What we do

Awarding Chartered Status to Professionals in Forestry and Arboriculture

The Institute of Chartered Foresters is the Royal Chartered body for foresters and arboriculturists in the UK. It is the only UK body to offer the Chartered Forester and Chartered Arboriculturist titles.

The Institute regulates standards of entry to the profession; provides support to members; guidance to professionals in other sectors; information to the general public; and educational advice and training to both students and tree professionals seeking to develop their careers in the forestry and arboricultural sector.

The Institute works to foster a greater public awareness and understanding of forestry in order to serve a variety of commercial, recreational, environmental and scientific interests.

ICF Awards

ICF distributes, endorses and sponsors a series of awards throughout the year, to promote education and research and recognise exceptional contributions to both the Institute and the sector.

In this section

“Working towards becoming a Chartered Forester has enabled me to grow my forestry skills with confidence within a nurturing and supportive environment.”
Robert Davies

Latest news

27/02/2026

We are proud to recognise five outstanding professionals as recipients of The Hugh Miller Award for Excellence 2025. Named in honour of Professor Hugh Miller OBE FRSE FICFor (1939–2019), the award c...

23/02/2026

We welcome Defra’s recent deer impacts policy statement: managing the impacts of wild deer in England. This policy provides a clear, evidence-led framework to tackle the growing ecological, economic...

18/02/2026

The University of Cumbria in partnership with the Welsh Government, are offering current employees working in forestry the opportunity to become professionally recognised with an industry standard qua...

16/02/2026

The Institute of Chartered Foresters is delighted to announce the three shortlisted candidates for Professional Forester of the Year 2026, the prestigious award that recognises outstanding service to ...

13/02/2026

The UK Government’s latest national security assessment is clear: global biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse pose serious risks to the UK’s food security, climate stability and economic resil...

04/02/2026

The Institute of Chartered Foresters welcomes the publication of the UK Government’s Grey squirrel policy statement: managing the impact of grey squirrels and supports its commitment to addressing t...

02/02/2026

The Scottish Parliament has passed the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill delivering for both nature and people with ambition at its heart and showing respect for nature, for the land and the people ...

30/01/2026

The Institute of Chartered Foresters has responded to the Future Climate Suitability of London's Public Realm Trees report, published in November 2025 and authored by Dr Andrew Hirons and Kevin Martin...

23/01/2026

The Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF) has launched an exciting new pilot mentoring programme designed to connect early-career foresters and arboriculturists with some of the most experienced prof...

20/01/2026

The Institute of Chartered Foresters was delighted to close 2025 by recognising two members with prestigious awards for their exceptional contributions to forestry and the advancement of the professio...

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