essentialARB hits 100! How the industry magazine has evolved

WERE you around for the debut of essentialARB? Were you able to get your hands on a copy of the historic first issue? If so, consider us impressed – and envious. There are members of the magazine’s current team who hadn’t even been born at that time.

Launched all the way back in 1988, essentialARB began as a sister title to the long-running Forestry & British Timber magazine, published by UBM, in cooperation with the Arboricultural Association.

• READ MORE: As eA reaches issue 100, it's a good time to reflect on arb's past

Printed twice a year, it featured a diverse mix of news, reviews, features and opinion pieces, covering all aspects of arboriculture relevant to people who work in tree care – a mix that remains broadly similar today.

Following its acquisition by Forestry Journal in 2008, the magazine was relaunched with a new design and four issues a year, under the editorship of Andrew Cowan, founder of ArbEcology.

He passed the torch to Margaret Lunn, who a decade later oversaw another revamp with the title moving to six issues a year. In 2019, current editor John McNee took on the role.

The first Schliesing 235 MX woodchipper in the UK got put to work by Down to Earth Tree Care in 2009. Left to right are Paul Cilia, John Dyer and Laurence Dell. Featured in issue 29. (Image: eA)

Since then its coverage of arboricultural matters has been supplemented by online exclusives on www.forestryjournal.co.uk, our YouTube channel and the launch of our regular newsletter, The Arborist.

Through the decades, eA has welcomed innumerable writers into the fold to share their expertise and experience (some who have contributed to 75 issues or more).

Rob and Ted Nash of Overland Environmental Services were featured back in issue 31, published in 2010. (Image: eA)

And we’ve followed the journeys of some of the sector’s brightest talents as they’ve forged careers, going from trainees to veterans to the owners of their own companies.

Over the coming months we’ll be sharing images from the eA archive on Facebook and reprinting some of our favourite features on the Forestry Journal website.

Olly Oram (left) and Paul Bayfield (right) of Stumpdrillers showed off their innovative piece of machinery on a road construction job overseen by Paul Mills of Mill Brothers (centre). Featured in issue 50. (Image: eA)

In the meantime, here’s a small selection of picture highlights showcasing a few of the people, companies and products we’ve featured over the years.

Dryad Arb and its range of tree-tackling machinery were the stars of issue 80, published in December 2020. (Image: eA)

More eA front covers through the years> notice how the design has changed? (Image: eA)

Sion Toft put the new Franatical Everest type A chainsaw trousers from Severnside Safety Supplies to the test for the 40th issue back in the spring of 2012. (Image: eA)

At Powys Castle, members of Eastwood Tree Services and Amenity Land Solutions worked together to improve the health of a 300-year-old yew tree hedge using a Terravent system. Pictured are Mick Dewhurst, Andy Morgan, Bob Bolland and Adrian Lovatt. Featured in issue 30. (Image: eA)

We joined tree officer Rebecca Farrar as she inspected trees in Harrow, Hampshire, for a feature in issue 55, published in the winter of 2016. (Image: eA)