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At the end of Day 2 of our Big Tree Measure on Saturday, one of our citizen science volunteers said that "it was wonderful to be with such a fabulous bunch of people doing something so ridiculous."
This has really got us thinking about both fabulous and ridiculous.
Every year for five years, The Carbon Community has brought together citizen science volunteers to measure trees in the Glandwr Forest Carbon Study. Designed by leading scientists, this is a groundbreaking, long-term research project looking at the impact of enhanced rock weathering and soil microbiome inoculation on carbon sequestration in trees and soil. Spread across 11.5 hectares, there are 72 test cells and 25,600 trees involved in the study. Six thousand four hundred of these trees have individual bar-codes, and these are the ones we measure every year.
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It is fabulous that we have reached the five-year mark for this project. Even more fabulous is the people who join us to measure the trees. Some are able to join us once, some join us once every year, and some join us for multiple days every year! Hundreds of person days have been contributed to measuring trees, checking tags and maintaining the on-the-ground integrity of this research.
This is absolutely fabulous! What could be considered ridiculous is the number of flapjacks, gallons of soup, cups of tea and packets of crisps that have been consumed!
And then there is the weather. Sometimes the sun shines and the views are glorious. This year, the weather had other plans.
Day 1, it poured, which was no match for the enthusiasm of the volunteers from both SAP and the Office of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, who pushed to measure an epic 800 trees before the winds picked up, and it was time to stop. This was a tree measure day for the history books, thank you.
It is fabulous to meet people who match our ridiculous enthusiasm for being absolutely soaking wet!
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Day 2 also had a soggy start. Wet weather makes everything more challenging, digital measuring tools stop working and the handhelds used to scan bar codes and record data are challenging to operate. Imagine operating a supermarket scanner on a barcode in the pouring rain, one hundred times in row. It all starts to feel a bit ridiculous, but it is possible!
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"I love visiting the project at The Carbon Community - it's a break away from reality! I have visited in glorious sunshine and in torrential rain - it's an enjoyable experience whatever the weather thanks to the knowledge and kindness of the trustees, supervisors and other volunteers." Community science volunteer, Big Tree Measure 2025
Every year, people join us to spend time in the forest. There is camaraderie and plenty of laughter, along with the knowledge that the effort is making a valuable contribution to environmental research.
2025 is an important year.
“The Glandwr Forest Carbon Study has been a genuine collaboration between the scientists working on the project, The Carbon Community, and the citizen science volunteers. 2025 marks the fifth year of the project, and a significant scientific milestone. At last, enough time has elapsed for us to rigorously quantify changes in carbon held below ground - in the roots and in the soil. When we combine these data with the tree measurements you are collecting right now, we will obtain the first holistic picture of how our treatments are impacting ecosystem carbon capture.” Bonnie Waring, Associate Professor, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London
Citizen scientists, the effort you are making right now is truly fabulous.
The weather for the week is looking brighter.
More flapjacks are on order.
Join us.
Big Tree Measure 2025
📍 The Carbon Community, Llandovery, Wales
🗓 7th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th October
🕙 10 am – 4 pm
📏 Training, tools, lunch and snacks provided
If you are able to join us head to CarbonComEvents for more information!
