Neil Sutherland, Makar Housing and Forest Policy Group This is the first of 2 blog postings on the subject of housing in woodlands, making the case for more housing and rural businesses to be sited in woodland. Woodlands make great places to live and work. In most forested places in the world, people live in … Continue Reading »

Posted by Karen Grant, Reforesting Scotland and A Thousand Huts Campaign Last June’s inclusion of huts in the new Scottish Planning Policy amounted to just a few words. But one small step for planning policy is a giant leap for all those who dream of spending time in a small, simple cabin in the woods. … Continue Reading »

Now that the dust has settled after the referendum it is clear that the wider outcomes are more far reaching than the actual vote – Scotland has been changed by the process. The appetite for constitutional change among a large part of the Scottish people has not diminished, but careers along with its own momentum. … Continue Reading »

Posted by Rick Worrell I wonder why it has been so difficult over the years to convince forestry professionals that it is a good idea to have native woodlands at a scale that could be considered a native forest ? And why there has never been meaningful reference to this in forest policy ? Most … Continue Reading »

Last week, Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) announced its latest “starter farm”, and the first one in the Highlands¹. The recent flurry of activity by FCS setting up starter farms on land newly acquired for forestry has enthused some people and puzzled others. From the outside, it is not immediately apparent why FCS should be readying … Continue Reading »

At school, you are taught to start an essay with something which will grab the reader’s attention. So here it is: forestry needs a new direction. To illustrate this, we have chosen a subject which is absolutely central to FPG’s mission – forestry for people (F4P). Forestry for People has, for a very long time … Continue Reading »

The Forest Policy Group (FPG) brings together people from across the forestry spectrum and has a vision for forestry in Scotland centred on: more local involvement, a greater diversity of approaches, more small-scale action and wider ownership of forests. We believe forestry has been too narrowly focussed in Scotland; the growing of trees has the … Continue Reading »

It is hard to imagine, but in the 1980s UK forest policy, as articulated by the Forestry Commission, comprised just a couple of sentences. Something to the effect that: “The government will seek to: a) deliver good management of forests, and b) increase the area of forest”. This sparse policy landscape presented a clear need for people to … Continue Reading »