The team of tree champions at Scotland’s Finest Woods has been given a big boost with the appointment of three new trustees.
Alison Chisholm, a chartered landscape architect with Forestry and Land Scotland, Dr Alicja Dzieciol, an entrepreneur and chemist, and Sam Howard, a forestry lecturer at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), will join the existing trustees to help the charity promote the very best of woodland and forestry across the country; from school nursery and community woods to agroforestry and quality timber production.
First on the agenda will be the prestigious Scotland’s Finest Woods Awards which are held each year to celebrate and recognise trees, woodlands and the people caring for them across Scotland, from young children to farmers, communities to professional foresters.
This year the awards ceremony is taking place at the Scottish Parliament during National Tree Week on November 27 and preparations are well under way now the expert group of judges have finished their deliberations.
Jean Nairn, Executive Director of Scotland’s Finest Woods, said: “Ali, Sam and Alicja will really strengthen our work. We are a small charity but have a big impact across Scotland, not least with the Scotland’s Finest Woods Awards which we are excited about hosting later this month.
“The new trustees will be at the heart of our organisation, helping to make our promotion of woodland and forestry even more powerful.”
About the new trustees
Alison (Ali) Chisholm is a chartered landscape architect with a professional background that spans 20 years in both private and public sector, delivering projects from small scale local parks and woodlands to large scale urban design.
She currently works for Forestry and Land Scotland developing projects to enhance landscapes and improve access to woodlands and forests, as well as advising on sustainable land management and spatial design of woodlands and forests.
Her work has taken her across the country on a wide range of objectives, including biodiversity, river restoration, flood management, active travel, green space improvements, woodland planting/management and integrated habitat improvements.
She said: “I am passionate about promoting the stewardship of woodlands and forests in ways that enhance their ecological, economic and social functions. I look forward to contributing to Scotland’s Finest Woods, supporting and promoting the best of Scotland’s woodlands and forests.”
Dr Alicja Dzieciol is the founder and director of SilviBio Limited. She founded SilviBio in response to the challenges of tree production at forest nurseries and has advocated for the need to support foresters and the forestry sector as a whole at COP 26 and Future Forest Forum in Germany.Her company has now created a peat-free growing media to support forest nurseries transition off peat use in line with DEFRA’s peat use ban and is scaling up production in order to support forest nurseries supply the trees needed to reach planting targets and other professional growers.She has been awarded the Famigro Award for Rural Entrepreneurship and Vodafone Business Woman of the Year in Innovation in recognition of her work and contributions towards helping create a truly sustainable future.
Sam Howard has taught forestry at SRUC in Dumfries and Galloway since 2022. Previously she worked for Savills and then Scottish Woodlands as a forest manager, this provided an opportunity to develop her wide knowledge and skills through the management of properties and forest operations.
Since joining the sector, she has contributed to FISA (Forest Industry Safety Accord) working groups and currently volunteers on the Learning & Behavioural Change Working Group, which has been a great opportunity to contribute to the sector.
Her work has also brought her into contact with winners at the Scotland’s Finest Woods Awards. She said: “As a young professional I visited Senwick Wood by Kirkcudbright Bay with the Royal Scottish Forestry Society (RSFS) (recipient of the Hunter Blair Trophy for Silvicultural Excellence in 2018). It was an excellent opportunity to see different silvicultural systems in practice and to hear about the lessons learned.
“I now take our students to Crofthead (winner of the James Jones Trophy for New Commercial Woods in 2023) and the experience is invaluable as it encourages them to consider the importance of provenance, develops an appreciation of diversification and develops their understanding of species suitability.
“Sharing success stories, which Scotland’s Finest Woods Awards is great at, helps others to find solutions and to experience a different way of approaching a problem. I am excited to join Scotland’s Finest Woods as a trustee because I believe it is important to highlight and celebrate woodlands in Scotland.”
About Scotland’s Finest Woods Awards
Scotland’s Finest Woods is a company limited by guarantee registered in Scotland (SC294388) and a Scottish Charity (SC039099).
It runs the annual Scotland’s Finest Woods Awards, covering a diverse range of land use. There are 11 trophies on offer in six categories – New Native Woods, Farm Woodland, Quality Timber, Community Woodlands, Climate Change Champion, and Schools and Early Years.
Because of this breadth of awards, anyone with a high-quality project can enter, whether that be a forestry business – small or large – an expert forester, farmer or crofter, or a community woodland group.
Further information about Scotland’s Finest Woods go to www.sfwa.co.uk