About Treely

Who makes it

I’m Leon. I made Treely because when I walked my dog, Poppy, I kept walking past trees I didn’t know the name of.

This led to my partner giving me a little pocket guide to trees, and I just got more and more interested. I told so many people about it that I started being given every tree identification thing going.

So I started researching how I could build something myself, and I got really absorbed.

One thing I struggled with, though: I was getting great at identifying trees in perfect conditions, but much less so once spring was over. So I wanted what I built to teach the way people learn best, with short quizzes that feel like a game, and a huge variety of photographs of every part of each tree, in every season, so that what you learn really sticks.

And so Treely was born!

Where the facts come from

These are the books I learnt from, and the ones I’d recommend:

• Collins Tree Guide, by Owen Johnson: every fact in Treely is checked against it
• Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles, by W. J. Bean: the classic reference for the trees we plant in parks, streets and gardens
• Collins Gem Trees, by Alastair Fitter: the pocket book my partner gave me, where it all started
• A Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and Northern Europe, by Alan Mitchell
• Trees of Britain and Europe, by Keith Rushforth
• Tree Vision: Know Your Trees in 30 Cards, one of the presents I was given along the way

I’ve tried my best to be as accurate as I can throughout. Every tree has a fact sheet: one line for each thing Treely says about it, with the source that settles it and the source’s own words beside it. Where the Collins Tree Guide says nothing, I’ve gone to Bean, the other standard guides and the Woodland Trust, and the fact sheet says which. Where the sources disagree, it records which way I settled it, and why.

Where the photographs come from

Every photograph is of a real tree. Most are shared by naturalists on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons under open licences, and each page credits the photographers whose pictures it shows. Some are my own. Each one is chosen by eye for what it shows: a leaf photograph shows the leaf, and where a page compares two trees, the two photographs show the same thing.

Get in touch

I’m really passionate about this, and I want to keep making Treely the best app it can possibly be, to share the joy of nature. If you’d like to collaborate, have spotted something that needs correcting, or just want to get in touch, email me at leon@lscross.co.uk.