Who works with Trees?
There are many organisations operating in the arboriculture, forestry and woodland sector, here we introduce just a few that we work with.
The biggest of them is Forestry England
With over 250+ employees Forestry England is the country’s largest land manager, caring for over 1,500 forests and woodlands across England. Every day, our teams protect and improve these special places so that people, wildlife and the environment can thrive together.
We balance conservation, recreation and sustainable forestry to ensure our forests are healthy and resilient for generations to come. From restoring habitats for rare species to producing sustainable timber and welcoming millions of visitors each year, everything we do is guided by a deep respect for the natural world.
Our people are passionate about making a real difference. Across a huge range of careers, from forest management and wildlife conservation to civil engineering, ecology and visitor services, we work together to grow, shape and care for England’s forests.
If you want your work to protect nature, tackle the climate emergency and help people feel the benefits of being outdoors, Forestry England offers the chance to contribute directly, every day.
They work in a huge number of sectors, lots of practical on the ground roles but many of their sites also welcome visitors so there are visitor management jobs aswell as the more behind the scene careers in policy and publicity.
Find out more about Forestry England here
We have been lucky enough to work with The Tree Council for many years, our first ever CJS Focus was in association with them to celebrate National Tree Week, an event that is still going strong over 20 years later and the focus of our current Focused Week.
The Tree Council is a national charity and membership organisation which brings everyone together with a shared mission to care for trees and our planet’s future. We inspire and empower organisations, government, communities and individuals with the knowledge and tools to create positive, lasting change at a national and local level. We are helped in our work by thousands of volunteer Tree Wardens and a growing force of Young Tree Champions.
With headquarters in London they offer volunteering opportunities and sometimes have apprenticeship roles.
Find out more about what they do here
The Royal Forestry Society is very active in career development; we have carried articles for them around their career’s advice and mentoring provision and annually advertise their highly popular Forestry Roots placements.
For nearly 150 years, the RFS has dedicated itself to sharing knowledge on the art and science of woodland management so that the accumulated wisdom and experience of landowners, foresters, arborists and others is transferred from one generation to another. The RFS believes woods should be managed, not neglected, and that thriving woods depend on nurturing skills and sharing knowledge.
Again, a national organisation, the Society headquarters are in Banbury with only a small team but they certainly are helping people get in to careers with trees.
If it’s chartered status you are looking for you’ll need to check out the Institute of Chartered Foresters
Working across the UK their main headquarters is in Edinburgh
Founded in 1925 as the Society of Foresters of Great Britain, the Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF) was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1982 and is the only professional body in the UK to award the titles of Chartered Forester and Chartered Arboriculturist. The Institute has more than 2,300 members from a wide range of roles across the sector. Integrity, excellence, collaboration, sustainability and transparency form the basis on which the ICF operate and underpin all their strategic objectives. Full details on how to join the ICF, and routes to professional membership, are on the website.
Careers development is high on their agenda and we have just featured an article around their virtual work experience.
Find out more about the Institute and all they have to offer here