On:
In: Our Forests

Today The Hawk and Owl Trust released a strongly worded position statement aimed at the England Forestry Panel. It states that: Forestry Commission forests must remain in national ownership and be given effective protection in the public domain for all of us, for ever the Forestry Commission should be givenContinue Reading

On:
In: Our Forests

In an exciting step, 38 Degrees have launched a new action to enable everyone to have their say about the future of England’s forests. What do forests mean to you?     In just 24 hours since its launch, over 17,000 comments have been received.  Read more and join theContinue Reading

Forest of Dean plantation

On:
In: comment, Our Forests

Planting more of the same ‘native woodlands’ that now litter the English countryside with little more ambition in their creation and management than a membership publicity drive or community engagement excercise, will be regretted long after the PR-masters behind them have past. In their own way, these are as regrettable as the dark satanic rows of conifers that were planted sixty years ago.
If we continue to plant green fuzz across our food-producing fields, with little concern either for the impending need to be more self-sufficient in food production, or for the need to reduce our enormous reliance on timber imports, Britain’s environmental credibility will be increasingly undermined.Continue Reading

On:
In: health

The Ramblers, Britain’s walking charity, were the first NGO to respond to the launch of Our Forests today.  In a welcome step Justin Cooke, Ramblers Senior Policy Officer, said: “The more people are involved with the Panel, including scrutinizing and evaluating its work, the more its recommendations will reflect theContinue Reading

On:
In: forestry, news

Today sees the launch of a new ‘ginger group’ – Our Forests – with the aim of ensuring a People’s Vision for the Future of England’s Woods and ForestsContinue Reading

On:
In: comment

Securing healthy, sustainably managed forests in the light of climate change and its severe consequences is one of the biggest challenges we have to solve in Europe and globally. This is the headline from the Forest Europe Ministerial Conference that opened today, hosted by Norway. The fact that Europe’s forestsContinue Reading

On:
In: comment

In the Netherlands forestry is undetaken by the Forestry and Wildlife Service Staatsbosbeheer: managing 250,000 hectares of land for sixteen million Dutch people. It provides some interesting comparisons to the UK where forestry governance is in the spotlight.Continue Reading

On:
In: news

On Thursday, to coincide with the Government’s abandonment of plans to sell or lease England’s publicly owned forests, Fauna & Flora International (FFI) announced an essay writing competition in The Independent newspaper. The title of the essay is “The future of England’s forests”  and FFI are keen to hear theContinue Reading