Continuous Cover Forestry webinar featuring Adjunct Professor Ted Wilson
Watch Forest Policy Group’s webinar that explores all things Continuous Cover Forestry, with Adjunct Prof. Edward Wilson, Dirk Sporleder and David Shepherd.
This 1.5-hour session is designed for forestry professionals, policymakers, and anyone interested in sustainable forestry practices. The expert speakers and practitioners will delve into various aspects of CCF, including its principles, practical applications, and the challenges and opportunities it presents.
Watch the full webinar HERE
Panel Members:
Prof. Edward (Ted) Wilson: Ted is a silviculturist with interests in tree biology, silvicultural systems and forest conservation. His work is mostly dedicated to applied forest research and professional forestry education, with ongoing projects in Ireland, Canada and the UK. Ted has been passionate about closer-to-nature forest management throughout his career and currently his focus is the transformation of productive conifer plantations to continuous cover forestry (CCF).
Dirk Sporleder: Dirk graduated as a Forest Engineer (FH) from the University of Applied Forest Sciences in Rottenburg am Neckar (Germany) in 2005. Since moving to Scotland, Dirk has led the Perthshire Coppice Project (Scottish Crannog Centre) and works as a woodland manager and silvicultural advisor for Dronley Community Woodland and other private woodlands. Developing existing woodlands into site-adapted, diverse and resilient mixed woods by applying ecological woodland transformation methods will become the dominating silvicultural challenge for the next decades. Dirk is particularly interested in traditional, often almost forgotten, ecological woodland transformation methods and the management of permanent irregular woodlands.
David Shepherd: David and his partner Annie occupy, own and manage 40ha. of woodland – Craggach Woods- on a fertile site near Inverness. They have converted 1950’s conifers to a structurally and biologically diverse native wood containing high quality productive native broadleaf timber. Free growth/ crop tree/ frame tree silviculture is used and they are steering the wood towards irregular high forest managed by CCF. A business model is being developed in which the occupiers do all the work from deer control to harvesting and primary processing. This is projected to yield one full time job when the project is fully developed.
The Forest Policy Group believes that a more diverse approach to forestry offers significant benefits to Scotland’s rural areas, particularly through small- to medium-scale enterprises. By watching this webinar, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of how CCF can contribute to a more resilient and sustainable forest sector. This aligns with their vision of promoting forestry practices that deliver a wide range of benefits for people and nature.
