New Forestry E-Lecture Series Fosters International Links
The call is out for forestry professionals in the UK to sign up for a new free e-lecture series this month as part of a project aimed at building links with their counterparts in Canada.
The Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF) and Forest Research, both based in the UK, have joined forces with The Canadian Institute of Forestry/ l’Institut forestier du Canada (CIF) to bring a series of electronic lectures on UK Forestry to an international audience for the first time. The four e-lectures will take place in June and July under the banner ‘A Glimpse of 21st Century Forestry in the UK’.
The online events are part of the CIF’s “Forest On Your Desktop” electronic lecture series which began back in 2007 and which has grown from one e-lecture per month, in front of a modest audience, to an average of 400 participants each week. The interactive lectures run for approximately one hour on Wednesdays (1.30pm EST / 6.30pm BST) and in the past have featured experts and practitioners from across Canada. Now those working in the forestry industry in Canada are to hear from experts here in the UK, including a number of Chartered Foresters.
Matt Meade, Executive Director of the CIF (pictured, left) said, “We here at the Canadian Institute of Forestry are very proud to present our first ever international electronic lecture series in collaboration with the Institute of Chartered Foresters and Forest Research. This joint effort not only brings leading researchers, from a variety of research areas in the United Kingdom to forest professionals and practitioners here in Canada but also enables an important exchange of ideas between our two countries. With anticipation building and many signing up early, the series is sure to be a great success.”
A number of ICF members have been instrumental in bringing about the collaboration and members are also represented among the first programmed speakers in the series with Graham Taylor MICFor, Pryor and Rickett Silviculture, presenting an overview of UK Forestry, Dr Gary Kerr FICFor, Forest Research, talking about Silvicultural Changes for the 21st Century and John Weir MICFor Forestry Commission England speaking about Species Diversification.
ICF Deputy Director Russell Horsey commented: “This e-lecture series is an exciting opportunity to highlight the work being done by ICF members in the forestry sector to their counterparts worldwide and also for us to offer something new to our own members. The lectures are free, easy to access, and user-friendly. All participants require is a phone and a computer. We will be asking for feedback on the format of the lectures from those that sign up and hope this will be the first of many collaborative projects between the ICF and the CIF.”
Event information:
E-Lecture Series: The Forest on Your Desktop
London Calling: A Glimpse of 21st Century Forestry in the UK
Canadian Institute of Forestry / Institut forestier du Canada
In collaboration with the Institute of Chartered Foresters and Forest Research
19 June – Overview of UK Forestry
Graham Taylor MICFor – Managing Director, Pryor and Rickett Silviculture
26 June – Threats to Tree Health
Dr Joan Webber – Head of Tree Health, Centre for Ecosystems, Society and Biosecurity, Forest Research
3 July – Silvicultural Changes for the 21st Century
Dr Gary Kerr FICFor – Principal Silviculturist, Centre for Sustainable Forestry and Climate Change, Forest Research and Editor-in-Chief of Forestry, ICF’s international journal of forest research
10 July – Species Diversification and Choice
John Weir MICFor- Adviser, Woodland Creation and Resilience, Forest Services, Forestry Commission England
All lectures take place at 6.30pm BST and are free easy to access, and user-friendly. All that is required is a computer and a phone (preferably with a speaker).
Advance registration is essential – please email Dana Collins dcollins@cif-ifc.org . Once registered an email will be sent out to you providing the presentation file, as well as step-by-step instructions for participation. The instructions will include a toll free number and a link to a website; participants will call in just before the lecture starts (audio) and click the link to see the visual elements of the lecture – usually a PowerPoint presentation and webcam view of the presenter.
Once the presenter has finished their lecture participants will be invited to ask any questions they may have.
