This Septembers' Northern Forestry Conference is largely a response to this issue - bringing a broad church of speakers together to discuss how we tackle the polycrisis facing UK forestry.

Appreciate it's a trek, but it'd be great to see you there.

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/northern-f...

Thanks for sharing Andy. I'd not seen that before. Clear, unbiased & compelling science comms from the most authoritative source possible.

Just hope it cuts through some of the 'only rewilding will do' dogma we seem to be plagued by.

So using a Guardian article which makes no mention of trees of any type to scaremonger that conifers are flammable & deciduous are non-flammable, & then sharing a 10 page FoE position paper encouraging woodland planting but only grudgingly mentions conifers in a positive light once. That's evidence?

I don't recall admitting anything like that, but here we are. Genuinely disappointed at how this exchange has panned out. I really enjoyed LoTL - which presented reasoned and objective arguments, but I now see that nuance & finding common ground doesn't fit the required narrative for social media.😞

Given Kielder has been there for 99 years & is an integral part of the rural economy of Northumberland & the Borders, supporting hundreds of businesses and families, this isn't a practical objective to pursue. All land use involves compromises - blindly tilting at conifers doesn't help anyone.

There's v little in ther article I disagree with, but presenting modern productive forestry through a lens 3+ decades out of date is polarising and counterproductive. Kielder is now 99 yrs old & the FE team there have spent 40+ yrs restructuring to address the impact of original planting decisions.

That's a given, yes. But we need to use more homegrown timber in construction, packaging, furniture, chemicals, etc. rather than concrete, steel, & oil. The UK is the 2nd largest net importer of timber globally - we must address this as part of tackling climate change. Please educate yourself.

OK, I'll bite. I like a lot of your ideas Guy, but the constant bashing conifers, with no recognition of the role they play in meeting our need for low carbon materials, appears ill informed & dogmatic to professional land managers. Please take the time to speak to foresters & be educated.

But it'll be perfect for hand carved spoons & chopping boards in a century or so Andy. Don't know what all this "we need timber for construction, biomaterials, SAF, biochar, green methanol and a low carbon future" fuss is about.