I finished the hedge coppicing work last week. 908 m cut in total across a patchwork of assorted fields. 220 tonnes of brash was extracted and stacked for air drying. This will be later chipped for the farm biomass systems. Each hedge will now be fenced to prevent browsing. 1/2

On this occasion I agree with Mr Shrubsole.

I’m sorry Phil, i don’t want to appear negative but please don’t post this advice it’s really inappropriate. Tree felling and woodland management is work that should only be carried out by professionals. Just having a chainsaw ticket does not make a person competent. 1/2

Forestry……..some days are good, some days are bad. Today has been very much at the bad end of the scale.

Study: Wood is a more cost-effective building material than concrete when emissions are monetised. www.aalto.fi/en/news/stud...

New forestry film promoted by @fao.org "Imagine using wood in clothes, as a replacement for concrete and steel in buildings, to make clothing, and even to produce biodegradable satellites." #PositiveForestry www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxHt...

Conservation sometimes tumbles down to gardening. We should work with nature not against it. Change is a constant.

This doesn’t sit well with me. We need more trees than ever before, especially ones that have regenerated. Yes, it’s ancient woodland so beech wouldn’t ordinarily be desirable in that location but with climate change, beech may be more suited to the site than other species in the future. 1/2

Pallets are a vital component of almost of every distribution system. In the U.K. many of them are made of Sitka Spruce 🌲 - it’s light weight but strong enough, holds a nail and because it’s a pale colour it is easy to paint.

This is a great post to remind everyone why growing and harvesting softwood timber is essential in the UK. #positiveforestry

This situation, if it transpires, could have a serious negative impact on both lowland forestry and conservation management. Very little media coverage brings this point up for discussion. However, Patrick Galbraith and @troopersnooks.bsky.social do! www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/974b109...

I found this in the bottom of the ditch where I’m hedge coppicing this morning. I suspect is was once lost by a Suffolk Punch. Makes you wonder what the ploughman would think of the current state of the rural sector in 2025 compared to the day his horse lost its shoe?

Trouble in the Woods. ianswalkonthewildside.wordpress.com/wp-content/u...

Four years ago this very small farm woodland was a stand of very poor, dead and dying Norway spruce with no understory to speak of. I felled the trees for the farms biomass boilers. Today…..it’s developing into a lovely national regenerated area of scrub. 1/2

I’ve started a new work site back in Suffolk this week. A slight departure away from forestry as I’m carrying out the second year of a HLS hedgerow coppicing programme for a long term, organic farming client. THREAD 🧵

Great thread which shows the skill and investment needed for regenerative woodland management 🌳

Having finished our latest coppice harvesting contract today on the Cambs/Bedfordshire border, I thought I would put together a series of short videos to explain the work in more detail and explain why woodland management is so important. Thread 🧵 #Positiveforestry

To deliver these new homes and meet carbon targets we need off-site timber-frame construction. For a lower carbon and more resilient future we need to be growing much more bio based materials - timber, hemp, straw lignin, cellulose etc That needs a coherent & evidence based land-use strategy.

Timber!

if we want diversely structured woodlands, then we have to deal with Bambi (via carnivore or copper-tip) besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... @britishecologicalsociety.org #woodland #ecology 🧪

#positiveforestry back with a bang this week! Other than just being a stunning autumnal photo, its shows how commercial forestry can be indistinguishable from other woodlands. Its only when you really look closely at the photo you can see what's going...

Absolutely brilliant thread on forestry, sustainable timber production and habitat management. Managed forestry can be terrifically positive. ⬇️

The reality in the UK is that timber production is set for long term decline, and that the area of commercial forestry is declining. We can’t build “forest towns” if we don’t have productive forests - @marycreagh.bsky.social @helenahorton.bsky.social www.tomorrowsforests.co.uk/post/are-we-...

If you remember, the comms around the new Western Forest doesn’t mention timber and all the photos are of broadleaves 🤔 www.bbc.com/news/article...

