After a car crash which left her with serious injuries, Claire Nash decided to branch out in a new direction.

And now Claire, who runs The Tree Bureau in Warwick Road, St Albans, has been awarded a national trophy for arboricultural excellence.

She has received the Royal Forestry Society’s Lockhart Garratt Trophy for Arboricultural Excellence after gaining the highest marks in a national professional examination.

Claire is an arboricultural consultant and writer who converted a lifetime passion for trees into her profession after the car crash in 1999 made her question what was most important in her working life.

Her current work includes the tree-related aspects of planning, development and house purchase, the safety of people and property, and the protection and retention of trees for landscape, amenity and ecology. She has a special interest in the role of trees in human and environmental health.

A specialist in creating learning materials for adults, Claire has also written, co-written and edited more than 40 books, mainly about environmental health, and has written, produced or directed a number of training videos and blended learning materials.

She remains managing editor of VisaVis Publications, also based in St Albans.