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Welcome to this month's E-news and to what we hope will be the beginning of a prosperous New Year for all despite the icy start.
Please forward your copy to your colleagues and encourage them to sign up to receive E-news direct on the ICF website. View archived issues on the ICF website under Publications and Services, send your views on E-news to Allison Lock or use the ICF Members' Area Discussion Forum to exchange views with fellow members.
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shortcut to sections - click on headings below:
ICF News | General News | Developments, Grants & Opportunities
Consultations | Events & Training |
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Don't miss ICF Early Bird discount for Forests and Energy conference
ICF's offer of a 10% discount off two-day conference tickets ends on 31 January. The conference is on 28-29 April in Newcastle Upon Tyne and Technical Co-ordinator Andrew Sheridan has put together an impressive programme. Thanks to sponsors The Forestry Commission, Scottish Woodlands, UPM Tilhill, Lockhart Garratt and Forestry Journal, conference prices are frozen for the third year running. Online booking available for convenience. Read More
ICF confirms new professional members
Congratulations to the ICF exam candidates who gained chartered status (MICFor) in December:
Phillip Brophy, Barrell Tree Consultancy; David Challice, Challice Consulting Ltd; Peter Chappell, UPM Tilhill; Brian Crane, Brian G. Crane & Associates; Neville Fay, Treework Environmental Practice; Phillip Harris, Arboricultural Consultant; Kieron Hart, Marishall Thompson Group; Simon Holmes, Tree Surveys; Elspeth Macdonald, Forest Research; Andrew Moffat, Forest Research; Andrew Pinchin, Andrew Challice Consulting Ltd; Andrew Player, The Crown Estate (Dunster); Dominic Poston, Essex County Council; Andrew Potter, Bartlett Tree Experts; Keith Sacre, Barcham Trees Plc; Mervyn Simpson, Provincial Tree Services Ltd; Victoria Stokes (With Distinction), Forest Research; Glyn Thomas, Cheshire Woodlands; Helen Thorburn, FPCR LLP, Alistair Yeomans, The Sylva Foundation.
 Lesley's a jolly good Fellow
Congratulations to arboricultural consultant Lesley Adams (pictured) who has been appointed a Fellow of the Institute. Lesley is a Director of Symbiosis Consulting and based in Lutterworth, Leicestershire.
New secretary for ICF in South West
Thank you to Craig Pinder MICFor for taking on the role of Secretary for the ICF South West England Regional Group. Craig can be contacted by email.
Vacancies
Visit the Members' Area of the ICF website for following job vacancies:
> Head Forester, Bedfordshire. Closing date: 28 January
> Forestry Consultants (2), Herefordshire. Closing date: 31 January
> Chartered Foresters/Chartered Surveyors (2), England/Wales. Closing date: Not set
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| General News |
 First female Chair for Forestry Commission
Pamela Warhurst (pictured) has been appointed Chair of the Forestry Commission. Pamela, from Todmorden in West Yorkshire, was until recently a member of the Board of Natural England, where she was the lead non-executive member working on the Countryside & Rights of Way Bill. Read More
Snow time means timber downtime
Experts have warned that Scotland's billion-pound forestry industry faces an unprecedented crisis unless the timber supply chain can be restored quickly. After an emergency meeting the Forestry Commission promised to fast-track felling licences for private woodland owners who have timber that can be harvested now, while ConFor is also lobbying for a temporary relaxation in the enforcement of drivers' hours regulations. Read More
Road salt poses threat to trees
Arboricultural Advisory and Information Service director Derek Patch warns that if grit is used excessively during the extended winter freeze, street trees risk damage from the salt. The worst damage is likely to be to trees on pavements where there has been increased gritting by homeowners as the thaw could cause the salt to wash into the soil. An advisory note will be issued to arboriculturists on the problem this week.
 £2m benefits from woodland and greenspace
An extensive study by Mersey Forest into the economic benefits of woodland and greenspace in Merseyside and Cheshire looked at the value of every pound invested in both. It identified that a 10-fold return in investment could be used by the region to leverage additional funding. Read More
Whose Forest?
MyForest is a woodland management and networking provided by the Sylva Foundation to support and promote the UK's sustainable forestry sector. MyForest will be demonstrated in the exhibition area during the ICF conference in April. Visit: MyForest
 RFS awards head south
This year's Royal Forestry Society Forestry Awards competition area takes in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, East/West Sussex, and Greater London south of The Thames. Categories are: Duke of Cornwall's Award (multipurpose forestry), Community Forestry Award, Schools Award, Farm Woodland Award and the RFS Silviculture Award. Read More Photo: Les ChatfieldSystem to slash clearance times Defra and HM Revenue and Customs have announced that the new automatic licence verification system (ALVS) will reduce customs clearance times and paperwork from 16 February 2010. Clearance times should be reduced from two hours to 10 minutes for companies importing flowers, plants, fruit and vegetables into England and Wales from outside the EU.
 Cumbria Timber Transport group formed
At a meeting in December, a proposal to set up a timber transport group for Cumbria was agreed and Richard Scott of BSW agreed to chair the group. Cumbria Council will take a secretarial and administrative role. Contact Roland Stiven for details of the next meeting on 2 February.
Focus on forest products at Edinburgh University
Edinburgh Napier University's Centre for Timber Excellence is one of the four centres comprising the University's new Forest Products Research Institute. The restructuring will better reflect the range of timber and fibre related work that CTE currently does.
