RFS Mentor Scheme

As a new member of the RFS you can request a free introductory visit to receive informal guidance on getting started with management of your wood if you have bought or come into ownership of your wood within a year of joining.

You will be appointed a Mentor – an RFS member with appropriate qualifications and experience – who will visit your wood with you and give you verbal guidance to help you better understand your wood (e.g. species composition, constraints, opportunities) and your management options.

This visit is provided on a voluntary, goodwill basis on behalf of the RFS.

You are eligible for this scheme if:

  • you purchased or inherited your wood within the past five years
  • you do not have an existing relationship with a professional woodland agent/manager
  • your wood is around 3 hectares or more (7.4 acres) and is in England. In some cases the RFS will make exceptions to this criterion at its own discretion – please enquire.

'Having read about management plans and coppicing etc from library books, it is only after this visit that we are actually likely to take the plunge and get these things done with the confidence we have now gained. '

Woodland Owner

Hockeridge