Who we are

Andy Brown is secretary of the Scottish Woodlot Association. He has over 10 years experience as a forest manager in the South of Scotland.  He has worked for the Forestry Commission, a large sawmill and for the last five years as the head forester on a large country estate in Dumfriesshire.  An Aberdeen forestry graduate, Andy is passionate about productive forestry and the benefits it can bring to rural people.

Bernard Planterose was a founding director of Reforesting Scotland and Duartbeg Tree Nursery which grew native trees from seed and established woodlands throughout north west Highlands for many years, including the restoration of native woodland to Isle Martin for the RSPB. For the past 15 years Director of North Woods, a timber design and build company at the leading edge of ecological design. The operation utilizes home-grown timber, some of which is harvested from a 30 ha softwood plantation on Loch Broom which is managed as part of the construction business.

Gordon Gray Stephens is a member of the Native Woods Coop (Scotland) Ltd, with over 20 years experience of native woodland management. He is currently a non executive director of the Community Woodlands Association and chairman of Kilmartin Museum Trust. He has been the director of Scottish Native Woods, chair of Native Woodland Discussion Group, and a member of the National Forestry Forum and the Forestry for People Advisory Panel.

Jamie McIntyre is a freelance forester and community development worker based in Strontian. Involved in the Sunart Oakwoods Initiative since 1997, including a spell as community forester. Following this he worked as woodland crofts officer for FCS & HIE, supporting the development of community-based woodland crofts. Has had a long interest in smaller-scale, rural development forestry and in particular ‘family forestry’ models such as woodlots and woodland crofts. Former director of the Community Woodlands Association, a current director of Sunart Community Company, and a member of the Scottish Woodlot Association.

Jane Rosegrant has been the Executive Director of Borders Forest Trust since June 2012. Established in 1996, BFT develops and manages ambitious habitat restoration and community woodland projects to reverse the decline of our woodlands and wild places. Previous to this, she lived overseas in Sri Lanka and the South Pacific as a Regional and Country Director with Voluntary Service Overseas, was a Programme Manager with the Big Lottery Fund in Scotland and was Director of the Centre for Human Ecology in Edinburgh.

Jon Hollingdale is Chief Executive Officer of the Community Woodlands Association, established in 2003 as the direct representative body of Scotland’s community woodland groups. Formerly a harvesting contractor in SE England, he has been in Scotland working for community woodland groups in the Western Isles, Caithness & Sutherland since 1999. He is a member of National Forest Land Scheme Evaluation Panel.

Maggie Birley is project co-ordinator for Scottish Wood, a local hardwood (and premium softwood) sawmill based in West Fife, which is a social enterprise working alongside others to improve and expand the local sawmilling sector. Chair of the Association of Scottish Hardwood Sawmillers from 2003 to 2006. She worked previously in community reforestation work in El Salvador and in agroforestry research at the MacAulay Institute. She is involved in the Forest Education Initiative and the rolling out of Forest Schools in West Fife, and works with community groups to promote the use of local woodlands.

Mas Smyth is an environmental consultant and farm/woodland co-owner, based in Galloway, working on the climate/carbon benefits of ecosystem restoration (especially bogs).  She is a founding director of Crichton Carbon Centre and director/trustee of Galloway and South Ayrshire Biosphere Reserve.  She is involved in community woodlands, and is keen on woodland pasture and other farm/wood systems.

Ninian Stuart is the Forest Policy Group’s current convenor (2014-15). Founding director of the Centre for Stewardship and chair of Falkland Estate Trust that cares for the Forest of Falkland.  With a background in community care and community development, Ninian has focused on social enterprise development and sustainable land management over the last 15 years.  Currently a Director of Reforesting Scotland and The Children’s Parliament, as well as a leading member of Fife’s Third Sector Strategy Group and Fife’s Cultural Consortium, Ninian is particularly interested reconnecting people to the land and to transforming the prospects of places.

Piers Voysey is forester for Rothiemurchus Estate near Aviemore and co-owner of a small woodland. He also supports the Highland Aspen Group tree nursery near Kincraig and serves as a board member for Reforesting Scotland and Anagach Woods Trust (Grantown-on-Spey’s community woodland).  With a broad career in the public, private and charitable forestry sectors in Scotland, he has also worked on community forestry projects in Papua New Guinea and Guatemala.

Rick Worrell has been a self-employed consultant since 1987, specialising in native woodland and growing broadleaves for quality timber. He was a research associate at the School of Forestry, University of Edinburgh from 1997-2002. He has served on the following Forestry Commission Committees: FCS Perth and Argyll Regional Forestry Forum, Home Grown Timber Advisory Committee, Timber Development Programme, FES Working Group on Quality Broadleaved Timber, Scottish Tree Health Advisory Group, Native Woodland Panel and the Forest Enterprise Environment Peer Review. Received the Silvicultural Prize of the Institute of Chartered Foresters in 1990 and 1999. He has published 50 professional papers and reports.

Ruth Anderson is a self-employed coordinator and events organiser based in Perthshire. She is secretary of the Forest Policy Group and has provided the same role as network hub for Forestry Commission’s Forestry for People Advisory Panel (2000-05) and the Native Woodlands Policy Forum (1995-98). She is also secretary of the Native Woodlands Discussion Group and organiser of its annual excursion. She formerly worked mainly in the building trade and sometime on farms.

Simon Pepper was director of WWF Scotland 1985-2005 and founding convenor of Millennium Forest for Scotland (1997-2002). Awarded OBE for services to sustainable development in 2000. Has served as an external appointee to the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Sustainable Scotland (2004-7), non-exec member of the National Committee of FC Scotland (2004-10), Deer Commissioner (2005-10), and on the Scottish Government’s Woodland Expansion Advisory Group in 2012. Board member of Scottish Natural Heritage since 2011. Runs a small farm/woodland property in Perthshire.

Willie McGhee is a forester who has worked in community forestry and ecological restoration in Scotland since 1990. He is the Director of Bioclimate Research and Development (Bioclimate), a Scottish charity that works with communities in Scotland, Africa and Asia on natural resource management, land rights and enterprise. He is a Director of the Common Ground Association, a community land body, and Woodshare, a timber process and marketing enterprise, and is a Trustee on Scottish Power’s Green Energy Trust.