News Updates

Browse the latest news and press articles from the Save Our Woods campaign. Heard something? Want to tell us about it? Get in touch – we’d love to hear from you.

Dr Oliver Rackham

16.02.2015

When Karen, Nick and I first began Save Our Woods way back in Jan 2011 I’m not sure we knew who Oliver Rackham was. We soon learned and it was an honour to receive a message from him offering his support for and wisdom to our campaign. In amongst the scrum and racket of the […]

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Forest Vision – Transforming the Forestry Commission

08.07.2014

Review by Pip Howard Early into the campaign against the Public Forest Estate sell off plans by the Coalition government, it became clear that many in the media, particularly many newspaper columnists, were drastically out of date with regards their viewpoint on the Forestry Commission, indeed continually around 20 – 30 years out of date. […]

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It’s time to get the draft forestry legislation into the public domain for debate.

06.02.2014

We need to know what the proposed safeguards against the privatisation and exploitation of our English public forests are. Will this Government take the risk in the build up to the General Election and put the draft forestry bill into parliament for public scrutiny? If they believed in the current offering from DEFRA and the Forestry Commission, why on earth wouldn’t they?

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Tree Planting Grants Suspended

14.11.2013

It has just emerged that there will be no Government grants for planting new woodlands in 2014 and 2015. The result of transitional arrangements towards new European grants under the Rural Development Programme, the suspension has apparently been limited in Scotland and Wales – but not in England.

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England’s largest environmental NGOs voice concern over new proposals for our public forests

10.09.2013

England’s largest environmental NGOs voice concern over new proposals for our public forests

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Forestry Commission for the Future: e-Petition Launched!

25.08.2013

    The Forestry Commission (FC) has provided Great Britain with a verdant rich tapestry of woods and forests enjoyed by the public for nearly 100 years.  The UK Government, however, is about to embark on an exercise to set up new bodies – breaking up and tearing the heart out of the FC. We […]

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Forestry in the House of Lords again

18.07.2013

HANSARD – Forestry: Independent Panel Report. Question, Asked by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon

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The Future of Our Forests – What’s happened DEFRA?

11.07.2013

There’s plenty to be happy about but there are a few things that stand out as being a massive failure by Government to listen to the people that enabled this once in a hundred year process to occur.

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Efforts stepped up to tackle disease of ash trees (Chalara fraxinea, ash dieback)

25.10.2012

Disease found in East Anglia in trees not associated with recent plantings of nursery supplied plants… consultation to stop Ash imports through legislation ends tomorrow

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Alert for serious disease of ash trees – Chalara fraxinea (Ash dieback)

24.10.2012

Professionals in the forestry, plant nursery and tree-care sectors across the UK are on high alert for Chalara dieback of ash trees, a destructive disease only found here for the first time in 2012.

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The Brockhole Monkey Puzzle – How pure should garden restoration be?

15.10.2012

Garden restoration. How far back is it reasonable to go and is the removal of mature, healthy specimen trees justified?

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FC/DEFRA Forestry Working Group – Keeping the Dialogue Going

13.10.2012

Mark Funnell, Head of Communications for Forestry Commission GB and Tony Williamson, Leader of DEFRA’s Forestry Team introduce the government’s forestry working group & update us on where they are in their work, inviting everyone to enter into dialogue with them so we can all secure the future for our forests we want.

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A Stark Warning for us from our Friends in Ireland: Don’t let them sell your harvesting rights!

04.10.2012

A stark warning for us in England. While we were fighting to save our public forest estate from sell off, our friends in Ireland were doing the same. Like us, they won the fight to keep their public forests in public ownership. However, they are now faced with the harvesting rights of their public forests being sold off to the highest bidder. Our new Secretary of State, Rt. Hon. Owen Paterson has only weeks ago left his position as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. I wonder if he picked up any tips from his neighbours in the Republic of Ireland?

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Biomass for Biofuel – A Black Hole for British Biodiversity

26.07.2012

On the 25th July the UK government announced continued subsidies for electricity production from biomass, which according to the UK government will help meet its renewable energy targets. The same day, Drax confirmed it would be converting a North Yorkshire power plant for using ‘mainly biomass’.

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England’s Woodland Culture: Forestry Panel Report Stakeholder Meeting – 10th July 2012

13.07.2012

An historic event that punctuates a pivotal moment in our forests history! The future of our forests and trees has changed forever…

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Independent Panel on Forestry – PRESS RELEASE

04.07.2012

The Independent Panel on Forestry, set up to advise the Government on the future of England’s forests and woodlands, has today (4 July) published its final report to Government.

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Meeting of forest campaigners and Lord Taylor, forestry minister – 2 July 2012

03.07.2012

Statement from the forest campaign groups that attended a meeting at DEFRA with forest policy makers… or …How the meeting went!

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Forest campaigners to meet minister for forestry policy, Lord Taylor

01.07.2012

Tomorrow I join 5 other forest campaigners and head to London to meet with the minister responsible for forest policy in England, Lord Taylor of Holbeach.

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Harmony, A New Way of Looking at Our World. A film and book by Prince Charles, Tony Juniper and Ian Skelly

09.05.2012

Si Jakeman shares with us his thoughts on the new film and book, Harmony, from His Royal Highness Prince Charles, Tony Juniper and Ian Skelly.

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The Great BiG Earth DiG

13.03.2012

Is A day to inspire people on a local level to create a new space for growing their own fruit and vegetables on the first day of Spring, otherwise known as Equinox Day, 20th March

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