Westerleigh Group has taken a significant step towards safeguarding its living memorial and tree collection by using industry-leading software.

The Group is one of the UK’s largest independent owners and operators of cemeteries and crematoria, with 40 sites in England, Scotland, and Wales, all set within beautifully landscaped gardens of remembrance which provide peaceful places for people to visit and reflect.

It has trained all its grounds team leaders in TreeKeeper, software which tracks tree data, assessing health metrics, visualising information and planning maintenance.

With the team all trained, the group will now embark on accurately mapping all the trees located at all its sites.

Westerleigh Group is believed to be the first in the bereavement sector to undertake such a project, which is part of its commitment to operating a greener, cleaner business.

Giles Palmer, Head of Grounds at Westerleigh Group, said: “Accurately mapping the trees located across all our sites in England, Scotland and Wales is the first step in our journey to measure the ecosystem services our tree collection provides.

“This makes us more resilient to future pest and disease threats, as well as the impacts of climate change.

“Our ultimate goal is to ensure that our tree collection remains robust and healthy for the bereaved families who visit our sites, as well as for the wide variety of wildlife which call our gardens and landscapes home.”

The mapping can also be used to provide additional services to bereaved families, too.

Giles said: “There could be a family who have planted a memorial tree to a loved one at one of our crematoria, but the family then relocates to the other side of the world.

“Using the TreeKeeper software will enable us to provide families with regular visual updates of their trees, so even though they are unable to regularly visit our site, they can see the memorial to their loved one continue to grow and can take comfort from that.”

TreeKeeper has been developed by Davey Resource Group Inc and is the leading tree inventory software in the US. It has recently been adapted for the UK market and is supplied in the UK by Treeconomics, a company which uses the best available science to understand how trees enrich our urban spaces.

Treeconomics provide data-driven evidence, strategies and tools to help their clients and communities build and maintain diverse, equitable, resilient and healthy urban forests.

Katie Screech, an Urban Forest Technician at Treeconomics, said: "We're delighted to supply TreeKeeper to Westerleigh Group, which manages a wide range of significant sites across the UK.

“By using software to manage and capture the benefits of trees, they can ensure that their memorial collection remains robust and healthy for the families who visit.

“Beyond their beauty and symbolism, trees provide essential ecosystem services - creating habitats for wildlife, improving air quality by filtering pollutants, helping mitigate climate change by storing carbon, and managing stormwater by reducing runoff and flooding.

“Equally important, the trees at Westerleigh create serene spaces that support reflection and remembrance.”

She added: “We're happy to support them in maintaining these special places of reflection for families and future generations.”