Tree Safety Training — Estates, Grounds & Facilities Staff
Urban Tree Management provides bespoke tree safety awareness training for estates managers, grounds staff, greenkeepers, facilities teams, housing association staff, and anyone with day-to-day responsibility for trees on their employer's land.
Our training is designed around the National Tree Safety Group's second edition guidance — Common Sense Risk Management of Trees — and is delivered on site at your premises by a Level 6 qualified, Lantra PTI certified arboricultural consultant with over 15 years of professional experience.
Why Tree Safety Training Matters
The NTSG was formed in response to growing concern about the unnecessary removal of trees from our streets and landscapes, and its guidance is now the nationally recognised standard for tree safety management in the UK. Its central principle is that tree risk management should be balanced and proportionate — and that this can only work if the people responsible for trees on a day-to-day basis have a clear understanding of what they need to look for and when to call in a professional. urbantreemanagement
Research commissioned by the NTSG demonstrates that the overall risk to the public from falling trees is extremely low — representing about a one in 10 million chance of an individual being killed by a falling tree in any given year. Fear of litigation is leading many landowners to remove trees unnecessarily — and the best defence against both unnecessary removal and genuine liability is a well-trained team that knows what to look for, records what they find, and knows when to escalate to a qualified arboricultural consultant
What the NTSG Says About Staff Training
The NTSG guidance identifies two levels of tree inspection — informal monitoring and formal inspection. Formal inspections must be carried out by a competent arboricultural professional. But the NTSG is clear that informal monitoring — the regular visual observation of trees by estates staff, grounds teams, and facilities managers going about their normal duties — is a legitimate and important part of a proportionate tree risk management programme.
For informal monitoring to work the people carrying it out need to know what obvious defects look like, how to record what they observe, and what to do when they see something that concerns them. This is exactly what Urban Tree Management's tree safety awareness training provides — giving your staff the knowledge to monitor trees proportionately and confidently, and the judgment to know when to pick up the phone to a professional.
What Our Training Covers
Urban Tree Management's tree safety awareness training is delivered as a half-day or full-day session at your premises and covers the following:
- Understanding tree risk in context — what the NTSG guidance says about proportionate tree risk management, what the actual statistical risk from trees is, and why a balanced approach protects both people and trees
- Basic tree biology — how trees grow, how they respond to damage and disease, and why understanding tree biology helps staff identify genuine concerns from normal tree behaviour
- Recognising obvious defects — the signs that should prompt further investigation including fungal brackets and fruiting bodies, crown dieback, deadwood, stem cracks and splits, leaning, root heave, bark damage, and signs of subsidence or soil change around the base
- The difference between informal monitoring and formal inspection — what your staff can reasonably be expected to identify and report, and when a qualified arboricultural consultant needs to be called in
- Recording and reporting — how to record observations in a way that contributes to your organisation's audit trail of tree safety management, and what information a professional needs when you make a referral
- Your organisation's duty of care — a plain English explanation of landowner liability under the Occupiers Liability Acts 1957 and 1984, what constitutes reasonable and proportionate tree management, and how a trained team and a professional inspection programme together provide the best possible legal protection
- Site walkover — a practical session on your own site applying the learning from the classroom session to real trees on your land, with the trainer pointing out examples of the defects and features covered in the theory session
Who Is This Training For?
Urban Tree Management's tree safety awareness training is designed for staff in the following roles:
- Estates managers and estate workers on historic properties, country house hotels, and private estates who have regular contact with trees across their site.
- Grounds staff and greenkeepers at golf courses, sports grounds, and leisure facilities who work in and around trees as part of their normal duties.
- Facilities managers and maintenance teams at business parks, corporate campuses, and commercial estates responsible for the grounds and external environment.
- Housing association and registered provider estate managers and maintenance coordinators responsible for communal grounds across residential portfolios.
- School business managers, site managers, and grounds staff at schools, academies, and multi-academy trusts. Care home managers and facilities staff at care homes, hospitals, and healthcare estates.
- Local authority parks and open spaces staff responsible for monitoring tree populations in public parks and green spaces.
Bespoke Training for Your Organisation
Every training session Urban Tree Management delivers is tailored to your specific organisation, your site, and the role your staff play in your tree safety management programme. We do not deliver generic off-the-shelf training courses — we design each session around the trees on your land, the defects and issues relevant to your tree population, and the recording and reporting systems your organisation uses.
Where your organisation already has a tree risk management programme in place — whether delivered by Urban Tree Management or another consultant — we align the training with your existing inspection records, works schedules, and reporting procedures so that your staff understand how their day-to-day observations feed into the wider programme.
Combining Training With a Tree Survey
Many organisations commission tree safety awareness training alongside their annual or cyclical tree inspection — combining the formal inspection by Urban Tree Management with a half-day training session for grounds staff on the same day. This approach is cost-effective, maximises the value of the site visit, and ensures your team understands the findings of the inspection and what to look out for in the period before the next formal survey.
FAQ
Does tree safety training count as formal tree inspection under NTSG guidance?
No — the NTSG is clear that formal tree inspections must be carried out by a competent arboricultural professional. Tree safety awareness training equips staff to carry out informal monitoring — the regular visual observation of trees that complements formal inspection but does not replace it.
How long does a training session take?
Urban Tree Management delivers half-day and full-day training sessions depending on the size of your team and site. A half-day session typically covers the theory and a short site walkover. A full-day session allows more time on the practical elements and is recommended for larger sites or teams with no previous tree safety awareness training.
Can training be delivered on our site?
Yes — all Urban Tree Management training is delivered on site at your premises. The practical site walkover element uses your own trees, which is significantly more relevant and useful for your staff than a generic training location.
How many staff can attend a session?
Training sessions are most effective with groups of up to 12 staff. Larger groups can be accommodated by splitting into two sessions across a full day. Contact us to discuss the most appropriate format for your team.
Do staff receive a certificate?
Yes — all staff attending Urban Tree Management tree safety awareness training receive a certificate of attendance confirming the topics covered, the date of training, and the trainer's qualifications. This forms part of your organisation's evidence of proportionate tree safety management.
Tree Safety Awareness Training — North West & Nationwide
Urban Tree Management provides bespoke tree safety awareness training for estates, grounds, and facilities teams across the North West and nationally — delivered on site by a Level 6 qualified, Lantra PTI certified arboricultural consultant with over 15 years of professional experience.
Get in contact with our highly experienced and personable team of arboriculturists today, to discuss your training requirements and to obtain your zero obligation quotation.
