Chris is an advocate of ‘soft power’ – encouragement and persuasion in partnership with local communities. He has pioneered innovative ways for local authorities to work with the community to encourage wider participation in the protection of trees and landscape, thereby giving the work of the Local Planning Authority greater legitimacy.

In his time at Epping Forest District Council, Chris launched a number of ‘soft power’ projects in collaboration with local tree wardens, parish councils and communities, including Landmark Trees, Favourite Trees and Community Tree Strategies.

Read the Theydon Bois Community Tree Strategy

Read the Loughton Community Tree Strategy

Read the Ongar Community Tree Strategy

In 2012, Chris wrote an article for Save Our Woods summing up some of these community-led strategies and their impact in the District. Chris has also written about the importance of engaging communities for successful tree management for the Institute of Chartered Foresters blog, and presented at their Trees, People and the Built Environment II conference (2014) on the importance and effectiveness of community engagement in local authority policy and practice , alongside Ian McDermott and Rupert Bentley-Walls.

In 2020, Chris gave a keynote presentation at the Ontario Urban Forest Council’s virtual summit, which focused on cultivating and protecting our green legacy. Chris reflected on his experience of using soft power as a means of protecting trees.