April 08 

Welcome to this month's E-News.

And what a month it's been!  A sell-out conference, government and commercial backing for forestry's role in the carbon lean debate, a new string to the ICF bow with the Chartered Arboriculturist vote and membership rising to over 1,100 again.

We hope that you found the information in last month's E-news useful and will find this one equally informative. Please forward your E-news to any colleagues that you think may be interested in receiving it and don't forget to add icf@charteredforesters.org to your address book so you don't miss any issues.  

And please do use the ICF Members' Area Discussion Forum to exchange views with fellow members or alternatively email ICF.

shortcut to sections - click on headings below:

ICF News | General News | Developments

Consultations  | Events & Training

Carbon Lean UK conference hits the mark 
Over 150 delegates attended this sell out event to look at forestry's role in a carbon lean UK. Our commisserations to those who couldn't get a place.

Among the up-beat messages that delegates took away from the conference was a call from Martin Blake of the Royal Mail for the ICF, in its drive to bring clarity and credibility to the forests' role in carbon sequestration, to help create an agreed voluntary standard for carbon offsetting by forestry in the UK. Read more in the June Chartered Forester.

Members vote YES to Chartered Arboriculturist
ICF Members voted overwhelmingly at the AGM last week to introduce the new title 'Chartered Arboriculturist' in addition to the existing 'Chartered Forester' designation. ICF will now apply to receive formal approval from Privy Council which we hope will be forthcoming in the new few weeks.  Following official approval, members will be informed of the application procedure to change their existing title from Chartered Forester to Chartered Arboriculturist if they wish to do so. New chartered members will be able to choose which title they prefer when completing their Professional Membership Entry.

ICF Council news
Alec Dauncey, Martin Gammie and Tim Laddiman (MICFor) and David Edwards (FICFor) have joined the ICF Council for a two year term. ICF Fellows Helen McKay MICFor and Roger Coppock, Graham Garratt, Alan Massey and Keith Rushforth were confirmed as serving for a second term at the AGM which followed the ICF conference. They join President Richard Ogilvy FICFor and Vice President Bill MacDonald FICFor on the ICF Council for 2008.
During the conference dinner Richard Ogilvy presented Martin Glynn (pictured right) with the President's Award for outstanding service to the Institute.

John Workman
The Institute is sad to report the death of John Workman on 17 April. John was a former member of the Institute and held many prestigious roles in forestry over the years. An obituary will appear in the June Chartered Forester.

Vacancies 
Check the ICF Members' Area for the latest job vacancies. 

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Director sought for Scottish Forestry Trust
The Scottish Forestry Trust is seeking a Director for its Edinburgh office.As the sole employee of the Trust and working on a part-time basis, the Director is responsible for its day to day running and management of the project portfolio.      More

New director for FC Wales
Trefor Owen FICFor has been appointed Director of Forestry Commission Wales.
Trefor, a fluent Welsh speaker, joined the Forestry Commission 22 years ago and will oversee an organisation with more than 350 staff and a budget in excess of £40 million.
He graduated in Agriculture-Forestry from Bangor University in 1985 and has held several forest management and leadership posts in Scotland and south, mid and north Wales since joining the Commission. More

Get the facts on the FSC
The Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) has published three factsheets to raise awareness and understanding about its work: one for the paper industry, one for construction, and a general one for consumers. More

Valuing systems aims to stop chainsaw massacre of city trees 
A valuing system called Capital Asset Value for Amenity Trees (CAVAT) aims too end the "chainsaw massacre" of street trees. With over 2,000 trees felled in London in just five years and a central London plane tree estimated to be worth around £750,000, this system could stop spurious claims by insurers to fell trees.
London Tree Officers Association chair Andy Tipping said "This is going to revolutionise how subsidence claims are managed in the UK for the better of all, including house-holders, insurers, Arboricultural consultants and local authorities." He added that knowing the value of trees will transform how trees are looked after. CAVAT launches on 16 May.
Read more in the June Chartered Forester.

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Survey on bleeding canker on horse chestnut published
The Forestry Commission has published the results of a survey that indicates the extent of symptoms of bleeding canker of horse chestnut trees throughout Great Britain.
The condition has been affecting increasing numbers of horse chestnut trees in recent years. Bleeding cankers are lesions that ooze or "bleed" liquid from the trunks or branches of trees. In the case of horse chestnut, some trees eventually die, some recover, and others have to be felled for safety reasons because the condition weakens the trunks or branches until they are in danger of falling.
The full report and a Question and Answer factsheet are available for downloading from the Forestry Commission's website. More

FC revises guide to timber measurement
The Forestry Commission has updated its popular Field Guide to Timber Measurement. First published in 1983, the booklet proved popular with practitioners taking basic measurements of trees and timber and applying standard forest mensuration procedures in the field.
The new edition, written by Ewan Mackie and Robert Matthews of Forest Research, includes a number of significant changes. These are mainly in the section dealing with weight measurement which has been completely revised, while the content of the discussion of abbreviated tariffing has been amended to achieve consistency with Forest Mensuration: a handbook for practitioners.
Designed for use in the field, the guide is £16. Telephone 0870 121 4180 quoting stock code FCFG002.

