Have your say about woodland resilience

Forest Research are working with Sylva Foundation on the British Woodlands Survey, 2025, which focuses on resilience.

“Woodland resilience is at the heart of how we manage our forests, it shapes whether trees and habitats can thrive in the years ahead,” said social scientist Greg Counsell.

“But, due to human activity or natural processes, our environment is changing dramatically. We want to hear how this change is affecting woodland managers on the ground.”

In this latest edition of the Survey, researchers want to hear from woodland owners, forestry and land agents, forestry professionals, businesses, land-owning organisations, and others, about their experiences, and of their hopes and fears for the future.

Woodland resilience

The last British Woodlands Survey focusing on resilience, in 2020, was responded to by more than 1,000 stakeholders representing land managers across Britain. The new 2025 survey on resilience will be the third instance (following 2015 and 2020), providing a highly valuable 10-year time series.

The British Woodland Survey

The Survey, was first carried out in 2012 as an independent vehicle to gather evidence about the nations’ woodlands and those who care for them.

“The British Woodland Survey (BWS) is taken seriously by decision makers among our most influential environmental bodies and organisations, including government bodies,” said Dr Gabriel Hemery, founder and CEO of the environmental charity, Sylva Foundation.

“BWS offers a genuinely powerful vehicle for anyone who owns and manages woodlands in Britain to have a say and influence policy and practice.”

Outputs of previous surveys have been referenced by many organisations and by government. Results have supported FSC-UK in revising its standards and develop new provision for small woodlands. They have also provided key evidence supporting the development of a Climate Change Action Plan by the Forestry Climate Change Working Group. BWS2015 and BWS2020 are cited as evidence in the government’s Committee on Climate Change.

Have your say

The British Woodlands Survey 2025 (BWS2025) is now live and remains open until end August. You are invited to have your say about how you and the woodland you care for are affected and about how you think we should plan to promote greater woodland resilience.

Take part: www.sylva.org.uk/bws2025