Articles

Views from the SOW team and guest contributors.

If you would like to see your article published on Save Our Woods, please get in touch, we’d love to know your opinion too.

The Future of the Forestry Commission

23.01.2013

by Rod Leslie.. “For me, the break up of the Forestry Commission is a line in the sand because it will mean the Government will fail to deliver the promise of the IFP report.”

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Terroir (sustainable land management systems) – a way forward for forestry & farming?

15.01.2013

More forests can repair the damage done, not least in that most degraded of landscapes of all, the urban landscape. ‘Terroir’, the sense of place we feel when we connect to our landscape, a better way forward?

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Politics and the Forestry Panel

12.01.2013

As the Government’s response to the Independent Panel approaches it’s clear there is only one way out of the political mess the Conservatives landed themselves in. That is to understand, accept and take action to turn the panel’s views into policy.

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Save Farm Terrace Allotments!

09.01.2013

..as with public forests, allotments are ‘green spaces’ that are proven to work for both public well being and biodiversity. We must protect our cultural landscape heritage and protect what few allotments we have…

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HOOF CONTINUES FIGHT FOR FUTURE OF FOREST, FOR FUNDING AND RESOURCES

07.01.2013

HOOF chair Rich Daniels said: “The bottom line is the money. Despite the Forestry Commission and the Public Forest Estate providing outstanding value, anything with a cost attached is in serious jeopardy of not being taken forward. If there is a failure of government to safeguard our Forest and its management, we may have to protest all over again!”

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British Woodlands 2012, Report of Conference on December 11th

14.12.2012

British Woodlands 2012 was organised by the Sylva Foundation, and held at the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Oxford. The aim was to hear voices from owners of small woodlands – the people on the ground who own or manage the smaller woods that form the majority of woodland in England.

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Autumn Statement – Go for Growth – Go for Trees

05.12.2012

At a time when leadership, vision and confidence are all important surely we cannot take the risk of being the country that can afford Trident but can’t afford it’s Trees.

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Children and Nature

25.11.2012

“letting children enjoy the landscape in their own way can be just as effective as any exciting day out. If we encourage them to love & value their landscape, then hopefully we can not only kindle a lifelong passion but help to shape how the next generation will treat these issues

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Hope for the Threatened Ash – Lars Goran-Steiner, Forestry Research Institute of Sweden

19.11.2012

Lars Goran-Stener is a silvicultural scientist, working with Skogforsk, the Forestry Research Institute of Sweden.

He has kindly given SoW permission to publish the results of his research into genetic strains of Ash resistant to Chalara (ash die back), we’ve translated it from the Swedish below.

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Forestry Commission – you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone

13.11.2012

My message to our new environment ministers is this:

Please, DON’T put an NGO between us and those we trust at the Forestry Commission. Particularly over something as important as tree disease and forest resilience to climate change.

Please, DO give the Forestry Commission the resources and freedom it needs to work with us, the public, to advance our multi-purpose forests into a financially and ecologically sustainable future we can be proud to leave our children.

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Zac Goldsmith & CRT call for action on all invasive pests & diseases threatening our trees, woods & forests

07.11.2012

… calling on the Government to invest more resources in the form of a Tree Protection Task Force, not just for short-term fire-fighting when a pest is already present, but for getting ahead of those posing future threats and developing long-term strategies to build greater resilience into our woods, forests and city tree-scapes

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Press Release: Forest Campaigns Network calls for United Action on Ash die-back tree disease

04.11.2012

The FCN calls on ALL organisations – Government departments and agencies, forestry professionals and businesses, the horticultural industry, charities, forest groups and the public – to work together to fight this disease and protect one of our most treasured native species.

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“Ash Die-Back” : Disaster or Opportunity?

26.10.2012

The traditional response to a disease outbreak is initially panic and then to respond with a raft of regulatory measures designed to drive the disease out of the country but…

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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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Tales from the Wild Wood – BBC FOUR

17.10.2012

Tales from the Wild Wood is a new six-part series about British woodlands to be broadcast on BBC4 this autumn. Presented by writer and wannabe woodsman Rob Penn, the series explores the great British love affair with trees.

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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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