Institute of Chartered Foresters

⚠️ This episode contains strong language and sensitive discussions around mental health and suicide. Listener discretion advised.

Today is World Mental Health Day - a reminder that awareness alone isn’t enough. Employers must take real action to support mental health.

@royalforestrysoc.bsky.social has released a new Gone Foresting podcast exploring the pressures of forestry work & wellbeing 👇

open.spotify.com/episode/4oI4...

Have your say on science and innovation in the forestry sector 📢

✅10-15 minutes to complete
✅Five chances to win £200 in retail vouchers
✅For anyone working in forestry and wood processing
✅Anonymous

Respond to the survey: tinyurl.com/FRPractition...

The UKFS isn’t just for foresters. That’s why we created the UKFS for Non-Foresters online course designed to help allied professionals understand and apply the principles of sustainable forestry 🌲

Start learning today: silvestor.org.uk/non-forester...

Last call for poster submissions!

Showcase your work on ancient woodlands at our Ancient Woodlands Conference in Birmingham on 25 November. Submit a poster before the deadline this Friday 10 October.

🏆 There's a prize for the best posters!

More info: charteredforesters.org/event/ancien...

It’s Red Squirrel Awareness Week! 🐿️

Share your stories, photos and support using the hashtags #RSAW2025 and #RedSquirrelAwarenessWeek.

Find out more and view the events taking place this week ⬇️

squirrelaccord.uk/red-squirrel...

Bookings are now open for our Wales Member Network Centenary Conference: Forestry at 100 – A Century of Growth, A Future of Possibility.

🗓️ 6 Nov 📍Bangor University

View the programme and secure a ticket - places are limited ⬇️

charteredforesters.org/event/wales-...

Reminder to respond to this science and innovation in forestry sector survey📝

✔️10-15 minutes to complete
✔️Five chances to win £200 in retail vouchers
✔️For anyone working in forestry and wood processing
✔️Anonymous

Complete the survey here: tinyurl.com/FRPractition...

Last chance to book this Midlands Member Network event next week ⬇️

Creating & Managing Woodland in a Historic Landscape

🗓️7 Oct 📍Shenton, Leicestershire

Booking close on Friday 3 October at midday.

Secure a place: charteredforesters.org/event/creati...

The Foresight Sustainable Forestry Skills Training Programme returns to Wales this autumn.

🌲Fully funded hands-on forestry training
🌍 Direct pathway into green careers
📅 Apply by 3 Oct 2025

Find out more at bit.ly/42fzY1Q

Are you in forestry or wood processing?

Progressive is running a survey to understand how science and innovation fit into your work - no matter your level of interest.

Complete the 10–15 min survey for a chance to win 1 of 5 £200 vouchers 🎁

Take part: tinyurl.com/FRPractition...

One month to go 👇

Less than 10 tickets left for our Centenary National Study Tour!

📍Windsor Great Park
🗓️21 & 22 October

Now open to non-members.

Don't miss out - book now: charteredforesters.org/event/centen...

Thanks to Cheviot Trees for sponsoring this event.

ICF staff away day highlights 👇

The team met in Carlisle for a member strategy workshop and escape room, plus a special visit to a James Jones & Sons' woodland and tour of their Lockerbie sawmill.

Thanks to Tom Coates MICFor, Neil Cowan MICFor & Tommy Milburn for hosting us.

Our Centenary National Study Tour 2025 is now open to non-members!

Next month we head to Windsor Great Park to continue our 100th anniversary celebrations.

➡️ Only 10 places left – book now: charteredforesters.org/event/centen...

Thanks to Cheviot Trees for sponsoring.

Not a forester and looking for an introduction to the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS)?

Our new online course makes the UKFS practical for farmers, planners, conservationists and more.

🌿 Find out more & sign up: silvestor.org.uk/non-forester...

Science, research and innovation in forestry – your voice matters 📢

Take part in this 10-15 minute survey to help shape the future. It's open to those working across the forestry sector.

🎁 5 chances to win £200 in retail vouchers

Take the survey: tinyurl.com/FRPractition...

