Our monthly policy and research blog updates you on the latest work at the Institute and how you can get involved.
Institute News
EWCO
In late July, we held an event hosted by the Forestry Commission on the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO). There was excellent engagement from members who asked some probing questions. Forestry Commission presenters Alec Rhodes MICFor (Woodland Creation Incentives Team Manager), Dr Rosa Amboage (Economist) and Lucy Wyatt (Woodland Creation Promotion and Engagement Lead, England Tree Planting Programme) ran out of time to answer them so prepared a comprehensive briefing document to circulate to attendees – a copy of this is available in the Members’ Area Library along with a recording of the session.
Consultation Responses
We are drafting responses to consultations in Scotland and Nothern Ireland. In Scotland, the National Strategy for Economic Transformation is open until 27 August and we will be providing feedback to highlight the importance of forestry for the economy and the shortages in rural skills. In Northern Ireland, the NI Peatland Strategy consultation is currently open and is the subject of much debate across the UK. Thank you to all members and Council for helping to shape our responses to these.
The suitability of where, when, what and how trees are planted is a trending topic, especially as the pressures from the climate and nature emergencies grow. Last month, we fed into recently published cultivation guidance by Scottish Forestry via our member representative Andrew Vaughan FICFor and we are aware that there was mixed reception. We would like to produce a piece on this for the website or our member magazine, TREES – please get in touch with your experiences or suggestions from across the UK. The Scotsman published a brief article on the new guidance in late July and you can read it here.
Keeping Connected
We have managed to find time between summer holidaying to have the usual policy catch up calls with the likes of the Arboricultural Association, Confor and the RSPB where Andrew Weatherall MICFor is the new Principal Policy Officer.
Armed Forces Covenant
Finally, the Institute is considering signing the Armed Forces Covenant. If you have served in the armed forces or would like to be involved in helping us develop a network, please complete our short survey.
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Sector News
Report on Climate Change
Published in August, only a few months ahead of COP26 in Glasgow, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report Global Warming of 1.5 ºC offers context to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty. Below are some relevant articles:
Grants & Funding
- National Forest for Wales: The Woodland Investment Grant (TWIG) – guidance
- National Forest for Wales stakeholder toolkit – read
- Updates to the EIA process in Wales – read
Research
- RFS publish case studies on woodland resilience – read
- UK Research and Innovation to fund research on how trees can help reach net zero – read
News
- Project using nature based solutions to reduce the risk of flooding in the North East – read
