Community woodland information sheets
In the early 2000s Reforesting Scotland published a set of information sheets to provide a clear and concise introduction to community woodlands and woodland management in various subject areas. They were also of wider interest to people who were not directly involved with community woodlands. They were published as individual sheets or in a folder containing all 20 sheets as a Community Woodland Information Pack. Each sheet is four pages long and includes a resources section, which can be used to seek more detailed information.
To give you an idea of their design and content, two sheets - "Getting established" and "Acquiring land" - are available for downloading. They are PDF files, so in order to view them, you will need to use Adobe® Acrobat® Reader, which is free software. If this software is not already installed on your system, you can download it from Adobe's website.
These information sheets are now distributed by the Community Woodlands Association (CWA), an organisation which grew in part from Reforesting Scotland's coordinating work in this field. Community Woodland groups and others who join the CWA are eligible to receive the complete Information Pack, and subsequent updates, free of charge from the CWA. Non CWA members will be required to pay to receive these documents.
To obtain information sheets please email Caroline Derbyshire .
| Sheet number |
Title | Order | Contents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Getting established
(197 KB) |
How and why to set up a group. Committees, members, constitutions. How to become legal. | |
| 2 | Acquiring land
(434 KB) |
Finding land. Identifying and negotiating with owners. Land agents. Putting in bids. Legal issues. | |
| 3 | Options for land | Ownership. Lease. Types of management agreement. | |
| 4 | Skills and training | How to identify skill and resource gaps. How to fill them. Training and learning opportunities. | |
| 5 | Action planning | Types of plan. Consultation. Budgeting. Monitoring implementation. Reporting. Updating plans. | |
| 6 | Working with Forest Enterprise | FE land tenure. Opportunities and limitations of working with FE. How to approach FE. | |
| 7a | Liability and insurance | Why do you need insurance? Types of insurance cover - public liability,
volunteers, employers, products, equipment, events, and other liabilities.
Risk assessment. This updates and replaces Info Sheet 7, published in 2002. |
|
| 8 | Fundraising | Who to approach and how to write applications. Funding for land purchase, project work and other elements. | |
| 9 | Involving everyone | What is a community? Why should people be involved? What are participation, involvement and consultation? | |
| 10 | Managing your woodland | Getting to know your woodland's resources, limitations and opportunities. Setting your aims. Getting advice. | |
| 11 | Fuelwood | Why wood? Setting up a fuelwood scheme. Choosing and harvesting, drying, equipment, planning controls. | |
| 11a | Fuelwood for homes | Heat from wood in domestic situations - equipment and techniques. | |
| 11b | Fuelwood for communities |
Central heating from wood fuel for larger-scale domestic purposes and for community-level projects - practicalities, techniques and equipment. |
|
| 12 | Non-timber forest products | Definition, types and characteristics of NTFPs. Processing, storage and marketing. | |
| 13 | Nature conservation | Importance of woodlands for conservation. Aspects of conservation management. | |
| 14 | Tree nurseries | Why buy from local native tree nurseries? Sources of trees. | |
| 15 | Marketing timber | Types and characteristics of timber. Measuring and marketing timber. Local processing. | |
| 16 | Willow | Types and characteristics of willows. Establishment, management, harvesting, processing and marketing. | |
| 17 | Woodland access and inclusion | Why and how to involve disabled people in all aspects of your woodland. | |
| 18 | Woodland history | Why woodland history is important. How to find out about your woodland's history. | |
| 19 | Woodland burials | What is a woodland burial? Issues for woodland owners. Information for people seeking sites. | |
| 20 | Participatory planning | Why are participatory approaches important? What can they achieve? Techniques for different purposes. |