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 […]
Have your say on community tree nurseries
“Community tree nurseries are invaluable,” says Jackie Shallcross, a project lead for Trees Outside Woodlands at The Tree Council. “They produce high-quality tree stock often growing species which are local or rare.” Run almost-entirely by volunteers, these enterprises are a focus of the Trees Outside Woodlands project, a partnership between the Department for Environment, Food […]
Feed into a Forestry Sector Skills Plan for England
To enable forestry to thrive we need many more people and a variety of new skills and knowledge. Over the past year a steering team of key forestry organisations has been working to set the strategic direction for sector skills. Together they aim to create a sector skills plan – a ten-year vision for the […]
Share your views on first aid certificates in land-based apprenticeships
Adrow Ltd is seeking members’ views to clarify and improve the first aid qualifications needed in land-based apprenticeships. The agriculture, arboriculture, countryside, forestry, horticulture and landscaping trailblazer groups are checking the approach taken to mandating first aid certificates in apprenticeship standards. Currently some occupational standards limit mandated first aid courses to Nationally Regulated Qualifications (Ofqual […]
Understanding and supporting public access to woodlands
Are you a woodland owner, manager or forestry professional with views and experiences you could share with researchers about public access to woodlands? If so, you are invited to take part in the latest British Woodlands Survey exploring all aspects of public access to woodlands. This important new research in the respected national survey is […]
The Environmental Policy Forum sets out priorities for the next UK Government
Ahead of the UK General Election on 4 July, the Environmental Policy Forum (EPF) has outlined the environmental priorities the next government must implement with urgency during its time in office. A coalition of professional bodies and learned societies, the EPF was established to promote environmental sustainability and resilience for the public benefit. The Institute […]
Help improve the new Plant Health Information service
The Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) is developing a new ‘Plant Health Information service’ to enable users to search for up-to date information about plant imports, biosecurity risk and trade requirements. This new service will provide specific answers to questions such as: Is this plant prohibited from the country I am importing […]
Is your forest fit for climate change?
Led by researchers at the University of Freiburg in Germany, the EU Horizon 2020 project RESONATE aims to enhance the resilience of European forests and their value chains. As part of the project, a survey has been published to investigate the possible adaptation measures for forests and related value chains in Europe and hopes to […]
Get involved with a DiversiTree project
Dr Seumas Bates, Research Officer in Environmental Social Science at Bangor University’s School of Environmental and Natural Sciences, is looking to hear from woodland managers as part of work with the DiversiTree project. Dr Bates is looking to engage with particularly excellent or interesting examples of specific woodland management methods and hopes to interview woodland […]
Institute responds to farming scheme updates
The Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF) welcomes the recent upgrade to farming schemes announced by the Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP on Thursday 4 January 2024. As the biggest update to the UK’s farming schemes since leaving the European Union, we’re pleased to see trees on farms moving up the agenda based on their wider benefits to business […]