Strong roots in woodlands and forestry championed at Scotland’s Finest Woods Awards 2024
A bumper year of entries saw excellence in all sectors, from community to forestry, conservation to farming and climate to schools. And each was showcased during a grand ceremony at the Scottish Parliament. Local groups, farmers, foresters and large estates were all recognised at the national event, held by Scotland’s Finest Woods to coincide with […]
Institute bestows Honorary Fellowship on His Majesty King Charles III
The Institute of Chartered Foresters was delighted to award His Majesty King Charles III with an Honorary Fellowship at a special private ceremony held at Highgrove House. The award was presented to The King by the Institute’s Executive Director, Louise Simpson, alongside President of the Institute, Geraint Richards MVO FICFor. A dedicated champion of the […]
Institute highlights of 2024
As we come to the end of another busy year for the Institute of Chartered Foresters, take a look at some of our highlights from 2024. Our membership 2,300+ members and growing 293 new members in 2025 64 applications for chartered status in 2025 10 new Technical Members We launched a new Technical membership class […]
Have your say on woodland management & protected species
Natural England and the Forestry Commission are working together to better understand the interactions between woodland management operations and protected species. Woodland managers have an important opportunity to demonstrate the measures they undertake already for protected species when carrying out woodland operations by responding to this survey. We are encouraging our members who are woodland […]
Call for new Chair & Secretary of our South West England Member Network
We are looking for applications for a new Chair and Secretary for our South West England Member Network. This is an excellent opportunity for an Institute member based in South West England to review how CPD opportunities are being delivered in the area, with the potential for more online opportunities to complement the face-to-face events […]
Survey on managing access in ancient woodlands
The Forestry Commission, supported by Footprint Ecology, is evaluating access management in ancient woodlands through a questionnaire designed for site managers and woodland owners. They want to hear about access measures you have implemented and their effectiveness in promoting responsible behaviour, reducing impacts, and protecting ancient woodlands. The questionnaire is available here and should take […]
Louise Simpson attends CE roundtable meeting
On 20 November, the Institute’s Executive Director, Louise Simpson, met with the Chief Executives of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) and Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT), with input from the Society for the Environment (SocEnv) and the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). These biannual meetings were set up to […]
First commercial tree nursery launched in UK prison
Forests with Impact, an award-winning, industry-led social enterprise, has officially launched at HMP Haverigg in Cumbria, setting a new standard in social and environmental impact by creating commercial tree nurseries within the UK prison system. This pioneering programme tackles two of society’s biggest challenges – supporting prisoner rehabilitation and addressing the climate emergency. The launch […]
Scotland’s Finest Woods appoints trio of trustees
The team of tree champions at Scotland’s Finest Woods has been given a big boost with the appointment of three new trustees. Alison Chisholm, a chartered landscape architect with Forestry and Land Scotland, Dr Alicja Dzieciol, an entrepreneur and chemist, and Sam Howard, a forestry lecturer at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), will join the existing […]
ICF Honorary Fellowship awarded to Gary Newman
The Institute of Chartered Foresters is delighted to award Gary Newman, Chief Executive of Woodknowledge Wales, with an Honorary Fellowship for his leadership in the forestry and timber industry, and support to the Institute. Gary began his career as a construction engineer, later moving into the timber sector after completing a Masters in Forest Industries […]