following new records in North America and Europe and in nurseries in Australia now believe it is polyphagous on a broad range of woody host trees and may be moved in trade. Phylogenetic analysis indicates P. mediterranea is closely related to P. cinnamomi suggesting that it may have been present earlier but previously misidentified as P. cinnamomic.
  • Defra have announced that a second national forest will be created in the Oxford-Cambridge corridor  This could provide the THCSN with an excellent opportunity for both research and surveillance.
  • iNaturalist are running a project to record plant galls Many are records are on trees.
  • Duncan Allen (Defra) is giving a talk at the NBN Trust Annual Conference in Bristol (20 November 2025) entitled “From Observation to Action: Using iNaturalist to help Monitor and Elevate Plant Health Awareness in the UK”.

June 2025

APHA won a gold medal and Best GreenSTEM exhibit at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2025 with their exhibit “Colorado Beetle – a threat to our food security”.  Okay it’s not a tree pest but the principles and messages are relevant to trees.

Research

  • The GB Non-native Species Secretariat has conducted a horizon scanning exercise in 2025 to identify the top 20 non-native species likely to become invasive in Britain over the next ten years. Tree pests and pathogens feature heavily in the list.
  • This is a bit whacky and again it’s potatoes and not trees, but the approach is innovative enough to warrant a mention here. As part of the PataFEST project (an EU-funded in Germany on the Early Detection, Surveillance, and Solutions to Potato Plant Diseases), the European Citizen Science Association (ECSA) is inviting urban gardeners from the Berlin area to bring in their potato leaves for a DNA extraction and PCR-sequencing to learn whether the variety is resistant to certain diseases. Test your potatoes: Join PataFEST during the Long Night of Science  I wonder what tree health issues might be amenable to such an approach?

Surveillance and intelligence

  • Phytophthora ramorum is no longer present in Portugal. In Portugal, Phytophthora ramorum was detected for the first time on Viburnum spp. in 2006. The last confirmed report of P. ramorum was in 2013. Officials in Portugal now report that no detections of P. ramorum have been made in Portugal during annual surveys since 2013 and the pest is officially declared as: “Absent, confirmed by survey”.

 

May 2025

Research

Policy

Surveillance and intelligence

  • The Forest Health Citizen Science Community looks like a useful kindred organisation in the Pacific North West of the USA. There are loads of useful links to projects and papers and
  • 23 May 2025 is Taxonomy Recognition Day.  TETTRIs (Transforming European Taxonomy through Training, Research and Innovations) is asking everyone to join the “Name it to save it Movement” by:
    • 📸 Take a photo of a plant, animal, or fungus, that fascinates you.
      🔤 Find its scientific name (or ask for help—we’re here for that!).
      📲 Share it on social media with the hashtag #NameItToSaveIt.

April 2025

 

Research

Policy

  • Read Australia CSIRO’s excellent summary of their system to alert biosecurity authorities when observations of invasive pests and weeds in the environment are uploaded to the Atlas of Living Australia Why citizen scientists are key in the fight against invasive species – CSIRO… and yes, tree pests and diseases are invasive alien species
  • New Zealand: New Zealand also have an app to report suspect sightings of potential quarantine pests Find-A-Pest
  • Plant Health Test Project on iNaturalist I came across this on iNaturalist.  It’s states “This is a bit of a test project to help explore how to capture potential sightings of quarantine pests with iNaturalist”

Surveillance and intelligence

  • Hornbeam Decline (Cryphonectria carpinicola) has now been reported for the first time in France. In June 2021 and later in June 2024, C. carpinicola was detected in two forest stands located in north-eastern France (Bourgogne- Franche-Comté region).  In both locations, the pathogen was found in drought stressed hornbeam stands, confirming it behaves rather as a weak pathogen and does not appear to be a primary pathogen. Both infested stands had 5 to 10% dead or severely declining (i.e. trees with more than 50% of dead branches) hornbeam trees. (Source: EPPO)
  • April 2025 is Citizen Science Month.  Check-out the European Citizen Science Association (ECSA) website for further details, including the Sci-Starter project
  • RHS are using a Citizen Science approach to record fungi at Wisley (using iNaturalist) and for various plant health surveys (using RHS webpages) including:

March 2025

Research

  • The Bacterial Plant Diseases Programme, which is coming to an end, have published the outcomes of the programme
  • Two THCSN members, Coventry University and CEH, are partners in a new EU Horizon-funded project OneSTOP which will trial a “garden sentinel network” for private gardens for invasive plants and invertebrates

Policy

  • Defra has launched a new service Check plant health information and import rules – for people to find out the rules, and the pest or disease risks for importing plants, plant products or seeds to Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) for commercial use
  • Scottish Government has published the Scottish Plant Health Strategy 2024-2029 which includes a commitment to “ engage with stakeholders to develop initiatives for surveillance and reporting, for example Observatree, Tree Alert and possible networks of amateur gardeners”

Surveillance and intelligence

  • Tremap and Heathrow are partnering to tackle an ambitious task – to map the location of every remaining black poplar in the UK
  • EPPO have published their latest newsletter on surveillance, monitoring, and control of the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis)
  • EPPO has issued an Alert for hornbeam decline (Cryphonectria carpinicola) which has recently been found for the first time in the UK, at five sites in south-east England where it is associated with dieback of mature hornbeam trees

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