Forestry carbon expert wins James Cup

All foresters should seek to understand the contribution that their forests can make to reducing CO2 emissions, says forestry consultant Sandy Greig, joint winner of the Royal Forestry Society’s 2008 James Cup.

Sandy was Head of Sustainable Forestry for the Forestry Commission in England from 2005-2006, and is now a Director of Sandwood Enterprise, based in Glenageary, County Dublin, which specialises in assessing and reporting on greenhouse gas sequestration and emissions in UK forests.

He won the award after reviewing the role of UK forestry in carbon use and storage, and its effect on climate change, in the Society’s Quarterly Journal of Forestry, and was presented with the James Cup at a meeting of the Royal Forestry Society’s Gloucester Division at Chevenage by Royal Forestry Society President John Besent.

Sandy said: “Climate change presents a huge environmental challenge, and forests, and therefore foresters, have a crucial role to play in helping to mitigate its impacts. For the first time in my life I feel that our knowledge, commitment and skills are starting to be seen as being of vital importance to the future of society.

“All foresters should seek to understand the contribution that their forests can make to reducing CO2 emissions, and be prepared to explain this to people.“

RFS President John Besent said:” Sandy Greig’s excellent article highlights the important role that forestry can play in reducing net carbon emissions. The RFS is an educational charity concerned with promoting the wise management of trees and woods, and I hope that woodland owners and managers will heed the advice that Mr Greig gives for improving the carbon performance of their woodlands. It is also incumbent on all of us to promulgate amongst the general public the environmental benefits of forestry and encourage the planting of more trees and their sustainable management.“

Sandy shares the James Cup with Dr Caroline Bulman of Butterfly Conservation who was presented with the award in May at the RFS’s Whole Society Meeting in the New Forest for her article raising the profile of moths and butterflies in woodland management.