Helge Breloer née ''Martin'' (October 28, 1937 – April 23, 2011) was a German

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

, tree-appraisal expert, and author of nonfiction books.

Life and work

Helge Breloer was born in

Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach (, li, Jlabbach ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border. Geography Municipal subdivisions Since 2009, the territory of Mönchengladbac ...

. She was the daughter of Illa und Ernst J. Martin, both dentists and dendrologists and founders of the Sequoiafarm Kaldenkirchen. She had two brothers, the

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manageme ...

Reiner Martin and the author, editor and song composer

Erik Martin Erik Martin (12 January 1936 in Neuss – 25 April 2017) was a German writer, songwriter and composer of songs. He was the founder and editor of the literature and art magazine ''Muschelhaufen''. Life and work Erik Martin was the first-born son ...

. Breloer attended the ''School of Our Lady'' in Muelhausen at the

Lower Rhine The Lower Rhine (german: Niederrhein; kilometres 660 to 1,033 of the river Rhine) flows from Bonn, Germany, to the North Sea at Hook of Holland, Netherlands (including the Nederrijn or "Nether Rhine" within the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta); al ...

, Germany, and studied legal science in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

and

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. Breloer was an expert at

arboriculture Arboriculture () is the cultivation, management, and study of individual trees, shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants. The science of arboriculture studies how these plants grow and respond to cultural practices and to their environmen ...

, specialized in legal aspects and the appraisal of trees and shrubs. In these areas of expertise she was publicly appointed and sworn by the chamber of agriculture of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

from 1982 to 2009. From 2001 to 2008 she lectured Applied Science at the

University of Osnabrück A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

. From 1983 to 1993, Breloer worked with

expert witness An expert witness, particularly in common law countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, is a person whose opinion by virtue of education, training, certification, skills or experience, is accepted by the judge as ...

Werner Koch, who developed the first method for tree appraisal that was accepted by the

Federal Court of Justice of Germany The Federal Court of Justice (german: Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) is the highest court in the system of ordinary jurisdiction (''ordentliche Gerichtsbarkeit'') in Germany, founded in 1950. It has its seat in Karlsruhe with two panels being situat ...

. After his death in 1993 she continued their mutual work further using the ''Koch method'' which is recognized by jurisdiction as well as in practice. With Claus Mattheck, professor at the

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; german: Karlsruher Institut für Technologie) is a public research university in Karlsruhe, Germany. The institute is a national research center of the Helmholtz Association. KIT was created in 2009 w ...

, she worked on tree

failure analysis Failure analysis is the process of collecting and analyzing data to determine the cause of a failure, often with the goal of determining corrective actions or liability. According to Bloch and Geitner, ”machinery failures reveal a reaction chain o ...

. Breloer published numerous articles in horticultural and

silvicultural Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, and quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production. The name comes from the Latin ('forest') and ('growing'). The study of forests and wo ...

journals and is the author of the book and journal series ''Bäume und Recht'' (trees and the law). In addition, she focused on the protection of heritage trees, spoke publicly and published articles against

tree topping Tree topping is the practice of removing whole tops of trees or large branches and/or trunks from the tops of trees, leaving stubs or lateral branches that are too small to assume the role of a terminal leader. Other common names for the practice i ...

. Twice a year, she hosted a seminar called ''Round Table: trees and the law'' which was free of charge and open to beginners as well as experienced consulting

arborist An arborist, tree surgeon, or (less commonly) arboriculturist, is a professional in the practice of arboriculture, which is the cultivation, management, and study of individual trees, shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants in dendrolo ...

s, bringing them up-to-date on tree jurisdiction. She was the initiator of the "Baum-Zentrum", a "tree center" (training center) founded in

Tecklenburg Tecklenburg () is a town in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Its name comes from the ruined castle around which it was built. The town is situated on the Hermannsweg hiking trail. The coat of arms shows an anchor a ...

in 2006. Together with Frank Rinn, Breloer developed a simple as possible two-page form software for tree appraisal that helped many experts to determine the value of trees. Breloer was a lecturer at several workshops throughout Germany,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. She was continually engaged in the protection and preservation of trees, arguing against excessive safety requirements concerning the

road traffic safety Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures used to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, vehicle passengers, horse riders, and passengers of on-road ...

of trees.Marko Wäldchen: ''Helge Breloer war eine herausragende Leitfigur und Lehrerin''. In: ''Pro Baum''. Vol. 2/2011, p. 28 Breloer, mother of three children, died at Easter 2011 in

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

after suffering severe inner injuries caused by a riding accident.

