Forestry and Arboriculture
A career in Forestry suits those who enjoy working out doors in a dynamic and diverse industry, managing a renewable resource which is passed on from one generation to the next.
Managing the woodlands and forests of today requires the skills of a professional forester combined with an appreciation of environmental and other social considerations.
Forestry over the last 10 years has developed many strands including 'highly sophisticated.' mechanised harvesting systems, arboriculture (often termed urban forestry) and the management of woodlands for environmental and recreational benefits. These alternative career paths can develop after learning the basic skills. The industry is always changing and providing new challenges and opportunities.
UK Industry
The Forest industry in the UK has its background in traditional woodland estate management prior to the Great War. Historically, wars have played a major part in shaping the forest industry. From times when the oak woodlands of Southern England were clear felled to build the ships to fight the Spanish armadas in the 18th century, through to the more recent Second World War, when pit props were produced to shore up the coal mines providing the coke for the iron and steel industries.
Today the UK Forest industry produces the raw materials for paper, timbers for the construction industry and residues for the manufacture of specialist markets such as chipboard.
Although forests and woodlands are managed in the UK primarily for timber production, this is changing in areas of the country where recreation is fast becoming the primary activity. Sporting activities such as mountain biking, trekking and other outdoor pursuits have developed into a specialist sector requiring skilled motivated individuals to develop the facilities the public seek.
Commercial Forestry
Commercial forestry is a term generally used to describe modern forestry; and usually refers to large-scale coniferous forestation. Aforested areas were traditionally large-scale upland sheep farms in the 1940s, and planted after the Second World War to provide the UK with its own timber reserves. Kielder Forest in Northumberland is the largest man made forest in Europe. Dumfries and Galloway region has the largest percentage of its land mass covered by trees of any region in the UK, at 27% of the total area. Consequently, the North of England and South of Scotland has the greatest concentration of Commercial harvesting operations in the UK.
The machinery required to harvest large scale aforestation is very sophisticated and generally at the cutting edge of technology. A lot of the equipment is manufactured in Scandinavia or North American and requires highly skilled operators who have received the appropriate machine operator training.
Small Scale Forestry
Traditionally in the UK, forestry was carried out with axes, chainsaws, horses and tractors - all representative of traditional methods used over the last century. This is still the case in many areas of the UK where these methods offer the best way of maintaining a traditional woodland environment. Many woodland areas have been set aside to be managed as Special Sites of Scientific Interest (SSSI's) and therefore have to be managed in the traditional way.
Urban Forestry
This sector has grown over the last 10 years largley due to the demand from large-scale utility companies carrying out power line clearance work. Motorway landscaping, urban housing developments and community woodlands have all played a major part in the growth of this sector.
This area of the UK industry has developed new methods to meet the demands of challenging sites, including rock climbing techniques and equipment. The development of modern chipping machines to recycle brash waste has produced new products for the horticultural industry such as wood chips for path surfaces and bark for mulch or compost.
Sport and recreation
Along with urban forestry, managing UK woodlands to encourage visitors through sport or recreation is the growth area of the future. With the increase in the amount of leisure time available, activities such as pony trekking, mountain biking and activity holidays have become very popular. Many new jobs in forestry are in countryside management. Wildlife rangers and wardens, are occupations that link the management of visitors with the management of the woodland or forest.
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