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identifying trees in winter UK & Ireland
19 Dec

Identifying Trees in Winter: A Beginner’s Guide to Spotting Trees Without Leaves

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Yes, You Can Identify Trees in Winter!

I’ll be honest, when I first started learning to identify trees, winter felt like the hardest season to do it. Without leaves on the branches, trees can look like lifeless skeletons, and it’s easy to think that identifying them by species is impossible. But over time, as an outdoor educator, I’ve discovered that winter is actually one of the most rewarding times to develop tree ID skills. It really gets you looking closer at the details, and once you nail winter, identifying trees in summer becomes a breeze.

In this post, I’m going to share with you how I identify trees in winter, focusing on key seasonal features like bark, buds, leaf litter and tree form. I’ll also give you three practical examples to show how these techniques work in the field. And if you’re feeling inspired to learn more, I’ll invite you to join my free online course, Kickstart Your Tree ID Skills.

My Process for Identifying Trees in Winter

When I head outdoors in winter, I focus on four key features that trees display even when their leaves are long gone. Let me walk you through my approach:

1. Buds

Once I learned to recognise buds, a whole new world opened up. They’re like the fingerprints of trees—each species has a unique  combination of shape, colour, and size. It’s important to not look at the bud in isolation though but to consider the twig and most importantly, the arrangement of the buds on that twig. More on that later. Here’s some examples of buds that stand out:

  • Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) trees are easy to identify in winter with their striking large black buds, arranged in opposite pairs. The young twigs of ash are a grey/green colour. The terminal bud resembles a Phillips screwdriver head. Once you see it, you can’t un-see it.

 

  • Beech (Fagus sylvatica) buds are long, slender (more so than any other common tree bud), and pointed—almost like little cigars waiting to unfurl. The twig of beech is typically slender, with a grey bark.

 

  • Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) buds are huge! Noticeably larger than other common tree buds. They are arranged in opposite pairs and are sticky to the touch. Look below the buds on the twig and you’ll see what looks like a horseshoe. This is the leaf scar, left over when the leaf fell in autumn. It’s one way this tree got its name.

identifying trees in winter using buds2. Bark

Bark can be one of the easiest and most reliable clues in winter. I love the variety you can find—some bark is smooth, some deeply furrowed, and some even peels away. Not all trees have bark that stands out from the crowd though, there’s a lot of grey/brown furrowed bark out there. But here’s some examples of a few which really ping out to the eye:

  • Birch (Betula spp.) is one of my favourites to spot because of its bright, white, papery bark. There’s nothing else like it.

 

  • Wild Cherry (Prunus avium), when it’s mature, has a rich brown bark with a high glossy shine to it. Across the trunk you’ll see distinctive horizontal lines called lenticels. The bark also has a peeling quality to it a bit like birch.

 

  • Beech (Fagus sylvatica) trees live to a grand old age and what is distinctive about their bark is that it typically remains smooth and unifssured even in it’s veteran years when every other tree species around it has long since cracked up. This feature makes the beech an easy spot in winter.

3. Leaf Litter

Even if there are no leaves on the branches, the ground can tell you a lot. I always look for fallen leaves and other debris at the base of a tree. But heed this warning, leaf litter is most reliable when the tree is isolated. If the tree is surrounded by many others, say in a woodland setting, then how can you be sure that the leaves you’re looking at belong to the tree above? So, if I’m not looking at an isolated tree, I tend to use leaf litter to re-enforce the conclusion I’m coming to from already having looked at the buds, twigs and bark. Saying that. here’s some distinctive leaf shapes to look out for on the ground:

  • Oak (Quercus spp.) leaves, with their lobed edges, are usually unmistakable. It’s a shape that appears in so much iconography that most of us know it inside out. The good news is that oak leaves have a high tannin content in them so they are well preserved through the winter for you to find.

 

  • Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) needles can be found anytime of the year below the tree. They will have browned off form their deep green colour, but what you’re looking for are needles which are joined at their base in pairs. Remember “Is it’s a pair, it’s a pine.” Needle length around 5-7cm is typical. This is a great way to spot our only native pine species without having to climb those tricky limbs.

