Ecosia web search

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In: technology

I came across a clever new web search tool recently that aims to help sustain the Earth’s rainforests by collecting money through internet searches. Ecosia refer to themselves as a “social business”, and technically to their web search as a “search engine mask” as it is powered by Bing andContinue Reading

Silent Running (1972)

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In: feature, forestry

Trees have often taken a starring role in films and movies. Here are three of my favourite: a modern block buster, an animated masterpiece, and an underrated science fiction classic.Continue Reading

Barrow Wake panorama

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In: photo, photography

Barrow Wake is a well-known viewpoint near the village of Birdlip in Gloucestershire, England. It has fine views from its seat on the Cotswolds, looking West over the Vale of Gloucester towards the distant Malvern Hills. The view was particularly fine earlier this week when I happened to be passingContinue Reading

Sandalwood billets and chips stacked ready for processing at the Mysore factory

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In: feature, forestry, photography, travel, trees

Sandalwood Santalum album L., commonly known as East Indian Sandalwood or Chandan, is a small tropical tree highly prized for its wood and scented oil. Its wonderful fragrant oil is used in perfumes, toiletries and incense. It is a fascinating tree in many ways. Sandalwood: the tree and its cultivationContinue Reading

Sustainable forestry song

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In: feature, people

Trees are essential to life. Wood is the most sustainable material on Earth. Managing our forests properly means that we can have healthy forests and produce wood. It can be difficult to understand how cutting down a tree in a forest is sustainable. The most common questions I’m asked whenContinue Reading

Gabriel Hemery speaking at the Art and Joy of Wood conference

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In: feature, forestry, people, travel

The culture, traditions, aesthetics of wood have been largely overlooked by scientists and the policy community. Trees and wood are at the heart of our future: to live sustainably we must use more wood while conserving and expanding our forests. Continue Reading

The effect of excluding grazing in the walnut forests, Kyrgyzstan

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In: feature

Sheltering in the south-western Tian Shan mountains exist a unique yet threatened forest found nowhere else on Earth. These forests are the walnut-fruit forests of Kyrgyzstan. Last month I attended an international conference concerning the sustainable management of the forests (see my travel photos). The walnut-fruit forests are considered aContinue Reading

Our Forests

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In: comment, Our Forests

Government fails to meet deadline to answer questions on forests disposal proposals. It is over three  months since Our Forests sent in its submission seeking answers on the public forest disposal debacle, yet no final response has been provided, despite officials initially telling us, “we will be able to sortContinue Reading

Forester moths

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In: Uncategorised

I’ve been spending some time with entomologists at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, as the museum is hosting an exhibition of the Sylva Foundation’s OneOak educational project for the next six months. I was lucky enough to be able to handle some wonderful collections of insects of myriadContinue Reading

Sunrise in the Cevennes

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In: photo, travel

I enjoy the subjects provided by the Weekly photo challenge.  This week I’ve cheated, just a little, as the theme is Sunset and I have posted instead a sunrise. I like this photo so I thought I could get away with posting it. While on holiday in France in July,Continue Reading

Acorns and dog walking

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In: nature

At this time of year our woodlands are spectacular; seemingly a palette containing every colour ranging from the oranges and russet browns of fallen oak leaves, the red of hawthorn berries, to psychedelic pinks in Spindle fruits. Observe closely and your senses can be entertained in other ways too. DuringContinue Reading