Excellence in Forestry - winners 2011
A record-breaking entry into the Royal Forestry Society (RFS) Excellence in Forestry Awards 2011 has revealed the very best in woodlands and forestry practices in counties ranging from Derbyshire and north London to East Anglia.
The awards are the country’s premier forestry competition and are held on a seven-year rotation around England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In 2011 the awards were supported by Forestry Commission England and the National Forest Company.
Presenting the awards at a special event at Madingley Hall in Cambridge, RFS President Anthony Bosanquet said: “We were, of course, confident that Eastern England would more than live up to expectations, and have been delighted by such a strong list of entries. We have witnessed some truly outstanding forestry management, making the very best of natural and human resources.
“One message that comes across clearly is that woodlands, and forestry, are alive and well, and that they play a key part in local economies and the well-being of local communities.”
A new challenge prize was also introduced this year, the Sylva Trophy, donated by Patrick Evelyn, a direct descendent of John Evelyn, author of the seminal 17th century Sylva or a Discourse of Forest-trees and the Propogation of Timber. This new trophy will be presented annually to an entry worthy of special recognition in any one of the four categories. This year it was won by Burlingham Woods, in Burlingham, Norfolk, owned by Norfolk Country Council.
In 2012 the competition moves to the south western counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Gloucester and Wiltshire. Details will be available this autumn on the RFS website.
For photographs and details of winners please click on the links below:
- Duke of Cornwall's Award for multipurpose forestry
- Community Forestry Award
- Schools Award
- Silviculture Award
- Small Woodlands
- Sylva Trophy
See the poster (scroll down) for further details, including images.
About the judges
Judges in 2011 were:
Simon Hewitt – Simon graduated from London University with a BSc in Estate Management and has been a rural Chartered Surveyor throughout his career. He was a Land Agent before joining the Forestry Commission where he worked for 30 years in a number of roles in England, Scotland and Wales, latterly as Chief Conservator for Wales. His final post before retiring in 2005 was as Director and Executive Forestry Commissioner for Wales. Simon continues to live in west Wales and is Chair of a woodland charity, Tir Coed, which provides opportunities for disadvantaged young people to learn woodland skills, helping them into volunteering or work placements.
Tim Sawyer – Tim attended Gwydyr Forester Training School from 1962–64 and later gained the National Diploma in Forestry and the Diploma in Management Studies. He spent his career with the Forestry Commission, apart from a two-year secondment to the government of Jamaica. He was a member of the FC's Work Study Branch, Head Training Forester for South and West England, Forest District Manager for the Marches Forest District and then Regional Operations Manager when Southwest and Southeast England merged. Tim retired in 1998 and now lives in Salisbury, spending some time each year in Australia.
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