 

  • Wild Service Tree (Sorbus torminalis) is a native species that most people haven’t heard of. It’s fairly rare, preferring ancient woodland sites. But it’s leaf litter is highly distinctive as it doesn’t look like anything else out there. Imagine a maple leaf (think of the Canadian flag) with 5 pointed lobes, but then it’s been put on a rack and stretched out, elongated. In Autumn time they can be a bright firey red colour.

 

identifying trees in winter using leaf litter4. Tree Form

I always take a step back and look at the overall shape of the tree, its “posture,” if you will. In winter, there are some trees which have a very distinctive outline and it’s worth knowing these:

  • Look at the outer branches of an ash (Fraxinus excelsior) tree and you’ll see they are smooth, upswept and with distinctive buds and twigs in opposite pairs. To me, the tips of the branches resemble a devil’s pitchfork. Look out for this.

 

  • Silver Birch (Betula pendula) trees have a habit of being pendulous toward their branch tips. You’ll notice that the end of the branches droop down, sometimes dramatically so, toward the ground and ending in very fine twigs, looking almost like hair swaying in the breeze. This is also a good feature to know as it helps you distinguish this species from other birch trees.

 

  • Hazel (Corylus avellana) is never a big tall tree. It’s a short shrubby tree that typically grows many stems from it’s base, shooting straight, long and upward to the sky. These multiple stems are often densely packed and made up of thicker and thinner shoots from several years of growth.

identifying trees in winter using form and shape

The Three Steps I Use to Identify Any Tree

Over the years, I’ve developed a simple three-step process that helps me identify trees, no matter the season:

STEP 1: Look at the Tree in Context
Take a moment to tune into your surroundings. I always consider where the tree is growing. Is it in a hedgerow, woodland, or near water? For example, alder and willow trees love wet habitats, while rowan is more common in upland areas. The more you practise your tree identification, the more this habit becomes useful as you ask “what do I expect to see in this environment?”

STEP 2: Begin With A Branch

Rather than getting overwhelmed, break the tree down into parts. I focus on one feature at a time starting with the a young healthy branch. Everything you need to know to identify the species is here in the buds, the twig and any withered fruits that be still hanging on. Once you’ve had a good look here, look closer at the other features such as bark, leaf litter or the overall form. Winter is perfect for this, as these features are more prominent without the distraction of leaves.

STEP 3: Ask A Question, Are The Buds Opposite or Alternate?
You might have noticed I’ve mentioned a few times whether the buds are arranged in opposite pairs or alternately along the twig. This is so important, because trees (for the most part) show one or the other. For instance, if a tree (in our British countryside) has opposite buds, it’s likely to be one of a select few; ash, elder, horse chestnut, sycamore, field maple, spindle, wayfaring tree or guelder-rose. I appreciate at this stage you might be thinking, “I can’t remember all those.” Well you don’t have to, that will come with practise,. Right now, it’s important to just look closer and start to recognise these patterns.

Example of Winter Tree ID in Action

Let’s put it into practise and I’ll share a real-life example where these techniques come into play.

Elder is a very common native tree found in all sorts of woodland and hedgerow. Here’s what i would look out for when identifying this tree in winter…

Bud & Twig – purple buds in opposite pairs on a thin grey twig.

Bark – mature bark is grey, knobbly and corky to the touch, try digging your thumbnail into it.

Leaf Litter – not usually found in late winter as it rots away, so not to be relied upon. If found, it is a composite leaf, made up of typically 5-7 smaller leaflets.

Tree Form – a small, shrubby tree, typically not taller than 6m. Often with multiple stems growing from the base or someway up.

Want to see these identifying features out in the field? You can watch my short video where I investigate the Elder in winter. It’s a snippet from my online tree ID course.

Take Your Tree ID Skills to the Next Level

If you’re excited to learn more about identifying trees, why not join me for my FREE online course, Kickstart Your Tree ID Skills? In this course, I walk you through everything you need to know to identify native UK and Ireland trees, with videos, quizzes, cheat sheets, photos and practical tips to help you grow your confidence.

