Merry Christmas, Festive Greetings, & Happy New Year!

On behalf of the RFS Head Office team, I would like to thank all our members for your continued support.

 This year saw another busy programme of woodland meetings run by the RFS Divisions and a full programme of training events to support skills development.  Back in May, the Notts and Lincs Division hosted a superb Annual Study Tour, and in June we continued our long tradition of running Overseas Study Tours when we visited the forests of Slovenia.  Over the summer we attended the Royal Welsh and APF shows and in October we celebrated forestry and education best practice at our Excellence in Forestry Awards at Calke Abbey.

The Society continues to develop and grow thanks to the support of our members and partners.  In 2024, our Junior Forestry Award, which helps to nurture the next generation of foresters, reached the 100,000 mark.  We held our first Women in forestry event, helping to create an important network to support women in our sector.  We also started a new venture with Moorcroft pottery and Action Oak, and launched a collection of fine pottery, The Majesty of Trees.  We are looking forward to another busy year in 2025.

 A special thank you to all our volunteers who help us run activities across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

With best wishes for Christmas and the New Year,

Christopher Williams
Chief Executive