Early Career Professionals Conference 2024

Building a More Resilient Future

Calling all early career arboriculturists and foresters! It is an exciting time to be starting a career in forestry and arboriculture and early career tree professionals are vital to delivering a more climate-resilient future.

Our annual Early Career Professionals Conference is your chance to get inspired, informed and involved. Following on from this year’s Early Career Professionals Study Tour, which put carbon firmly in the spotlight, we now turn to examine how the sector can build resilience to change, both in terms of trees and also in achieving your career goals.

With a diverse programme covering a range of topics and viewpoints, the conference will start with presentations and culminate with a Q&A panel around careers.

The conference has been put together by a group of early career professionals and is aimed at those starting out in the sector, though everyone is welcome and will be sure to find topics of interest.

Book now to join us virtually on Thursday 28 November to explore ideas on what our sector needs to do now to prepare for the future.

Get involved | Get informed | Get inspired

Speakers

Dr Emma Gilmartin – Senior Technical Officer, Arboricultural Association

Emma works at the Arboricultural Association where she is responsible for the technical outputs of the organisation and management of Registered Consultants and VETcert schemes. Emma has a background in providing specialist ecological advice, guidance and training, and in partnership working. She holds a PhD in fungal ecology, is a VETcert consultant and member of the Ancient Tree Forum’s Technical Advisory Panel.

Amanda Newsome – Biodiversity Net Gain Advisor, Forestry Commission

Amanda has worked in the nature conservation field for over 30 years. She joined the Forestry Commission in November 2022 to lead their work preparing staff and the wider woodland and forestry sector for the introduction of the new ‘Biodiversity Net Gain requirement. Prior to that she worked for Natural England/English Nature for over 20 years, most recently on biodiversity net gain policy and biodiversity metric development and previously, providing advice to landowners, local authorities and developers on protected sites and species and wider landscape and habitat conservation.

Phil Morgan FICFor – Director, Sustainable Forest Management

Phil manages forests in Wales and is a specialist forestry consultant in continuous cover forestry (CCF) working in Great Britain and Ireland. Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) have a wide client base which includes investment forestry clients, NGOs, community groups, NRW, small private woodland and farm woodland owners. SFM trade consultancy services in continuous cover forestry with SelectFor throughout the UK and internationally. They administer and maintain the AFI Network of irregular high forest stands in the UK and Ireland and make forest inventories in client forests. Phil runs marteloscope training courses in individual tree selection in Wales. Phil is a past chairman of CCFG and past president of Pro Silva. He is Vice President of the Association Futaie Irrégulière (AFI) and Chairman of the Irregular Silviculture Network (ISN).

Jim Smith MICFor – National Urban Forestry Adviser, Forestry Commission

Jim has been an urban forester for over 35 years. He first worked for the Forestry Commission on leaving school and returned to London to work as an arborist in the Royal Parks in the early eighties. He is a Chartered member of the Institute and has twice been Chair of the London Tree Officer’s Association being involved in the production of many national and regional guidance documents involving trees. Notably the original and current versions of NJUG 10; Guidelines for the Planning Installation, Maintenance and Repair of Utility Services in Proximity to Trees, The Institution of Structural Engineer’s document Subsidence of Low Rise Buildings 2000, The LTOAs A Risk Limitation Strategy for Tree Root Claims 2007, The National Tree Safety Group’s guidance Common sense risk management of trees, he is also a member of the British Standards Institute B/213 committee on standards for trees.

Conference Steering Group

Dr Dean Bell – Postgraduate Researcher in Urban Forestry, University of the West of England

Tim Bennett – Forester, Pryor & Rickett Silviculture

Ryan Kearney – Student, Myerscough College

Conall Rees – Student, University of Cumbria

Graham Watson – Graduate Forester, Cumbria Woodlands