👉 Sign up here for free and take the first step on your tree ID journey!

 

Conclusion: Why Winter Tree ID is Worth It

Remember, winter tree identification isn’t as hard as it looks—it just takes practice and a little know-how. By focusing on bark, buds, leaf litter, and tree form, you’ll soon find yourself confidently identifying species even on the coldest days.

I hope these tips and examples have inspired you to get outside and give it a go. And if you want to learn more, I’d love to see you in my free online course.

Happy tree hunting,

James
Head Instructor at Woodland Classroom

Creator of The Complete Tree ID Course

bushcraft and mindfulness tools
26 Jul

Mindfulness & Bushcraft: Perfect Partners

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Want to be healthier and happier? I’d say you need more wildness in your life!

by Lea Kendall (Counsellor, Mindfulness in the Woods Practitioner and Outdoor Activity Leader)

We, as a species, need to rewild ourselves. Practising bushcraft and taking time out for ourselves in nature can be our vehicle to honouring our ancient, wild selves. It’s an approach that we teach during our Woodland Wellbeing & Bushcraft Weekend which is one of our favourite events of the year. You may have seen plenty of stories doing the rounds about landowners who are letting wildlife do its thing as farms, forestry plantations and gardens are allowed to go back to nature. Whether it’s called rewilding, natural regeneration or non-intervention, the aim is usually the same; to benefit wildlife by increasing biodiversity. The results in many of these projects have seen a huge increase in the variety of animal and plant life, as well as the joy and happiness that comes to those who get to watch wildlife thriving around them. Species of insects and wildflowers have exploded and following them, all the birds and mammals that come with them. All because humans have withdrawn their input. Let’s take a step back and understand just what rewilding is…

“Rewilding is a progressive approach to conservation. It’s about letting nature take care of itself, enabling natural processes to shape land and sea, repair damaged ecosystems and restore degraded landscapes. Through rewilding, wildlife’s natural rhythms create wilder, more biodiverse habitats.” Rewidling Europe

So, can we also apply this approach to how we live our own lives? Absolutely!

Rewilding Your Soul

The health benefits of being outdoors is one topic I find fascinating. As well as being the co-owner of an Outdoor Education & Bushcraft company, I also work in mental health as a counsellor. In my work I have always been interested in the idea of our inner hunter-gatherer. Studies have shown that our brains are still wired up to a live in the world of our ancestors where our priorities were to hunt and gather for food, build shelter, connect with our families and communities and use plants to heal ourselves. Occasionally we’d experience the stress response to run away from danger or fight to protect ourselves from harm. In the world of the hunter-gatherer these stressful instances would have normally been short lived and with the immediate danger passed we’d soon return to the safety of our tribe, an ongoing cycle of relaxation to stress to relaxation, completed and no harm done. Fast forward to today however, and our modern, fast-paced lifestyles mean we spend much of our lives in this stress state. Cortisol (your body’s main stress hormone) is racing through our systems steadily and rarely do we get much of a break from this to reconnect with our tribe and loved ones and complete the cycle, allowing the brain to get it’s much needed rest.

Society has changed in the blink of an evolutionary eye, and our brain wiring is nowhere near caught up yet. It’s still happier picking berries, whittling spoons and bonding with each other whilst sat round the campfire under the canopy of the trees and stars.

Research by Mark Berman at the University of Chicago says that if you add 10 trees to any given urban block, residents report a 1% increase in wellness, if you wanted to give the same effect using money for increasing happiness you’d have to pay each household $10,000 or make the residents 7 years younger. Trees, nature, wildness, they all increase our happiness and well-being. So, why don’t we choose to spend more time immersed in nature if it’s so good for us?

I believe that positive mental and physical health can be achieved through the art of bushcraft and being mindful in nature. Here we are doing two very simple things; we are honouring our inner hunter-gatherer and living in the present moment. We are also surrounding ourselves amongst trees in a beautiful forest. Those trees have been scientifically proven to have their own natural healing powers, but that’s a story for another time.

bushcraft and mindfulness in north wales

Bushcraft – Just What the Doctor Ordered

So, how do we start to rewild our spirit? We need to make time to nurture our emotional, cognitive and social selves.

