Forestry Journal:

This piece is an extract from our A View from the Forest (previously Forestry Features) newsletter, which is emailed out at 4PM every Wednesday with a round-up of the week's top stories. 

To receive our full, free newsletter straight to your email inbox, click here.

WITH haunting howls and Old Testament fury, storms Isha and Jocelyn tore through the UK and Ireland this week, bringing with them winds of nearly 100 mph. And, as ever, in the hours that followed it was the foresters and arborists who could be found braving the conditions to begin the long clear up. 

As the public came to terms with travel disruption, power loss, and blown-away wheelie bins, it didn't take long for pictures and videos to emerge of tree workers doing their bit to get the country running again. By now, the worst of it appears to have passed, but it will days, maybe even weeks, until they can stand down and fully relax. 

WANT MORE ON THE RECENT STORMS? 

As for the wider picture, initial reports suggest the damage wrought by the storms pales in comparison to that of 2021's Arwen, in which 12,000 hectares of tree loss occurred across Great Britain. 

Forestry Journal:

While it could take some time before the full extent of Isha and Jocelyn's impact is known, Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), Forestry England, and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) have all told Forestry Journal that any flooding and windblow were restricted to small pockets across the country.

Grizedale and Whinlatter, both in north-west England, were among the worst hit, with Scotland's south also reeling in the aftermath. At the time of writing, a number of public woodlands in Northern Ireland remain shut. 

Elsewhere, several trees made famous by Game of Thrones – Co Antrim's Dark Hedges – were lost to the storms. 

Forestry Journal: Trees across the UK and Ireland have been brought down by Storm Isha, including some of the Dark

If ever it were needed, these storms served as another reminder of just how important the roles of foresters and arborists are. Trees can be dangerous at the best of times. At the worst, they can be deadly (one tree worker lost their life last month when they were hit by a stem), and it's likely there will be scores of them hanging by a thread in the wake of Isha and Jocelyn. 

So just remember to thank the guys and girls with the chainsaws when the storms clear and it's safe to return to the forests.