About the job
Never has there been a more important time for trees and forests to help tackle the climate emergency and provide a much-needed sanctuary for people and wildlife. We aim to at least treble tree planting rates in England by the end of this Parliament, reflecting England’s contribution to meeting the UK’s overall target of planting 30,000 hectares per year by the end of this Parliament. This acceleration in current planting rates in England will contribute to meeting the net-zero by 2050 ambitions, and to government’s wider environmental targets. This is supported by the £640m Nature for Climate Fund announced in the March 2020 budget.
Forestry Commission Forest Services are the Government’s forestry experts. We advise nationally and locally on how to unlock the full potential of woodlands and support the forestry sector to protect, improve and expand England’s valuable woodland assets, ensuring that they continue to provide benefits to people, the environment and the economy.
The East & East Midlands Area stretches from Essex to the Peak District and contains over 250,000 hectares of woodland, 86% of which is owned and managed outside of the Forestry Commission’s estate. We are full of contrasts: have the two least-wooded counties in the UK; some areas are under sea level but others over 600m; we have internationally important ancient woodlands and very productive commercial plantations; we have number of important community initiatives and valuable peri-urban woodlands.
The Area Team operates from two offices distributed over the 12 counties we cover, but most staff currently work from home. The Area Team is led by Steve Scott (Area Director) and currently operates with 50 staff; the team will expand over the coming months to begin meeting the Government’s ambitions to create 30,000ha a year of new woodland in the UK by 2025.
The post includes the need to travel and will include some long journeys and overnight stays both within and outside the Area. During the induction for the role we would expect all RISOs to be spending a significant amount of their time at the Santon Downham office, with FC support depending on home location.
Job description
Purpose of the Job:
- Expand woodland cover:
a. Champion the multiple benefits of new woodland as business opportunities for land owners and as natural capital (including biodiversity, water quality, flood management, carbon sequestration, etc) for the wider environment and society;
b. Assist Woodland Officers in facilitating the design and delivery of new woodlands optimising the benefits they can deliver to the owner and as natural capital;
c. Assist Woodland Officers in the administration of the Forestry Regulations relating to woodland creation (Environmental Impact Assessment); and
d. Assist Woodland Officers to administer/process applications for grants. - Protect our existing trees and woodlands:
a. Support Woodland Officers in the administration of Forestry Regulations:
i. Forestry Act – Felling Licences,
ii. Environmental Impact Assessments – deforestation, forest roads and forest quarries, and
iii. Habitats Regulations – re forest operations within Special Protection Areas, Special Areas of Conservation, and Ramsar sites to ensure that tree felling is carried out in accordance with the principles of the UK Forestry Standard;
b. Advise on the links with other legislation such as those pertaining to European Protected Species; and - Improve the condition and resilience of our existing woodlands and wider treescape:
a. Champion the benefits of actively managed woodland;
b. Support woodland owners and managers in responding to key challenges of pests and diseases including: ash dieback, Phytophthora ramorum, deer and grey squirrels;
c. Work to increase resilience within woodlands to the challenges of a changing climate; and
d. Facilitate closer working across the forestry sector – for instance between markets, contractors, managers, etc - Engaging partners, stakeholders and the public:
a. Encourage, enthuse and support key partners and stakeholders to help facilitate the expansion, protection and improvement of our woodlands and treescape; and
b. At shows and events champion the many values of trees and woodland to the wider public helping them understand and appreciate the importance and values of active management.