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Selected works

* ''Eingriffe in den Wurzelbereich von Bäumen. Beweissicherung, Ursachenermittlung, Schadensberechnung'' (together with Werner Koch, Gregor Blauermel). SVK-Verlag. Wilndorf 1984. * ''Baumwert und Baumschutzsatzung. Wertermittlung einer Ahorngruppe im Geltungsbereich der Baumschutzsatzung'' (together with Werner Koch. SVK-Verlag. Wilnsdorf 1986. * ''Gewährleistung bei Pflanzarbeiten: Schäden an Bäumen durch unzureichende Bodenvorbereitung und nicht fachgerechte Pflanzung''. SVK-Verlag. Wilnsdorf 1986. * ''Wertermittlung von Bäumen und Sträuchern. Die vom Bundesgerichtshof anerkannte Methode Koch im Vergleich zu anderen Methoden''. SVK-Verlag. Wilnsdorf 1988. * ''Baum und Strauch im Nachbarrecht. Grenzabstände in den Landesgesetzen''. SVK-Verlag. Wilnsdorf 1988. * ''Verkehrssicherungspflicht bei Bäumen aus rechtlicher und fachlicher Sicht''. SVK-Verlag. Wilnsdorf 1989. * ''Handbuch der Schadenskunde von Bäumen. Der Baumbruch in Mechanik und Rechtsprechung'' (together with Claus Mattheck). Rombach. Freiburg/Breisgau 1993. * ''The body language of trees. A handbook for failure analysis''. Claus Mattheck/Helge Breloer. Research for Amenity trees No. 4, HMSO Publications Centre. London 1994. * ''Handboek Boomveiligheid. De boombreuk in mechanica en rechtsspraak''. Claus Mattheck/Helge Breloer. Pius Floris Produkties NL. Almere-Haven 1995. * ''Was ist mein Baum wert? Ein Ratgeber für Bürger''. Thalacker. Braunschweig 1995. * ''Aktualisierte Gehölzwerttabellen. Bäume und Sträucher als Grundstücksbestandteile an Straßen, in Parks und Gärten sowie in der freien Landschaft; einschließlich Obstgehölze'' (Author Werner Koch, modified by Helge Breloer). – Auszug – VVW. Karlsruhe 1997. * ''Bäume, Sträucher und Hecken im Nachbarrecht. Grenzabstände in den Landesgesetzen''. Thalacker-Medien. Braunschweig 1998. * ''La stabilità degli alberi. Fenomeni meccanici e implicazioni legali dei cedimenti degli alberi'' (by Claus Mattheck and Helge Breloer). Versione italiana a cura di: Coop. Demetra r.l. Trad.: Patrizia Gatti. Verde Ed. Milano 1998. * ''Grünflächen-Pflegemanagement. Dynamische Pflege von Grün. 45 Tabellen'' (Ed. Alfred Niesel). Ulmer. Stuttgart 2006.

References

External links

* (in Germany)
Official Website
(in Germany)
Helge Breloer: ''Bäume und Recht'' (Trees and the Law)''
(in Germany)
Methode Koch
(in Germany)
Hans-Joachim Schulz: ''Helge Breloer †''
(in Germany) {{DEFAULTSORT:Breloer, Helge 1937 births 2011 deaths Jurists from North Rhine-Westphalia German non-fiction writers Forestry academics

Life and work

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Selected works

References

Further reading

External links