Ash dieback (ADB) is a devastating disease which is predicted to severely affect or kill over 90% of ash trees, dramatically impacting wooded landscapes across the UK - including here in Avon. It is a significant public and staff safety issue. The disease is caused by a fungus called Hymenoscyphus fraxineus which affects the vascular system of ash trees, inhibiting the tree’s ability to draw nutrients up into its upper branches. Ash trees are the third most common tree in Britain after oak and birch - there are 80 million of them in the UK.

We’re doing as much as we can to tackle this disease which is choking the life out of one of our most beloved UK trees. The loss of these trees would have such a detrimental effect on our local wildlife, from the ground up: Woodland floor wildflowers thrive on the sunlight which comes through their airy canopy, which supports butterflies and other pollinators, who are joined in the sky by bullfinches who eat the seeds from ash trees and woodpeckers, owls, redstarts and nuthatches, who all use them for nesting. We have to do everything we can to protect ash trees from this disease, but also ensure that those already impacted do not cause further damage.

Please donate today to help us manage the impact of this deadly disease.

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As well as wanting to do everything we can to ensure the biodiversity of our reserves, making sure our visitors are safe is at the absolute core our ash dieback work. We are doing this to keep you from danger. If we do not fell the ash trees which are at risk of falling into walkways and high traffic areas as soon as possible, we could be sitting on a ticking timebomb, waiting for a serious accident to happen. We want you to be able to get outside and enjoy our reserves, safe in the knowledge that we have done everything we can to keep you from harm. Our nature reserve teams will be undertaking a colossal programme of work over the coming months in order to achieve this.

The work we need to complete to mitigate the effects of ash dieback is expensive and time consuming. From surveying each and every one of our reserves to assess the impact of the disease, planning where we need to fell and where we’re able to allow trees to complete their natural lifecycle, to undertaking all of the land management tasks this creates to remove the diseased trees most likely to cause damage to our sites and to people. It’s a huge amount of necessary work which we absolutely need to do as responsible land managers, and to ensure that nature can recover. But it’s not going to be easy for us.

Anything you’re able to contribute to support this work will be so gratefully received. Here are some examples of what your money can do: