nurturing a wood culture, growing a future
Last week eighty forest educators came together at Bishops Wood Centre to increase their skills and knowledge in forestry at a conference run by England’s Forest Education Network (FEN). Sylva Foundation played a key role in developing the forestry theme of the conference and helping deliver the conference in its role as one of six national organisations on the FEN steering group.
Ten key principles of the Tree Charter are published today, aiming to bring trees and woods to the centre of UK society.
This week the Wittenhams Community Orchard was formally opened by Oxfordshire’s High Sheriff Sarah Taylor, attended by all the children from the local primary school, volunteers, funders and neighbours. Earlier in the week we also installed the first of our beehives in our new Apiary.
A free workshop will bring together managers of ash research sites, concerned land-owners and managers of woodlands experiencing or threatened by Chalara ash dieback. The aim is to share information and experience and to renew partnerships in ash genetics and tree improvement research.
Last weekend we welcomed more than 50 families and hundreds of people to the Future Forest to plant trees in their sponsored plots. Just 37 plots remain – please act now if you want to dedicate a plot to someone special or treat yourself.
Following a successful stakeholder workshop yesterday in Edinburgh, we have completed Phase 2 of the British Woodlands Survey. The top GB-wide theme was Societal Attitudes, followed by Climate Change Adaptation and Pests & Diseases. It is interesting to note how much contrast there was between some countries for certain themes; for example the low importance attributed to Tree Planting in Wales, and Managing for Carbon in England. These results will help us in concentrating questions in the survey to fit with themes or priorities considered most important across GB and its countries.
This week we held our second of four workshops across Britain with stakeholders, helping set the main themes for the next British Woodlands Survey to launch in the summer.
Grown in Britain (GIB) have generously supported the Sylva Future Forest by sponsoring a cluster of plots now known as the Grown in Britain grove.
This week we’ve welcomed more business Forest Friends to plant their trees and learn more about the work of Sylva Foundation.
This weekend we welcomed more than 30 of our new Forest Friends to help plant their sponsored plots. Over 900 trees were planted with some 40 different tree species.