Forestry organisation grows future leaders
Scotland’s leading forestry business is celebrating the 5th anniversary of its graduate training programme by recruiting eight more future industry leaders. Scottish Woodlands Ltd. addressed the skills crisis head-on by launching its own Graduate Development Programme in 2017 – and now almost 40% of managers in the company are ‘home-grown’. “We are experts at growing […]
Scotland’s ‘Tree Oscars’ back with renewed climate focus
Scotland’s ‘Tree Oscars’ are back for 2022 after a highly successful programme in 2021 saw worthy winners ranging from the country’s largest landowner Anders Holch Povlsen to a tiny nursery school. Mr Povlsen and Wildland Ltd won the prize for New Native Woods in Scotland’s Finest Woods Awards 2021, for Killiehuntly in the Cairngorms – […]
Farmers to be rewarded for their role in woodland creation
Since leaving the EU, the government has introduced three new environmental land management schemes that farmers can get involved in and can be rewarded for participating in. The Local Nature Recovery scheme, Landscape Recovery scheme and Sustainable Farming Incentive will be critical in halting the decline in species by 2030, bringing up to 60% of England’s […]
Forestry placement opportunities in Wales
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) are once again offering an exciting opportunity for four students to undertake a mid-year placement as part of their forestry or land management degree from a higher educational institution. Starting in September 2022, the placements will provide students with the valuable opportunity to work alongside NRW’s dedicated and experienced team of […]
Assessing the risks and putting health and safety first
We regret to say that we have been notified of another fatality in our sector. After felling a tree in Kent earlier this month, a worker was crushed and killed, with the circumstances being investigated further. Please see this notice from HSE regarding the recent incident. The number of fatalities in the last year is […]
Update on Storm Arwen
Last month’s Storm Arwen caused significant damage to trees and woodlands across the UK, particularly in Scotland and North England. The sector is currently assessing the wider impact and are beginning to make plans to restore the areas affected by the storm. The Forestry Commission have stressed the importance of seeking professionals who are trained […]
Institute Executive Director interviewed for ITV News
With the UK Government committing to plant at least 30,000 hectares of new woodland each year to combat the climate emergency, the Institute’s Executive Director, Shireen Chambers MBE FICFor, was recently interviewed by ITV News as part of a story investigating these targets. Shireen said: “It’s going to be difficult to achieve. Agricultural land availability is […]
Research shows benefits of woodlands for mental health
In a new study published by Forest Research, the link between mental health and woodlands has been explored. The pandemic proved the importance of local access to trees, woods, forests and other natural environments to maintain well being. This study found that the estimated value of woodlands on mental health in the UK was £185 million, […]
FISA Storm Arwen guidance
Following the recent damage inflicted on trees and woodlands across the UK by Storm Arwen, the Forest Industry Safety Accord (FISA) have recently issued guidance on how to safely manage windblow and its aftermath: FISA recognise that Storm Arwen has produced a myriad of new areas of storm damaged trees, windblow, potentially weakened standing and […]
Policy Roundup – November 2021
Our monthly policy and research blog updates you on the latest work at the Institute and how you can get involved. Institute News Our Position Paper on the Forestry Skills Shortage Last month we launched a campaign on the forestry skills crisis that was covered in October’s Policy Roundup. We want to keep the momentum […]