'Frankenstein trees': How an experiment bolting bits of dead trees together could boost conservation efforts
These ‘standing dead’ will hopefully soon take on new life 🧟
- A series of so-called ‘Frankenstein trees’ have been erected at a woodland creation site
- They’re made of cobbled-together branches and felled trunks
- But they may soon burst into life, supporting species as diverse as sparrowhawks and beetles
Halloween is here, and in one English woodland, there’s something especially spooky going on.
The Woodland Trust recently hauled a collection of lumbering so-called ‘Frankenstein trees’ from Kingsettle Wood in Dorset, all the way to the Yonder Oak woodland creation site in Devon – where they’re working to create a new 50-hectare home for some of the country’s most threatened wildlife.
All going to plan, the experiment will see the currently dead trunks take on new life, effectively becoming undead. They’ll help support many of those very same vulnerable species, in what could later serve as a blueprint for future conservation projects elsewhere.
But what exactly are the Frankenstein trees, and how could these cobbled-together branches and bolts actually help out wildlife? Here’s what you need to know:
What are ‘Frankenstein trees?’
The Woodland Trust said that the “monstrous” experiments were born when arborists were using felled tree trunks to practise chainsaw veteranisation techniques. These are normally carried out on younger living trees, mimicking natural damage they would usually sustain over time to prematurely create decay-like features. This helps to speed up the development of what are actually incredibly valuable habitats, ones which would usually only be found on ancient trees.
It struck them that the resulting creations would make the perfect standing deadwood for wildlife if they hoisted it upright – and embellished it with extra branches and features. The Trust said they would then be deeply circled with thick brash and thorny bushes, to make sure that only wildlife could reach them once Yonder Oak re-opened to the public.
The literal nuts and bolts of the project were supplied by Screwfix, who have also contributed £100 thousand over the past two years to managing the Kingsettle Wood site near their head office. Commercial director Matt Compton said that they loved the “ingenious” project.
“We’re delighted that our funding for ancient woodland restoration has supported the installation of the ‘Frankenstein Trees’ – creating sustainable, natural solutions to a biodiversity challenge,” he added. “Not just that, but we’ve been able to provide some equipment to bring these creations to life too.”
How exactly do they help nature?
Sam Hamer, the Woodland Trust’s site manager, said that deadwood can create habitat for wildlife. “Standing deadwood like this is even more special, because it is drier than most deadwood and has become rare in British woodlands.
“By bolting on extra branches from other dead trees and then slashing them with chainsaws to create nooks and crannies, we are encouraging birds, bats, beetles, fungi and many more creatures and organisms to make their homes here,” he continued. “We hope that when the tree saplings we’ve planted at Yonder Oak are fully grown trees, there will already be a healthy ecosystem around them to help the woodland thrive.”
Not only that, but where the trees had been ‘planted’ is significant too. The Trust said they were set up along the flight path of barn owls, sparrowhawks and kestrels – and the birds of prey found them to be a perfect alternative to traditional raptor posts, where they can safely perch whilst hunting.
Trees are important to people, as well as to nature. Check out our coverage of this year’s UK Tree of the Year winner – to find out just how significant these long-standing giants can be to our communities.