Euan’s first developed his passion for trees as he padded around the understory of bluebell woods in south-east Kent. At the age of six, when a hurricane tore through his village damaging hundreds of trees (including the largest lateral branch from his beloved garden climbing tree), he felt moved to raise the grand sum of £4.17 by collecting money for the cause he badged as “Tree Aid”. To this day, no-one knows what happened to the funds, though it is suspected that they funded a few oak seedlings. Fortunately, Euan’s budgetary accountability and project management skills have improved since 1987.
Euan’s undergraduate thesis (BSc (Hons) Forest and Woodland Management, National School of Forestry, Newton Rigg) focused on the spiritual influence of trees and forests in contemporary society, and his LL.M Environmental Law (University of Nottingham) thesis was titled, “Can trees develop personhood?” Euan’s Ph.D thesis (University of Aberdeen) was titled, “Walking the land: developing an ecosystem approach through the lens of woodland expansion on private estates.”
As well as various arboricultural jobs, Euan’s roles have included working as an agroforestry assistant in Portugal, managing nut and fruit trees, harvesting almonds, olives and cork; working as a community forest restoration and volunteer co-ordinator in Parque Nuevo Juventud, Guatemala; working as an urban forest manager, with responsibility for restoration, education and community outreach, for Trees Atlanta, and; working as a research assistant in Costa Rica, tracking white-faced capuchin monkeys to observe inherited maternal behaviour and its impact on stress levels.
Euan currently works at UHI Inverness and the Scottish School of Forestry, and is a member of the Institute of Biodiversity and Fresh Water Conservation. He focusses on interdisciplinary research in forest and tree management, exploring their impact on people and educating and training the next generation of foresters, as well as developing relevant and innovative approaches to developing the curriculum and connecting people with forestry careers. Euan’s priority research areas include social aspects of forestry and land management; forest and tree health; climate-smart forestry; forest education, and; working with elm, specifically identifying healthy elms surviving in the landscape with potential resilience to Dutch elm disease.