Native wildlife given greater protection in England and Wales
On 21 December Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government added an additional 63 invasive non-native species to the list of those that cannot be introduced into the wild including: wild boar, floating pennywort, the European Eagle owl and the Monk Parakeet. Read More
Wild boar on bracken mission
Conservation charity Trees For Life has released six wild boar into a secure enclosure on its Dundreggan Estate in Glen Moriston, Scotland. Donated by the Highland Wildlife Park at Kincraig, the boar are being used to reduce bracken in an area of ancient birch woodland. Read More  New woods to take root in the North East
The Forestry Commission has pledged £636,000 to create 257 ha of new woodland in North East England this year and more cash is on offer to support other valuable planting schemes. Over 40% of the new planting will occur in the Northumberland National Park. Read More Picture: Mark Pinden/Forestry Commission
New Advisory Board addresses tree pest and disease threats
The Forestry Commission has established a Biosecurity Programme Board to oversee and advise on its work to protect Britain's trees and forests from pests and diseases. It comprises representatives from across the forestry and wood-using sectors, as well as FC experts. It will advise the Commission on how best to implement a programme of forest protection that will be set out in a new Plant Health Strategy to be published in 2010.
 Red squirrel strongholds
In response to a consultation last year, Forestry Commission Scotland has signalled that it will lead the work to plan and manage 18 stronghold sites to help safeguard the country's red squirrel population. With each site being at least 2000 ha, around 100,000 ha of forest sites in Scotland will be managed as refuges with a focus on ensuring food supplies for red squirrels while restricting those for greys. Picture: Forestry Commission Arboricultural Association (AA) gets CHAS status
The AA has achieved recognition by the Contractors Health and Safety assessment scheme (CHAS) for its approved contractor scheme. The AA's award of Approved Contractor status removes the need for a second assessment for some tender schemes. Read More
Reading matters...
Pre-publication book offer: A Handbook of the World's Conifers by Aljos Farjon, Honorary Research Associate at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, will be published in the Spring by Brill in Leiden, NL. It will be printed in two volumes and cover all 615 species of conifers and all subspecies and varieties. For details email ICF.
The Forestry Commission Read report 'Combating Climate Change - a role for UK forests' is available to purchase. Among its findings it says that the use of biomass for heating provides one of the most cost-effective and environmentally acceptable ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Read MoreWhy Woods Matter is a free guide available from the Woodland Trust to download.
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| Developments, Grants & Opportunities |
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Scottish rural grant deadline extended
Due to the continuing adverse weather conditions, the dates for the forthcoming Spring RPAC round have been extended. A new date will be announced as soon as possible.
£96.6m for Scotland's rural businesses and communities
New funding to boost Scotland's economic recovery, tackle climate change and position rural Scotland to deliver for the twenty-first century has been announced. It will see around 1130 projects funded by Scotland's Rural Priorities grants and will create or sustain over 200 jobs. Read More
Timber harvesting medium term contract
Forestry Commission Scotland invites interest from harvesting contractors to undertake clar-felling operations in the Cowal and Trossachs Forest District. Work will be spread over a three-year period. Deadline 20 January at 13.00 hours. Contact Rupert Bonham. |
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| Consultations |
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Red squirrel strongholds consultation report
Following analysis of the responses to the above, a report containing proposals for developing strongholds in Scotland has been published. Download the report or email Jacquie Christie to receive a hard copy.
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| Events & Training |
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ICF National Conference - Early Bird ticket discount
Only available until the end of January for two-day tickets. Online booking service available for convenience. Read More
Timber Transport Group conference
Bookings now being taken for this conference in March. Read More
 Work in the woods week
Events and information sessions aimed at recruiting new entrants to the trees and timber sector in North East England will be held from 25 - 29 January at Chopwell Wood, Gateshead. They aim to raise awareness of the forestry industry as a potential career and signpost attendees to the most appropriate next steps, e.g. apprenticeships, employment and Landskills training. Read More
18 HLF heritage environment training bursaries on offer
If you know anyone looking for a career in conservation with limited or no experience, point them to Project LEMUR. If offers 9 months' funded full time placements supported by Heritage Lottery Funds. Read More
FORTHCOMING DIARY DATES
For full details of these and other CPD events check the ICF website.
JANUARY
22 FR NRS free seminar: Utilising active & passive remote sensing for the quantification of structure and physiology of forests - Northern Research Station, Roslin, Edinburgh.
29 FR NRS free seminar: Native Woodland Survey of Scotland: 2006 to 2013 - Northern Research Station, Roslin, Edinburgh.
FEBRUARY
9 The Road to Zero Carbon: Conference on low and zero carbon buildings - 9.30am-4.30pm, The Watershed, Bristol
10 Deer carcass handling course - 9.30am - 3.00pm, Cookworthy Forest Centre, Nr Holdsworthy
18 Protected Species seminar - 9.30am - 4.00pm, Barn & Bushell, Thainstone, Near Inverurie
23 FR free seminar series (Scotland): Growing broadleaves for quality hardwood timber - Birnam, Nr Dunkeld, Perthshire
26 FR free seminar series (Scotland): An overview of Scottish Government policy regarding onshore renewables - Northern Research Station, Roslin, Nr Edinburgh
For details of your local Royal Forestry Society events visit their website
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