Our good friend Nick Hulley at in2thewildwood is a fellow Bushcraft Instructor based in Staffordshire and a previous tutor on our Woodland Wellbeing & Bushcraft Weekend in North Wales. He brings mindfulness into the very core of his life. Let’s let Nick explain in his own words…

“After my ‘safety-rounds’ along the rides, the trails and the woodland fringes; I ease into the fire circle glade. I lower my rucksack, remove the kindling from home along with the tinder, heft my axe into a couple of logs, light the fire and boil the kettle – wood smoke, tea, crackling billets, fresh cut logs, the fire light flicker, the outer focus stillness and yet the inner calmness continues to enrich my wellbeing. I ground myself, cross-legged and centred. The following fifteen minutes of the breath, the inner sight, the acknowledgement and the continued return to the breath sets me up for the day: this marriage works, forest environments, Bushcraft and Mindfulness: even if it is just a short centre and pause whilst doing.”

When hosting a woodland skills session, mindfulness informs how he moves about the woods, how he uses all his senses to feel the forest, how the trees nourish him, how he pauses and calmly absorbs all about him: likewise for his learners on the courses he delivers for them. Nick continues…

“It is wonderful to now be aware that for all these years, working as I do in a forest setting, that research has been going on with the intent to establish positive links between woodlands & improved health. Shinrin-yoku (forest bathing in Japan) and its beneficial outcomes is one of the many researched avenues involving forested settings; which provide a life enhancing backdrop to the union of Bushcraft activities and primitive skills learning complimented by Mindfulness, with its slowed, peaceful and thoughtful considerations of the natural world and our impact on it.”

Rewilding Your Body

Many of us already know how to rewild our back gardens, letting nature take over or by planting native plants and bee-friendly flowers. But we can also increase the ‘wildness’ of our gut by eating healthy, fermented and ‘dirty’ wild food.

fermented wild greens kimchiI’ve recently discovered the process of fermenting wild greens. This is an ancient technique to preserve foods and to increase the nutritional value which greatly benefits the overall health of the body. This further led me to develop my understanding of how the gut plays a major role in our mental health too. It was fascinating to discover that 90% of serotonin is produced in the gut, it’s like the body’s second brain. Eating fermented food is incredibly good for us and up until very recently in western history we have been preserving food in this way.

The average body contains around 39 trillion microbes & bacteria in the intestines. Our lack of exposure to dirt and animals along with the cleaning and disinfecting of our crops and environment with chemicals, has reduced the biodiversity in our guts, and like the health of the earth, our own overall health has declined as a result. We are our own ecosystems, and some scientists are suggesting we even need to rewild our intestines with bacteria from indigenous people – its sounds crazy but it’s already happening. Want to know more about this subject? Check out Mary Beth Nawor’s Ted Talk.

We can also take positive action when out in nature by getting into the right mindset. I’ve put together a bunch of simple nature-based exercises that you can try for yourself to rewild your body and soul. Take a look at my video which demonstrates 9 techniques you can use.

Immerse Yourself in Nature

So, what have we learned? Practising bushcraft doesn’t have to mean taking on extreme survival skills, pushing yourself to the edge of your endurance or eating up a dish of witchetty grubs, ala Bear Grylls. For me, bushcraft skills are about slowing down, tuning into nature, connecting with our ancient past and being present in our natural environment. Through bushcraft skills such as tracking, carving, nature awareness and plant identification we can become extremely mindful and train our brain to leave the fast-paced, modern world behind even if just for a few hours. bushcraft and mindfulness are the perfect partners to leading a healthier, happier lifestyle, enriched by nature, sharing time with like minds and learning some very old, new skills.

adults learn fire lighting skills in north walesWoodland Classroom are hosting a whole weekend of Woodland Wellbeing & Bushcraft at the National Trust’s Chirk Castle estate in North Wales this summer. You can give some time to your inner hunter-gatherer for a weekend of mindfulness in the woods accompanied by a range of bushcraft activities aimed at focusing the mind and increasing awareness & appreciation of the natural world.  If you’d like to know more about this event, just follow THIS LINK.