New booklet highlights action for Scotland's native woods 
The opportunities and benefits arising from enhancing native woodlands are highlighted in a new Forestry Commission Scotland booklet.
"Action for Scotland's Native Woods" aims to encourage more people, especially land managers and owners, to actively create, restore and manage native woodlands and help maintain their unique characteristics for future generations. The booklet, which has been welcomed by Scottish Environment Minister, Michael Russell, denotes all the main types of native woodland in Scotland and suggests the main opportunities for managing them. It also gives several case studies to indicate the wide range of work being carried out across Scotland to benefit native woodlands. More

Rural research partnership launched in south east England
A new partnership launched on 24 April offers new opportunities for multi-disciplinary research collaborations in South East England.
The Rural Research & Strategy Partnership (RRSP), which includes Forest Research, brings together five of the region's leading research institutions to help find ways to solve its most pressing rural problems. As well as Forest Research, who will co-ordinate the partnership's work, it includes the Universities of Reading, Surrey and Sussex, and the University College for the Creative Arts at Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Maidstone and Rochester. It is supported by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA). Among the topics it will collaborate on are nature conservation, wind power, nuclear energy, biofuels production, and pollution. More       

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Draft trees and timber job profiles consultation
Lantra invites you to take part in an important project. They are producing draft job profiles to identify what jobs there are in the trees and timber industry and what each job entails. Once approved, these profiles will consolidate Lantra's knowledge of the industry and help to ensure that their work accurately reflects the breadth of skills, jobs and careers opportunities in the sector.
You can input via their on-line Job Consulter which has clear instructions and uses a simple tick box approach to make the feedback process as easy as possible. The consultation ends 12 May 2008. More

Join online survey on trees and woodlands issues 
What are the most important issues relating to our trees and woodlands, and for the forestry sector?

Air your views in a unique national online survey called T100Q. Say what you think are the most pressing issues are and where our scientists and policy makers should be focussing their efforts and resources. The survey is led by a research group at Oxford University which is looking at ways to build links between practice, science and policy in forestry. More

Views invited by Scottish Minister
Scottish Environment Minister Michael Russell has called for professionals in the forestry sector and members of the public to help finalise the first national blueprint on how best to manage Scotland's national forest estate.
The draft Forest Enterprise Scotland Framework Strategic Plan - together with information about the consultation meetings and how to submit your response - is available online. The consultation will run until Monday 9 June. More

Add your voice to government consultations
Two government consultations that may be of interest are:

CLG's Eco-towns: Living a greener future includes the shortlisted locations proposed. Closing date: 30 June. More
Defra's Soil Strategy aims to halt the loss of soil carbon. Closing date: 23 June. More

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SEEDA delivers free workshops
Free workshops targeted to those working or connected with land based industries are being delivered across the South East England Development Agency region between now and March 2010.  The 7 workshop topics are: Climate Change, Prepare to meet thy Planner, Rural Diversification, Energy Crops - the Real Options, Energy Options, Profits & Savings, Water Conservation and Moving up the Food Supply Chain.  More  

Conference of the Forest-Based Sector Technology Platform (FTP) announced
Bookings are being taken for the 5th FTP conference in Slovakia from 19-21 May. The event will present success stories of implementation of research and innovation in current business practice. Forest-based sector innovation will also be discussed in a panel debate moderated by British writer and broadcaster Chris Baines.
Speakers include European Commissioner for Science and Research, Janez Potocnik, as well as business leaders and leading experts on science and innovation. Ongoing collaborative efforts of different European Technology Platforms will also be in focus. More

Europe calling for Scotland's foresters
Nature Exchange 2008, an EU funded programme, invites people working in Scotland's natural heritage and forestry sectors to apply for a place with one of Europe's most innovative pan-European exchange programmes.
This year's programme offers hands-on experience in countries such as Bulgaria, Finland and Slovenia with the focus on the natural heritage, forestry and eco-tourism sectors. Each trip will take eight participants and includes 20 CPD hours. More

Woodland to Workshop Course , Whitney-on-Wye, Herefordshire, 6-8 May, More

Arboriculture and Bats: A Guide for Practitioners (Training), Plas Tan y Bwlch, North Wales, 12 May, More

5th Conference of the Forest-Based Sector Technology Platform (FTP), Kranjska Gora, >Slovenia, 19-21 May, More

Tree Management for Public Safety, Conference supported by ICF, Royal Geographic Society, London, 29 May, More

ICF South West England Regional Group Meeting,Clinton Devon Estates, Bicton, East Devon, 11 June, More

ICF North Scotland Regional Meeting: Protected Species and Forest Management, Nethy Bridge Village Hall, 12 June, More

ICF East England Regional Group: Red Band Needle Blight, Santon Downham, Thetford, 19 June, in conjunction with ConFor, FC/Forest Research. More

RFS Woodland Visits, Full national and regional programme in place, More   

View full events list

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