by Milly Bell | Nov 24, 2025 | Blog, Intern Blog, PhD Blog
PhD student, and former intern with the Centre for Forest Protection, Phoebe Swift tells us about her route into a career in tree genomics… Where it began… Having grown up in the rural Cotswolds, I have always been surrounded by nature – from dense...
by Milly Bell | Oct 7, 2025 | Blog, PhD Blog
As an evergreen tree, the yew is symbolic of everlasting life and rebirth. It was held sacred by Druids in pre-Christian times, and came to symbolise death and resurrection for the ancient Celts which continued into the Christian era; yew branches were carried on Palm...
by Louise Gathercole | Nov 25, 2024 | Blog, PhD Blog
My name is Fritha, a PhD student with the Centre for Forest Protection. I’m based at the University of St Andrews and I work with colleagues at Forest Research. Working with me for six months is our research intern Jack. We work on mapping values,...
by Louise Gathercole | May 8, 2024 | Blog, PhD Blog
Louise Gathercole and Jiaqi Wei Our Coordinator caught up with Centre for Forest Protection PhD student Jiaqi Wei, who is working on the potential threats to UK trees of Xylella bacterial infections. How did you become interested in plant health? In London, I grew up...
by Louise Gathercole | Jan 4, 2024 | Blog, PhD Blog
Squirrel damage and woodland health The damage that mammals cause to trees is a serious threat to woodland health. Since the eastern grey squirrel was introduced to Britain in the late 19th century, they have caused extensive damage to trees through their...
