This week, permaculturist Steve Prescott talks to the Isle of Man Friends of the Earth’s Cat Turner about his specialist tree nursery, Manx Native Trees
Steve Prescott cares about the environment and nature. In particular, he cares about trees – a lot. This love for our woody pals has led him to become the owner of Manx Native Trees, a nursery based in the north of the island.
The project is one he’s taken over from Andrew ‘Mill’ Millichap. Originally, it focused specifically on Manx oaks (and was then known as the Native Oak Group). Mill’s vision, in part at least, was to preserve the genetic lineage of these wonderful trees.
To give some context as to how the native oak population arose, Steve explained their history to me – starting with the fact that at one time, our island was joined to England, and England to Europe, and therefore many of the species we have today crossed here after the last Ice Age.
Even though those species that crossed the ‘ice bridge’ to the Isle of Man may be the same as many found in England today, they’ve developed their own genetic characteristics through generations of adaptation to the local environment and their cohabitants here.
I wasn’t sure what this meant in practice, or why it mattered, so Steve explained.
He showed how, for example, imported sycamores can actually impair the local ecosystem here – quickly becoming invasive because they don’t have the natural predators that would have evolved along with them if they were indigenous.
More importantly, they also don’t contribute well to the local ecosystem: as he puts it, they don’t ‘mesh well into the local web of life’. Whilst they might look green and leafy, in terms of the biodiversity they support, they’re a virtual desert – contributing little that our fungi, micro-organisms and insect life need. This is in comparison to a Manx sessile oak, which will support a diverse and important array of life – all of itself interacting and contributing to the natural living community that has evolved here over time.
As part of the project, a seed orchard of native oaks grown from local acorns was established near to Kerrowkneale, with the aim of ensuring the continuance of these valuable contributors to the landscape. In time, the range of trees the project is concerned with has been added to, and the nursery now focuses on three main areas:
The Native Tree aspect: This absorbs about 80 pe cent of Steve’s time – mostly the patient and painstaking work of collecting seeds from native trees and growing them on.
Honorary natives: This includes trees such as small leaved lime, bird cherry, and field maple – trees that have been brought in to the island, but which aren’t invasive, interact beneficially with our indigenous species of plants and animals, and which would most likely have found their way to the island had the ice bridge from Europe lasted longer. This includes hedging varieties, with special attention to fruiting hedges for birds, insects and people.
Fruit trees: Including apples (Manx Codlin, Andrew Johnson), pears, plums, damsons and many more. Steve is passionate about this aspect of the nursery, given its obvious benefits in terms of the island’s food security, and with an emphasis on local heritage varieties, he’s also keen to spread the word about how successful these can be in local soil (it’s what they’re meant for, after all), their enhanced taste, vitamin and mineral content. England once had a great culture of producing different varieties of apples, each with their own characteristics, ripening periods and the ability – with proper storage – to have a mature supply to eat all year around – including now, in what’s often known as the ‘hungry gap’ as stored produce from last year runs out, and the new year’s food growth has yet to become abundant.
Steve grows and sells his trees on in three ways:
1) Root trainer grown (ie, in cells), which he recommends as the tap root is intact. A strong tap root can help keep the tree drought-resistant and wind resistant in its later life – generally, in better condition all round.
2) Bare rooted. These trees are cheaper, but as they’ve had to be dug from the ground run the risk of some damage to tap roots. While they may still grow strong and vigorous, there’s the danger that this disruption to the tap root will affect long term resilience.
3) Potted. Can be a good solution for those with limited space – or as yet undecided where to plant.
I asked Steve what his approach to this work is: his answer was that wherever possible, he observes what’s happening in nature and copies what he sees – this being the model the trees have evolved to flourish in.
He explained: ‘At Narradale or the Dhoon Glen, you’ll see the oaks and hazels are growing best on the south-facing slopes, with the hazels mostly hugging the edge of the woodland to avail themselves of more sunlight.
‘Nature’s telling us what we need to know. It’s just down to patient observation.’
So how does he achieve all this? I assumed that it would be fairly labour intensive, but Steve is a one-man band, albeit with the help of volunteers and the occasional workparty from his colleagues in the IoM Permaculture Association.
You’d think this would be enough work for anyone – but he has plans to establish a planting project in due course, with the focus on creating and restoring a section of native woodland each year. Key to the success of this will be identifying and gaining access to appropriate sites
Why does all this matter? One of the chief concerns about preserving our natural heritage of trees is a tendency for people to inadvertently import tree diseases when they buy from outside the island.
We can protect ourselves by buying locally seed-grown trees and being careful about the tree products we bring in to the island.
There are currently around 27 virulent tree diseases sweeping across England, practically all of them introduced from imported trees and shrubs. The British Government is trying to ban the import of sweet chestnut trees to stop chestnut blight killing off what is presently a large-ish population in the South of England –but it’s found a foothold. The first cases were quickly identified and dealt with last year.
Steve also anticipates that there’ll be a surge in chestnut demand to replace the dying ash, about which so much has already been written. As he puts it: ‘Just about every worthwhile tree is under threat from one disease/fungus or another.’
The nursery itself is a treat for the eyes – but not, at this stage at least, open to the public. However, interested folk can arrange to visit by contacting Steve on mnt@manx.net
If you’d like to know more, check out the website atmanxnativetrees.yolasite.com, or email him at mnt@manx.net
Better yet, come and talk to him at MNT’s forthcoming ‘open afternoon’ on April 27, at the Green Centre in Douglas (just by the entrance to the Iceland store). Steve will be available from 2pm to 4pm to give advice on planting local, productive trees and other varieties – and, of course, from around 10am to 4pm the Green Centre itself will be open, with members of IoM Friends of the Earth, the Manx Energy Advice Centre and Zero Waste Mann offering advice on a range of matters, from recycling through home insulation and energy, to supporting campaigns for change.
We’d love to see you there.
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