THE Future Trees Trust has announced the appointment of new research assistant Joe Beesley.

Joe will be supporting head of research Jo Clark in his role, which will consist of designing and analysing field trials, interpreting data and communicating the findings to a range of audiences.

Joe studied and graduated with a BSc and PhD in biochemistry at the University of Bristol before joining the charity.

Joe said: “I’m really excited to be joining Future Trees Trust and to be working with native tree species out in the field. I’m particularly interested in how we can use selective tree breeding to support ecological forestry and to provide resilience to climate change and tree disease. With my background in molecular genetics and disease, I hope I can bring new insights to our research approach.”

Future Trees Trust CEO Tim Rowland added: “We’re so pleased to welcome Joe to Future Trees Trust. Joe will make a huge difference to the scale, extent and scope of the work we carry out, and with his arrival we’ve moved up another gear. Joe joins us at an exciting time, as our work with the Living Ash Project, the PhD we’re fully funding into oak flowering and all our other broadleaved improvement projects mean that we’re committing more funds to our research than ever before.”