HIGH standards in caring for and managing trees have helped a South Lakeland company win a benchmark industry award.

Mark Sigrist, of Storth, is celebrating his Arnside-based company, Aspen Tree Management, being confirmed as an approved contractor by the Arboricultural Association.

Only around 130 firms nationally have met the high standards set down by the association, with only one other Cumbrian company making the grade - the Nomad Tree Maintenance in Hawkshead.

Mr Sigrist, 40, said he already had personal experience of working for an approved contractor and, since setting up his own company, it had been a long-term ambition to achieve the sought-after status.

"It really is the benchmark award - it sets the standards that everybody wants to achieve," said Mr Sigrist.

"It's not just about the quality of work, but the way the company is run, health and safety, it really covers everything."

After applying to become an approved contractor, inspectors from the association spent a day assessing the company's Arnside yard, equipment and paperwork.

They also checked out a job in progress, visited projects Aspen had worked on in the last year, and sought references for work over the past two years.

Mr Sigrist said he was delighted to get the recognition, which meant Aspen was among the top-rated companies in the country, and praised the hard work of his team of Joe Robson, Will Barden, and Kate Parkinson.

The company has carried out work for the National Trust, English Nature, the county council, as well as some private contracts, mainly working on trees that have some amenity value and are not being grown commercially for timber production.

Although offers of work are flooding in, both locally and from further afield, Mr Sigrist said he was determined not to branch out too much.

"I'm really trying hard not to expand," he said.

"I want to keep the personal touch and professional high standards."

To help to ensure that standards are maintained, the association will re-assess the company in five years' time.

l A FOREST of 28,000 oak trees has been planted in Canada thanks to an idea pioneered by Cumbrian tree expert Ted Wilson.

The National School of Forestry lecturer at Newton Rigg developed a new system of growing oak seedlings in peat and biodegradable mesh containers during a research project in Ontario in 1998.

The technique has now been used to develop the oak forest.

Mr Wilson said he was proud to have pioneered the technique.