Chris is a husband and father, a traveller, trained teacher and arboriculturist. He has been a tree surgeon- for 8 years, works manager, tree officer and -for the greater part of his career- landscape officer, with responsibility for tree protection and landscape issues for Epping Forest District Council. The district of Epping Forest is situated immediately north east of London, within the county of Essex, U.K. 

Having qualified as a teacher at Brighton College of Education (now part of Brighton University) and taught for a year in Hove, Chris left to travel overland to India, via Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan. Seeing the Buddhas of Bamyan- before their destruction by the Taliban, and staying as a pilgrim in the Golden Temple in Amritsar were highlights for him. Chris worked as a volunteer archaeologist, before answering a advertisement for a “trainee tree climber”, for RP Denton & Co, in Colchester, where he worked for 5 years, becoming lead tree climber and “site manager”. Paul Denton sponsored a year’s part time study at Capel Manor College, for craft qualifications, and the City and Guilds Certificate in Arboriculture. He then worked as Arboricultural Chargehand for Slough Borough Council. The much shorter hours allowed him to self-tutor for his professional qualification, then known as the RFS National Diploma in Arboriculture, which he passed in 1986. He was a long standing Fellow of the Arboricultural Association, and is now a Chartered Arboriculturist and member of the Institute of Chartered Foresters.

Chris is the creator of CAVAT, a system for valuing amenity trees. He has taught and spoken widely about the CAVAT system across the UK and abroad and is available for in-person and virtual training.

Chris is an advocate of ‘soft power‘ and pioneered innovative ways for local authorities to work with the community as allies to encourage wider participation in the protection of trees and landscape, thereby giving the work of the Local Planning Authority greater legitimacy.

Chris lives with his wife, Carolyn, in West Wales.