Our monthly policy and research blog updates you on the latest work at the Institute and how you can get involved.
Institute news
Welcome to the second bi-monthly Policy Roundup of 2025, from the Institute’s Technical Policy Manager, Caroline Harrison MICFor. We have had a full first quarter with a wide range of CPD events and two important consultations that we responded to with the help of members.
Centenary National Conference 2025
Our special Centenary National Conference: Celebrating the Past, Inspiring the Future took place in Edinburgh on 29 and 30 April where over 300 delegates came together to reflect on the past century in forestry and arboriculture and look forward to the challenges and opportunities that the next 100 years will deliver. Stay tuned for a conference write-up in the Summer 2025 edition of TREES.
#MembersHour – recordings available on the Members Area!
- 6 March – How Forestry England are Creating new Productive Woodlands to Expand the Nation’s Forests
- 20 March – DiversiTree – Diversifying our Woodlands to Increase Resilience
- 3 April – Introducing the Green Design Tool elemental & Lessons for Forestry
- 17 April – The More Coppice Into Productive Management Project – How can Coppice Contribute to a Resilient Woodland Landscape?
#TreeSurgery
These events are informal monthly drop-in sessions and are a great opportunity for all members working in forestry, environment, arboriculture and urban forestry to get together to talk all things trees. #TreeSurgery does not have a formal agenda and has been designed for informal networking and knowledge exchange in a relaxed forum. Visit our Events page to book for the upcoming sessions.
Future events during 2025
We have full calendar of events through until Autumn. Check the this page for upcoming events.
Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research
Forestry is available exclusively online and is free to all members of the Institute – click here to access the Forestry Journal Archive at Oxford University Press.
Public sector engagement
We continue to build upon the strong relationship the Institute has with DAERA, Defra, Forestry England, Forest Research, Forestry Commission, Forestry and Land Scotland, Natural Resources Wales, and Scottish Forestry. Please feel free to contact us if there is anything you would like us to address on your behalf.
Consultations & political advocacy
Responding to public consultations is an important way to influence policy. We consult with members as much as possible and often work in partnership with other organisations to strengthen our messages. We also produce papers on specific topics where it is important to publish our position here.
The Institute has responded to the following consultations since the last policy update:
- Timber Industrial Strategy – Wales (Welsh Government)
This consultation set out proposals for Wales’s first Timber Industrial Strategy. Read our response. - Land Use Framework (Defra)
This consultation presented the government’s assessment of the scale of land use change required to meet Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) and Climate Change Act targets, and how this will be achieved alongside the land needed for forestry, food, housing and energy. Read our response. - Call for Evidence – Further Education and Skills
Call for Evidence – Committees – UK Parliament
The Institute will be responding to the following consultation and would encourage members to submit their own responses:
- Woodland Carbon Code – Version 3 (Woodland Carbon Code – Scottish Forestry) – Deadline: 10 June 2025
Help shape the next version of the Woodland Carbon Code that is due to be released later this year. The update reflects their commitment to continuous improvement, ensuring the code remains clear, accessible and aligned with national and global standards. Please read the consultation document and share your views in this online survey by Tuesday 10 June. It should take around 30 minutes. Please submit your comments to caroline.harrison@charteredforesters.org
We are encouraging members to respond to the following consultations:
- Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs)
There are 48 LNRSs rolling out across England. Each LNRS will agree local priorities for nature recovery and suggest the best actions in the best locations. Preparation of LNRSs is underway in all areas, and the first one has been published in the West of England. Read more on the Defra Farming Blog. You can also find a map on GOV.UK which shows who is leading the preparation of the LNRS in your area and how to contact them. The Institute, Confor and the Royal Forestry Society are submitting a joint technical paper for all LNRSs to use to inform their priorities for trees and woodlands. - Voluntary Carbon and Nature Markets: Raising Integrity (Department for Energy Security & Net Zero – UK Government) – Deadline: 10 July 2025
This consultation seeks to clarify and test the UK Government’s proposed policy and governance framework for helping to ensure the integrity of Voluntary Carbon and Nature Market credits and the use of credits. It provides a response to calls from business, finance, farming, and environmental stakeholders for clarity on the Government’s approach. Please read the consultation document and respond online by Thursday 10 July.
Developments
UK Tree Planting Taskforce
The Institute’s Executive Director, Louise Simpson, attended the second meeting of the UK Tree Planting Taskforce entitled, ‘Communities at the Heart of Woodland Creation’. Chaired by Scotland’s Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon, it focused on the vital role of community engagement in woodland creation. Ministers from all four UK nations agreed that involving local people is key to successful and sustainable tree planting. The Taskforce aims to unite UK administrations to accelerate woodland expansion.
Springpod
The Institute and the Forestry Commission have launched the Sustainable Careers in Forestry: Virtual Work Experience (VWEX) programme. This new virtual forestry work experience programme is now available on the immersive online career’s platform, Springpod. Free for students to sign up, Springpod helps young people explore career opportunities through both virtual work experience and university taster courses.
Forestry Sector Skills Plan (England)
The Forestry Sector Skills Plan (England) has been launched, setting out a ten-year vision to address workforce shortages and build a skilled forestry sector. The Institute hosts the plan and has several actions that we will be working on going forward.
Scottish Biodiversity Metric
Members of the Institute recently met with NatureScot to begin the process of developing a Biodiversity Metric for Scotland in respect to the biodiversity quantification of individual and groups of trees. It was a very positive meeting and it was agreed that the Institute will facilitate a co-design group to further develop the metric.
Representation
Our representatives sit on groups, panels, and committees across the sector, actively participating, feeding back developments, and advising us on actions to take. The role of an Institute Representative is a crucial touch point between Institute staff, Council, and members.
The Institute is represented on 17 enduring groups, committees, and advisory boards, over nine high-level standing groups where staff members represent the Institute, and a constantly evolving number of targeted, time-bound working groups, research teams, and review panels.
If members would like clarification or suggest other groups the Institute should be represented on, or advise on our overall approach, please contact caroline.harrison@charteredforesters.org
Special Interest Groups
The first Special Interest Group meetings of 2025 were held during March and April, including a new Special Interest Group on Green Finance. The groups are busy planning in-person CPD events. Further details to follow.
Sector news, guidance & reports
- Government publishes first Pesticides National Action Plan in a decade
- Template buyer-seller agreements for carbon units published
- 2025 Embodied Carbon Data for Timber Products
- New report from RAU lays out how the UK can unlock solutions to the pressures on land
- Three reasons why England needs more conifer planting
- Trees Outside Woodland (TOW) map
- Illegal tree felling crackdown: NRW secures three major prosecutions
- Timber in Construction – Spring update
- Agroforestry mini-series on Meet the Farmers podcast
- UK Tree Supply Report published
- Modelling woodland creation to boost bird populations
- Observatree Blog – host of the month
- Update to EWCO winter planting deadline
- 2025 Farming Equipment and Technology Fund
- Working Minds campaign: new online learning module
- Sustainable Farming Incentive update
- Trees & Design Action Group newsletter
