Development Woodland Officer: Future foresters speak about their move into the sector

A TEACHER, a university administrator, an IT professional, and a railway manager sit together in a room and talk about trees. Tall trees and small trees, old trees and new trees, trees for today and trees for tomorrow. No stone (or should that be ‘leaf’?) is left unturned during the course of a 20-minute conversation – a conversation that not so long ago would have been hard to imagine. 

But here they are, four very different people from very different backgrounds, talking about all things forestry; and even a smattering of arboriculture. Their names are Charlotte Heslop, Luke Ellis, Mark Beer, and Gareth Biggins, and the future of woodlands rests on their shoulders. 

Well, maybe not quite, but the foursome will play a pivotal part in the forests of tomorrow, developing the nation’s woodlands, while juggling the need for productive timber, biodiversity, and the recreational benefits they bring. 

They are from the first-ever cohort of a new scheme developed by the Forestry Commission, the University of Cumbria and the Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF).

The Development Woodland Officer (DWO) programme was launched last month, offering 27 apprentices on-the-job training and the chance to gain Chartered Forester status. It’s the first time a degree-level forestry apprenticeship has been available in the UK – all without costing the participants a penny. 

The reasons behind it are obvious (although more on them later), but, when Forestry Journal spoke to the apprentices, it didn’t take long for their enthusiasm – and the challenges they faced – to shine through. 

“I have been wanting to do a career change into forestry for quite some time, but unless you have got the academic knowledge and skills background, it’s very difficult to do that,” said Gareth, the former commercial manager on the railways. “I was made redundant just before lockdown started and I took that as an opportunity to pursue another avenue.”

Whether through a twist of fate – COVID played no small role in them all deciding the time was ripe to jump into the woods – or a long-term admiration for trees, each of the candidates has their own story to tell. 

Take Luke, for instance. He had been teaching English and skiing in Canada when the world stopped turning.

“For a long time now, I felt teaching wasn’t fulfilling me and making me happy anymore,” the 35-year-old said. “I was trying to get into the environmental sector, and had been applying for different positions.

“I applied to Forestry England’s graduate scheme, but wasn’t successful. They told me to apply for this scheme – and here I am today!” 

“I came into this because I think forestry is really important,” added Charlotte, who had been working in both administration and mental health support at Leeds University. “I am really interested in sustainability. It’s such an important area to work in.” 

While each member of the group has some experience in the woods – following his redundancy, Gareth volunteered with the Woodland Trust – Mark is probably the one you’d describe as the most experienced. 

For the last eight years, he has been working with forestry-related volunteer organisations, helping to set up a community woodfuel group, and getting his hands dirty. But, he admits, he was desperate for on-the-job experience – something the DWO delivers in spades. 

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“With having a young family, I was not able to afford the cost of doing a degree,” he said. “I was going round in circles, then this came along. It’s a fantastic opportunity to change career and begin my journey in the forestry sector.”

In time, forestry officials will hope the DWO is just the start. The impending skills shortage coming the sector’s way is hardly news. As many as 10,000 roles may need to be plugged – according to the ICF – and issues around Brexit and COVID have hardly helped. 

Analysis from the Forestry Skills Forum, published last year, revealed England will need to fill around 2,500 roles by 2030 and Wales just shy of 500. When a number of businesses were asked by researchers why they’d struggled to recruit, 39 per cent blamed a ‘lack of skills/expertise’. This was by far and away the most commonly cited reason; ‘pay’ was a distant second at 14 per cent. 

“Forestry is not something that’s done on the national curriculum,” Gareth, a 41-year-old from South Cambridgeshire, said. “It’s not presented as an option when you’re younger. For me, I was fortunate that I grew up on the border of the Peak District, so I was out and seeing plantation forestry. That was the exposure to it. There’s something magical about woodlands that drew me in. 

“That’s something we’ve all had in common when we’ve been discussing it as a group. We all have experience of different things, but there’s the common excitement about this and the opportunity.” 

Mark, who left his IT role of 20 years at the University of Nottingham to pursue the career change, agreed. 

“When I was younger, it was never really an industry that I had ever considered, or that was ever put forward to me. I’m not from a very wooded part of the country, and I never saw forestry operations. It was the unknown.” 

During their time on the course, DWOs will benefit from academic studies in forestry management at the University of Cumbria, practical experience in FC area teams across England (Luke and Charlotte in York, Gareth in Surrey, and Mark in the West Midlands), and nine months of wider sector placements to further build their skills and experience, enhancing future employment prospects.  

Upon completion of the programme, successful graduates will earn a Professional Forester Apprenticeship (equivalent to Level 6), a Professional Forester BSc (Hons) and the potential to gain Chartered Forester status with the ICF.

If it all goes to plan, the cohort will be the ones planning and growing the woodlands the UK gets its timber from in around a half a century’s time. At present, the country remains the second-largest net importer of wood in the world. 

But the next few decades will also be sure to see changes not just in the make-up of our woodlands, but in those who grow, use, and enjoy them. 

So, what kind of future do Luke, Mark, Gareth and Charlotte envisage for the UK’s forests and forestry industry? 

“I’d like to see the FC – in partnership with other organisations – develop small community woodlands,” said Luke. “In east Yorkshire, there are small pockets of woodland but trees have been decimated throughout centuries. People have to drive far to get benefits from the forest.”

Mark said: “We want to make sure the woods are being managed in the correct way, and it’s great to be in that cycle. 

The group with Forestry Commission lecturers. (Image: FJ)

“We want to make the industry sustainable, safe and inclusive. We’re going to be part of that.” 

But the last words go to Charlotte and Gareth. 

“We want to see more UK timber sold and less importation,” said Charlotte, 34. “Increasing diversity of tree species and getting away from the monoculture that we have in some woodlands.

“We want to see the diversity of people engaged as foresters; more women, more non-white people.”

Gareth said: “I want my daughters to look at what I’ve done and to know there is an option to be a professional forester if they want to.” 

“We want to demonstrate to people that it’s here and it’s something they should consider. That’s a fantastic opportunity.”