Let’s hope that: * these “forest towns” will be #timber frame and built with home grown wood and other biomaterials * the new woodland that’s planted will contain a high % of #conifers and be managed to produce future #timber and biomaterials. 🌲🌳🪵🏘️ www.theguardian.com/environment/...

This is extremely important, alot of contractors are struggling - machines parked up or sold, inevitably we are going to lose some. Sawmills unwilling to comment. This needs resolving now. @forestsandwood, a matter of urgency, these mills are your members.

In UK (usually) timber harvesting companies buy standing timber from forest owners, then engage harvesting contractors and hauliers, and sell to sawmills. People get paid when the timber gets to the mill and is weighed. If timber is harvested & sat at roadside, then people haven’t been paid.

The timber needed to build homes like this ⬇️ comes from conifer plantations 🌲🌲🌲 Domestic availability of this timber is set for long term decline. Area of conifer forestry in Scotland has grown by only 0.5% in the last 25 yrs. Global demand for forest products will increase >100% in next 25 yrs

Well that’s October done and dusted.

We have to change the public perception of this…..

As ever @andyheald.bsky.social is spot here. #positiveforestry

Bit of thoughtful reading, should you want it.....⬇️

I will always try and support the forestry industry on SM. Yes, I make my living from it but it means so much more to me than that. I care deeply about the job I do, the timber I provide and the habitats I manage. So why should I have to put up with this utter tripe that is throw at me?

“A bunch of people” - a handful of foresters & woodland managers who have decades of experience in managing and creating a wide range of forest & woodland types. Suprising that your response is to dismiss their comments and their experience, rather than reach out and find common ground.

Or alternatively, this is a photo of another plantation. Looks like a forest doesn't it? Was planted in the 60's as 100% douglas fir and now its looks like this. Forestry is a long game. #positiveforestry

I find it really intriguing that @irishrainforest.bsky.social at every opportunity is heavily critical of UK and Irish forestry. However, he was more than happy to be interviewed for a two page article in Sep 2025 in @forestryjournal.bsky.social (They promote and represent the forestry industry)

Disappointed to hear @craigbennett3.bsky.social scare mongering about the possibility of “intensive conifer plantations” on the Rothbury Estate in Northumberland on the Today Programme. Maybe he should listen to Sir David Attenborough www.youtube.com/watch?app=de... especially at the 4 min mark.

Great and balanced points.

Both examples are forest “a large area of land thickly covered with trees” OED But that’s like comparing a field of wheat to a field of potatoes - both are fields but with very different functions. The one on the left is a complex diverse native ecosystem - brilliant but we need both examples 🧵1/4

Useful article and information, especially for smaller woodland owners or those just starting out. Woodland management in action. #positiveforestry forestrycommission.blog.gov.uk/2025/10/24/m...

This was recently forwarded to me by @stuttonsparrows.bsky.social A brilliant example of woodland creation on a site in Suffolk. It highlights the subsequent management and the positive conservation outcomes it is achieving. #positiveforestry farmwildlife.info/2025/10/21/c...

I’m having a few days off, it’s been a busy old year so far! Visited NT Sheringham Park today. A must for any tree enthusiast. A stunning display of autumn colours.

#positiveforestry ⬇️

NICK ADAMS: 'Sugar-coating the bitter truth about tree planting just won’t cut it!'

My father started his apprenticeship as a bottom sawyer in a saw pit in the 1920s, steam sawmills were not widespread in England, some estates had them, some timber merchants, much timber imported already planked. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierapo...

I’ve lost count of how many sawmills I’ve visited in the last 11 years but this is the first where a whole production line is to be found inside a new 100% timber building. Great use of Cross Laminated Timber by BERGENE HOLM AS in Norway. It smells great too!

Oh well, we would all be better just giving up then! I dispute the claim but even if it is correct we plant trees for a multitude of positive reasons not just one. #positiveforestry

@andyheald.bsky.social FYI The photo clearly shows the trees being felling mechanically by I assume a contractor. Why was evidence of an approved felling licence not sort by the company carrying out the work? It’s a standard practice pre-check for all our jobs.