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The Association of Tree Officers (ATO)
Representing the views and concerns of tree officers nationwide -
The Association of Tree Officers (ATO)
Representing the views and concerns of tree officers nationwide
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Welcome to The Association of Tree Officers Website
The Association of Tree Officers (ATO) will promote, support and represent Tree Officers. Administrative control of ATO will be undertaken by the ATO Directors, supported by the National Co-ordinator, Becky Porter.
Latest News
NJUG has been updated, it is now called ‘Street Works UK Guidelines for the Planning, Installation and Maintenance of Utility Apparatus in Proximity to Trees’.
Street Works UK vol 4 guidance publications have been revised (Issue 3: 2026) – relating to anyone advising or designing for trees near utilities.
This replaces the previous 2007 issue 2 revision, previously referred to as NJUG Vol 4.
Summary of changes:
- Rebranded under Street Works UK (formerly NJUG).
- Strong emphasis on legal liability, environmental duty, climate change, and biodiversity.
- Greater focus on collaboration with Local Authority Arboriculturists (LAA) and use of Arboricultural Method Statements (AMS)
Documents available for download here
National Tree Officers Conference 2026 – Call for Presentations
Building on the success of ten previous events, we’re delighted to announce the National Tree Officers Conference will return on 4 November 2026!
Proudly hosted by the Association of Tree Officers (ATO), Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF), London Tree Officers Association (LTOA) and the Municipal Tree Officers’ Association (MTOA), the conference will take place in Sheffield, Yorkshire.
Developed for tree officers, National Tree Officers Conference 2026 is a great opportunity for tree, woodland and planning professionals to present to their peers on the latest research, best practice and innovation across a range of local authority arboricultural and urban forestry subjects.
We’re looking for presentation proposals relating to the following subject areas:
• Pests and diseases
• Planting and species selection
• Climate change mitigation/increasing resilience
• Planning and development
• Ancient/Veteran Tree management
• Biosecurity
• Emerging technologies (including AI)
• Public/stakeholder engagement
• Trees and the law
• Local authority tree management (including felling procedures, risk assessment and subsidence)
• Use of tree data for management, information and influence
• Extreme weather preparation and response
The above list is not exhaustive – we would welcome any subject of relevance to local authority tree management. Submitting your presentation idea couldn’t be easier – simply email a short description (100–150 words) of your proposed topic, along with a provisional title, to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Please use ‘NTOC 2026 presentation proposal – [Your Name]’ as the subject line for your email.
Submissions will be reviewed by the conference steering group with quality, relevance, the practical nature of the material and potential audience appeal as key assessment criteria.
The submission period for presentations is now open and will close on Friday 15 May. If you have any queries regarding the submission process, please contact Becky Porter, Executive Officer at the LTOA – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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