Wood can be used as an engineering material. It can also be engineered to improve its properties. There is also a wide range of engineering involved in its production. But all of these, need to take into account the special nature of wood – and the really clever engineering work of the tree.

Dan Ridley-Ellis works in wood properties and timber engineering. He is one of the UK’s experts in guessing the strength of wood and thinks more deeply about what trees are doing than you may consider to be healthy.