Ardura forest on the Isle of Mull has been successful in achieving the first Ecosystem Services impact verification in the UK from the Forest Stewarship Council (FSC). The forest is managed in partnership by the Mull and Iona Community Trust, who have been managing Ardura since 2019, and TreeStory, an ecologically focussed forestry and green investment consultancy founded by Chartered Forester, Gordon Brown MICFor. This impact verification builds on FSC’s Forest Management Certification by offering a framework for forest managers to measure the effect of their biodiversity conservation, carbon storage, water purification, soil regeneration and recreation provision work.
Visit the FSC website to find out more about Ardura forest.
Claire Wightman MICFor, Chartered Forester and Forestry Consultant at TreeStory, said:
“We are delighted to have worked with the Mull and Iona Community Trust (MICT) and the UK Forest Certification Group to validate the first UK
woodland under the FSC Ecosystem Services Procedure. It is a joy to work with innovative landowners like MICT who are willing to lead the way in developing new techniques to measure the benefits of woodland for nature and communities.
The success of this project was very much a team effort, not only within TreeStory, but also with our certification partners and FSC UK. We believe that FSC ES impact verification will become an important mechanism for assessing, quantifying and auditing non-timber benefits of woodland at a time when these benefits are more critically needed than ever”.
