Ancient trees are declining in our modern landscape due to the pressures of modern living. They provide a very unique habitat for the particular flora and wildlife that depend on them. The conservation of ancient trees and the habitats they provide is seen as one of the cornerstones of conserving biodiversity.

​

Veteranisation is a process carried out to younger trees to increase the amount of dead wood like habitats which would otherwise only be found in very old (ancient) trees. The process creates hollows, dead areas within the tree trunk and increases sap flow to attract wildlife and help create thriving environments for protected or threatened species. The idea is to try and mimic nature using manual tools. The treatments should be relatively mild in character so that the tree survives, but adequate to create decaying wood habitat in living trees. In this way it may be possible to bridge any potential generation gaps which are commonplace in our modern landscape.

​

This process is suitable for any mature tree on which the wildlife benefit and biodiversity is wished to be increased. This may be a single specimen tree in a school, garden or churchyard, or a collection of suitable trees within a forest or nature reserve.