“In wildness is the salvation of the world” Henry David Thorough

mindfulness in nature on the BBC
29 Jul

Woodland Classroom on the BBC

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We were recently interviewed and filmed by the BBC for the popular documentary series ‘The Why Factor.’ The programme asks the question’ “Why does nature calm anxiety?” The crew came to the ancient woods at the National Trust’s Chirk Castle estate in North Wales where Lea and James, of Woodland Classroom, run their Mindfulness & Bushcraft sessions, engaging all ages in nature connection. Here they experienced a Nature Therapy session, lead by Lea, a qualified Counsellor and Mindfulness in the Woods Practitioner. Next up, the crew got stuck into some practical bushcraft skills to bring to life their inner cave-people. We had a lot of fun during the recording.

Watch the short video on the BBC News website RIGHT HERE or via the link below.

You can listen to the programme RIGHT HERE.

Lea described her experience, “It felt great to be a part of the programme. There’s so much research coming out about the power of nature to heal us, with professionals and projects from all over the world reconnecting their clients with the wild places, I’m excited to be part of this movement. It truly feels like nature therapy’s time has come.” Lea believes that the antidote to stress is found through our connection to nature and that through this we can connect with others and with ourselves, building emotional resilience and community.

The official description of the BBC documentary reads;

“As the world grows more urban, humanity moves further away from nature. Could this be the reason anxiety has become the most diagnosed mental illness in the west? The idea of mindfulness is becoming more popular as the mainstream grows more aware of how panicked we all are. How are we tackling this issue? Jordan Dunbar dives into a niche of researchers and therapists who are learning about and treating the negative symptoms of urban life with a dose of nature.”

In the programme Lea takes the show’s presenter, Jordan Dunbar, on a taster Nature Therapy session where she convinces him on the power of walking barefoot on the earth. Later, James gives Jordan a crash-course in ancient bushcraft skills including firelighting by friction. This awakened Jordan’s inner cave-man as he learned how to make fire using only the natural materials he could find around him.

The programme’s presenter and producer, Jordan, has this to say, “The video was listed in the top 5 on the BBC News website over the weekend, making the front page of the BBC website and we had over half a million views on the BBC News Instagram! We’ve had great feedback on the radio doc already and it wouldn’t have been half as good without the sounds of the woodland and bushcraft!”

bbc filming lea kendall - counsellor

Lea is interviewed about the power of nature for improving mental health and well-being by the BBC.

SO, WANT TO JOIN US FOR A ‘MINDFULNESS & BUSHCRAFT’ EXPERIENCE?

If you like what you hear in the programme and the idea of not just getting away from it all for a weekend but actually coming away with real skills and techniques appeals to you then you’ll be happy to hear that Lea and James host immersive weekend workshops in Woodland Mindfulness & Bushcraft for adults which features activities such as: spoon carving, awakening your animal senses, crafting your own woodland getaway (mindful shelter building), breathing space meditations, natural navigation techniques, fox walking, traditonal fire-lighting techniques, foraging, wildflower identifcation and more.

The aim is not just to give you a couple of days from the rat race but to enable you to come away with new skills and techniques which you can use to be more mindful going forward and bring nature deeper into your life.

Our next Woodland Mindfulness & Bushcraft Weekend is taking place in September 2020. You can find full details RIGHT HERE. Book your place now for what promises to be a fantastic weekend. To find out more about our upcoming courses and events for all ages, check out our Events page.

We also take bookings from organisations and for events to deliver our nature connection workshops to groups. Get in touch if you’d like to know more.

We’d like to say a big thanks to Jordan Dunbar and the BBC crew for visiting us all the way up in North Wales, and for spreading our message that nature is a positive force for improved mental health and well-being. Also, we could not have had this opportunity without the kind permission of the staff at the National Trust’s Chirk Castle who we work in partnership with to deliver our programme of courses and workshops.

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