My friend Neville Fay, who has died aged 78, set up the reforestation charity Tree Aid in 1987 and then went on to reshape understanding of ancient trees and the soil.
During the Dutch elm disease epidemic in the 1970s, Neville bought an old Transit van and chainsaw, felled dead trees and sold firewood door to door. This eventually evolved into Treework Services, expanding into milling timber, tree surgery, landscaping, hardwood flooring and kitchen manufacturing; by 1982 it had become a co-operative of more than 30 people.
