The new year got off to a busy start when Prof. Mike Wingfield, with the help of Morné Booij-Liewes, sorted through 30 years of archival paperwork from his tenure as founding Director of FABI and the Tree Protection Co-operative Programme (TPCP). More than 10 large “wheelie-bins” filled with paper were sent for recycling after completion of this mammoth two-day task. Various FABIans, passing by the “cleaning operation”, were surprised to discover the existence of storeroom at the rear of the FABI auditorium; one that was filled with Mike’s correspondence, project proposals, reports and other paperwork that had accumulated throughout the large part of his career. Sorting through these files was somewhat of a “walk down memory lane” for Mike who was reminded, for example, of the negotiations leading to the establishment of the TPCP and FABI. It was likewise interesting to look back at hand-written and hand-edited manuscripts of colleagues and students dating back to the late 1980s.  Many hundreds of reprints of publications were also recycled as most of these are now available online, leading one to appreciate the convenience and ease of the “paperless era”. Other ‘artefacts’ in the files included overhead projector transparencies, 35mm slides, print photos as well as computer “stiffy” and “floppy” disks that have long-since been superseded by new technologies.