Become a Dutch Elm Disease Spotter
Help save our Elm trees! Brighton and Hove City Council is putting out an urgent request for help this year with Dutch Elm Disease (DED). Brighton & Hove is the home of the National Elm Collection, with over 17,000 specimens spread across the city. This year, DED infections started early with the mild temperatures experienced. The Elm Bark Beetle population are now actively feeding and breeding on local Elms.
Read about our Queens Park Elm Trees here
The beetles themselves are responsible for the spread of DED. Unfortunately, they often come into city via transportation and too often through logs bought for wood stoves. The main concern at the moment is to eradicate the dying elms from our city’s streets, gardens and open areas like parks, housing estates and cemeteries.
How you can help:
The Arboricultural Team of Brighton and Hove City Council is asking anyone who wants to help with DED spotting, to do so by emailing a photograph of the tree, a close up of the symptoms and a precise location, to Peter Bourne (National Elm Collection Volunteer Curator) at [email protected] Peter will verify the findings and pass them onto the City Council for attention.
How to tell if a tree is diseased:
• Symptoms start to show in early June and the disease season lasts until late September.
• Early infection signs include wilting and browning or yellowing of foliage, or a tree losing its leaves in early summer while nearby elms are still full and healthy looking.
For more detail on how to spot DED, please view or download the comprehensive DED Spotters Guide at the following link: Spotters Guide.
This guide has been produced by Peter Bourne (National Elm Collection Volunteer Curator). Peter can be contacted at [email protected] and is happy to respond to any questions.