Owen Charles Johnson has spent the last twenty years studying and recording over 60,000 trees around Britain, and has developed skills in field identification. He grew up in

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

near Alexandra Park.Guinness, Bunny (2011)
Champion trees of Britain and Ireland
, ''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'', 2 August 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2013 He graduated from

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

in 1988 with a degree in English Literature. He completed a doctorate on the poetry of

Ted Hughes Edward James "Ted" Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest wri ...

. He is a Registrar at the Tree Register where he has compiled and written ''Champion Trees of Britain and Ireland'' (2003), ''The Sussex Tree Book'' (1998), and the ''Collins Tree Guide'', with illustrations by

David More David More (born 1954) is a Scottish botanical illustrator. More was born in Dingwall and educated in Kent. He has been a botanical illustrator for many years. Books he has illustrated include ''Collins GEM Trees'' (1980), ''Trees of North Ameri ...

.Treespotting
, ''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publishe ...

'', 19 June 2004. Retrieved 19 November 2013 As a naturalist, he manages a Local Nature Reserve near his home in St Leonards for the Sussex Wildlife Trust. He has also served as a volunteer leader for

The Conservation Volunteers The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) is a British community volunteering charity focused on environmental conservation through practical tasks undertaken by volunteers. Until 1 May 2012, it traded as BTCV – British Trust for Conservation Volunte ...

's weekly conservation tasks since 1995. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the

2019 New Year Honours The 2019 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to the Environment. In 2020 he was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal by the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

References

British naturalists British dendrologists British science writers Living people English foresters Forestry researchers Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) 20th-century British botanists 21st-century British botanists 20th-century English writers 21st-century English writers Alumni of St Chad's College, Durham Members of the Order of the British Empire Veitch Memorial Medal recipients {{forestry-researcher-stub