Bartlett Tree Experts to build new research facility in Wokingham woodland
Bartlett Tree Experts have announced its intention to build a new arboretum and research facility in Spencers Wood, a village south of Reading in the Borough of Wokingham, Berkshire, England.
The new Bartlett Tree Experts Arboretum and UK Research Laboratory is expected to be operational in late 2025, with construction commencing this December.
The impacts of a warming climate have increased the risks of detrimental plant insects and diseases worldwide, posing significant risks to environmental sustainability and the health of trees.
From its founding by Francis A. Bartlett in 1907, with a focus on species-specific scientific
tree care and preservation, Bartlett Tree Experts has continually made investments to expand its research and educational capabilities in the field of arboriculture and urban forestry.
As a result, Bartlett Tree Experts has long been recognised as a leader in scientific tree care
solutions.
Bartlett’s new arboretum and laboratory will serve as a research and educational centre for Bartlett clients and arborists in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The laboratory building will include office, research, diagnostic, and lecture space.
Surrounding the laboratory, Bartlett’s arboretum will be a “living museum,” featuring spectacular environmentally tolerant collections of rare and unusual trees and other woody plants, woodland walking trails, and native wildlife habitats.
Enhancing the biodiversity of the site, the grounds will also provide testing plots for long-term
arboricultural research trials and study.
When completed, the 50-acre arboretum and research laboratory in Spencers Wood will complement the R.A. Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories & Arboretum in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States.
Bartlett’s Arboretum in Charlotte includes over 366 acres of tree and other woody plant collections and ongoing research trials; with expansive collections of over twenty six thousand accessioned plants in fourteen major groups.
The arboretum holds one of the largest collections of holly in the United States, along with
extensive collections of elm (Ulmus), crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia), maple (Acer), witch-hazel (Hamamelis), linden (Tilia), and boxwood (Buxus).
Jon Banks, Research Lab Manager for the UK Bartlett Tree Research Laboratory, said, “This is an exciting opportunity first imagined by Robert Bartlett Jr. to create an arboretum and research lab from the ground up.
"The arboretum and research laboratory will allow us to develop and demonstrate the latest in scientific tree care best practices. This is an exciting next step in the history of Bartlett Tree Experts, following on from the work of our founder, Francis A. Bartlett, in 1907.”
With unanimous approval recently granted from the Wokingham Borough Council planning committee, Bartlett is developing the project with a team of more than 20 Bartlett arborists, research scientists, architects, and specialty consultants, including Snug Architects – Architect, Harris Bugg Studio – Landscape Master Plan, and UBU – Landscape Architect.
The project reinforces operational Bartlett teams currently based in East Grinstead, Beaconsfield, Bedford, Cheltenham, Manchester, Bristol, Radlett, Sevenoaks,
York, Guildford, Chelmsford, New Forest and in Dublin.