Our Technical Policy Manager Caroline Harrison MICFor was at the Agroforestry Show this week, hosted by the Woodland Trust and Soil Association.

She connected with ICF VP Gary Kerr FICFor and members, and represented us as a panellist during the Farmers Weekly Question Time.

view of a person working on a laptop on a wooden table. Text reads: Planting seeds for the future - how virtual work experience is cultivating the next generations of foresters

Cultivating foresters to grow and manage the trees of the future.
Join the @theicf.bsky.social in Planting Seeds for the Future: How Virtual Work Experience is Cultivating the Next Generation of Foresters c-js.uk/4le0LC9

Just launched ➡️UKFS for Non-Foresters, a one-hour online course making the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) accessible to professionals beyond forestry.

Perfect for farmers, planners, landowners & more. Know someone who’d benefit? Please share!

Enrol today: silvestor.org.uk/enrol/index....

YouTube video by Royal Forestry Society Every Interaction Matters: Mental Health in Forestry

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day.

@royalforestrysoc.bsky.social launched this #EveryInteractionMatters video today continuing its work to raise awareness of the issues surrounding mental health in the forestry sector.

🎥 www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwXE...
🔗 Resources: ukfisa.com/Safety/Safet...

Researchers are studying the DNA of 50 ancient oaks to learn how they survive for centuries, and in extreme weather, to help restore woodlands: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Join the conversation at our #AncientWoodlandsConference on 25 Nov in Birmingham.

🎫 charteredforesters.org/event/ancien...

A guide to working with the social and cultural values people hold regarding Trees outside of Woodland - Forest Research Interactive Dashboard exploring Trees outside of Woodland in Peri-Urban and Rural settings (ToWPUR) from Forest Research

Forest Research has created an interactive guide to help policymakers and practitioners understand the unique social and cultural values of trees outside of woodlands in peri-urban and rural settings.

ow.ly/KsYW50WMVBZ

Funded by the UK Government through Defra’s Nature for Climate Fund programme.

Our Executive Director & Director of Membership Engagement caught up at the Royal Welsh Show last month to discuss our developing membership strategy, focused on growth, engagement & member value.

Stay tuned for the TREES Autumn issue featuring member stories & ways to get involved🌱

#MembersHour is back next week after the summer break. The following are open for bookings via the Members Area:

🌿 4 Sep: Britain’s Temperate Rainforests - Definitions, Threats, Action

🪵 18 Sep: Ips typographus & Proactive Management in the Demarcated Area

🏗️ 2 Oct: Trees, Planning & Construction

Join our South West England Member Network for its autumn workshop at the National Trust's 2,590-hectare Killerton estate in Devon.

📅 9 October 🕐12:00 - 17:00

View the programme and book 👇
charteredforesters.org/event/lesson...

New event 👉 Creating & Managing Woodland in a Historic Landscape

📅 7 October 📍 Shenton Estate, Leicestershire

Learn about Shenton Estate's England Woodland Creation Offer project near the site of the Battle of Bosworth.

More info & tickets: charteredforesters.org/event/creati...

Stay in the loop 🌳

Our monthly E-Newsletter lands on the last Wednesday of every month and is packed with the latest news from the Institute and sector.

📬 Don't miss out - subscribe now to receive August's E-Newsletter next week: charteredforesters.org/subscribe-to...

Call for posters!

Showcase your work at our Ancient Woodlands Conference on 25 November in Birmingham.

Posters are welcomed on the session themes:
📝 Evidence
🌳 Practice
📢 Policy & Campaigns

Find out more at charteredforesters.org/event/ancien...

Just under two months to go!

📅 14 Oct📍 Broughton Hall, Skipton

Join us for a full day of CPD, networking and centenary celebrations at the North England Professional Development Day.

New fireside dinner for 2025 - see pics of the space below 🔥

🔗 charteredforesters.org/event/north-...

Meet Andrew Sowerby FICFor – President of the Institute and host of the Friendly Neighbourhood Chartered Forester series.

Andrew is sharing his story and insights into forestry and arboriculture through weekly videos on YouTube.

📺 Watch & subscribe: www.youtube.com/@sowerbyandrew