The British Woodlands Survey supports research across a wide range of important forestry topics in collaboration with universities and government partners, with the aim of advancing sustainable woodland management.
Latest Report: BWS2024
Through the British Woodlands Surveys we actively ask stakeholders – private landowners, land managers, agents, tree nurseries and businesses who have an interest in our trees and forests – about their aims and aspirations, such as the barriers to various approaches to woodland management, and also about threats, such as pests and diseases, and opportunities, such as growing the green bio-economy.
While the British Woodlands Survey complements other larger surveys, it can also reach people who own just a small amount of land, or who run a community woodland and who may be overlooked. Through Sylva Foundation we can reach these individuals who collectively make up a significant population of stakeholders in woodland management.
To deliver the surveys we have collaborated with many organisations to deliver different iterations, while government’s research agency Forest Research has consistently been a main partner.
We are building a long-term data set to compare responses year-on-year to show what is really changing in British woodlands.
British Woodlands Surveys: completed and latest activities
| Year | Topic | Download Resources |
|---|---|---|
| BWS2025 | Resilience and environmental change | Survey now live (July and August 2025) – Take the survey |
| BWS2024 | Understanding and Supporting Public Access to Woodlands | Full report plus Supplementary Material |
| BWS2021 | The future health of oak and attitudes to treatments in development | How to recognise a healthy forest: perspectives from private forest managers in Britain (free to access peer-review paper) |
| BWS2020 | Resilience and environmental change | Full report |
| BWS2017 | Shaping the future of forestry | Full report |
| BWS2015 | Resilience and environmental change | Full report |
| BWS2014 | Ancient woodland and planted ancient woodland sites | Full report |
| BWS2012 | Ownership, markets and management | Full report |
“The value of the BWS as an evidence-base of the views, motivations and actions of woodland owners and managers cannot be overestimated. In the context of woodland resilience and climate change adaptation, it is a crucial resource for understanding how far along the path we have come and what the challenges are for making our woodlands fit for the future. The more owners and managers who participate, the better our understanding is, and the more effective we can be in ensuring our guidance, incentives and the way we regulate woodland supports the journey to a resilient treescape.”
Mark Broadmeadow, Head of Climate Change, Forestry Commission
