Student intern: Hannah Maryam Jamil (Biology)
Supervisors: Iain Matthews (School of Biology), Alistair Rider (School of Art History), Harry Watkins (St Andrews Botanic Gardens)
Summary
This project aimed to provide short written profiles of approximately thirty notable trees around St Andrews. The output is an attractively illustrated booklet that provides illustration both visually and through storytelling of these trees, with a location map and ‘what3words’ locator. Details identify species and illustrate the diversity of trees that can be found in one compact civic environment, including both native and non-native species. Presenting the trees grouped by street location helps interested people to plan walks. The descriptions for the trees combine particular histories, species information, and notes their contribution to the local environment. We have also noted where an individual tree is co-located in a plantation context with other trees, creating an arboreal community. Our aim was to provide a resource that could help these trees to be noticed and appreciated. Follow up action would be a) further distribution of the booklet, and b) an information drive that would get the book into specific user communities and track uses and response.
