About Us

Welcome to the website of the Royal Forestry Society. We are dedicated to the wise management of trees and woodlands,and to increasing people's understanding of forestry. On this site you can find out about all aspects of our work including:

• Forestry education
• Training and qualifications in arboriculture
• Study tours and woodland meetings
• Quarterly Journal of Forestry
• Bursaries and sponsorships

There is also a wealth of information about woodland management, trees and timber, such as:

• Biomass and woodfuel
• Deer and grey squirrel control
• Timber and non-wood forestry products

You can also learn about our charitable work with the Tree Aid project and the woodlands we manage, including what is believed to be the largest redwood grove in Europe.

How we started:
The Royal Forestry Society started back in 1882 when a group of foresters in Northumberland got together to exchange news and views about silviculture. It had 71 members.

We are a Registered Charity (No. 306093) and a charitable company limited by guarantee incorporated in England & Wales (No. 5306975). Our Registered Office is at 102 High Street, Tring, Herts HP23 4AF.

Our members:
We have over 4,000 members from all walks of life. They include woodland owners, land managers, foresters, students, conservationists, keen amateurs, arborists, landscapers, timber merchants, ecologists - all united by an interest in and a love of trees.

This means that the RFS is not a pressure group representing just one interested party or sector. Excuse the pun, but "we have no axe to grind" apart from furthering the appreciation, understanding and knowledge of trees, woods and forests.

We do that by publishing a popular magazine - the Quarterly Journal of Forestry. We also arrange outdoor meetings, organise woodland study tours in Britain and overseas, running exams in arboriculture and manage model woodlands. See the News & Events section to find out more.

And of course we have this website to provide a new tool to help anyone and everyone delve into the fascinating world of forestry, trees, woods and how to manage them - and all they offer the planet.

To become a member, please either:

• click here for an application form to join straight away
• or click here to request a membership information pack

How to use the site
This is a large site with a lot of information. It is a major knowledge centre.

The main chapters appear on the left margin. Clicking on a topic brings up a pop-up menu to select the next level of information - and sometimes that splits into subsections too.

Within three clicks you should have the information on screen.

Each section tries to focus on and answer questions, explain topics or flag up little known aspects to do with trees and their management - and give links to discover more.

It is not a definitive text or encyclopaedia of everything ever known or written about trees. It offers thumbnail sketches of most aspects of forests and forestry in the UK - and enough to tempt you to find out more.

Tree of the Month and Topical Topics change regularly, reflecting the seasonal changes in woods and forests in the United Kingdom - so come back and visit us all year.

The level is aimed at the educated lay person - who knows a bit about trees, woods and forestry - but would like to learn more - and that is the essence of what the RFS is all about. The experts already know where to look for more information - if they need it.

There are already several good websites and initiatives for both primary and secondary schools - and those are listed here too for parents and teachers to link to.

Underlying our pages is the conviction that the best way to conserve tree resources is to ensure they are used wisely and sustainably. And to do that, we must all gain a better grasp of trees, woods, forests, their history and how people benefit from them.

The information on our site deals mainly with England and Wales. Things like the legislation and the authorities looking after the countryside may differ in Scotland and Northern Ireland, so do check.

The Northern Ireland Forestry Service site has lots of information about woods and places to visit there. And the Royal Scottish Forestry Society is our equivalent north of the Border.

There are links to forestry websites worldwide too.

We at the RFS hope you find our site usable and enlightening.

Let us know if and how we can improve it.