November 1, 2021

Wood for the Trees

In “Wood for the Trees” we asked people working with woods, trees and timber about their hopes and fears for our forests, and for policy suggestions to help them grow.

See these suggestions in this 5 minute film:  

12 Ideas to Help Britain’s Forests Grow

1. Create a coherent plan to support nature across government
2. Bring agriculture and forestry together into one ecological unit
3. Deliver funding to turn policy into practice
4. Value productive woodlands in creating good quality timber
5. Grown in Britain policy for all timber used in public buildings
6. Funding for 19% canopy cover by 2050
7. Control grey squirrel numbers to protect young trees
8. Implement a carbon tax to incentivise local production
9. Always plant improved trees when planting trees for timber
10. All school age children to have access to forest school
11. Prioritise woodland restoration over tree planting
12. All funded tree planting to be accompanied by a long term management plan

Many thanks to our guests:

Dr Jo Clark, Future Trees Trust, Dr Gabriel Hemery, Sylva Foundation  Jez Ralph, Timber Strategies, Doug King Smith, the Hillyfield Woodland Farm , Alastair Driver, Rewilding Britain, Dougal Driver, Grown in Britain, Suzi Martineau, Tree Sisters & The Tree Conference, Graham Taylor, Pryor & Rickett Silvaculture, Chris Smaje & Cordelia Rowlatt, Small Farm Future & Vallis Veg

More about the series

“Wood for the Trees” is a series of short films by Vastern Timber managing director Tom Barnes, and nature based film maker Charly Le Marchant. Charly is a Somerset based forest school leader and film-maker, with experience leading community tree planting and forest gardening. Tom is a 4th generation owner of Vastern Timber, a family firm specialising in locally grown wood, and he hopes his grandchildren’s generation can continue in the family business.

Although they come from very different perspectives, both are passionate about protecting British woodland.

To find out more about the future of Britain’s forests, Tom and Charly talked with people working with woods, trees, and timber. They discussed their hopes and fears for Britain’s forests, and suggested policies to help them grow. During COP26 we shared those suggestions.