Between 2016 and 2019, our Forest Standards Manager, Dr Owen Davies, was a judge for the RFS Excellence in Forestry Awards, and in 2019 FSC UK became the sponsor for the Small and Farm Woodland Award.
The awards operate on a regional basis, and in recent years have moved around the whole of England. Sadly, in 2020 the pandemic disrupted the judging and awarding of prizes in Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. Now finally in 2021 we have been able to come together with the winners to applaud their successes.
The quality of entries for the Small and Farm Woodland Award was so high that the judges couldn’t choose between the top two and awarded an equal first prize. David and Alison Sandford were recognised for their small farm woodland at Portloughan Farm, Strangford, Co. Down, while David Brown and Ruth Pybus were recognised for Bron Haul near Abergele, Conwy. David and Ruth are actually two-time winners, having also won the last time the Excellence in Forestry Awards were in Wales, back in 2015.
In addition to the two winners, a certificate of merit was awarded to Daniel Ackerley for Wurthymp Wood near Wrexham.
You can read more about these three woods on the RFS website.
“I wasn’t able to make it to Northern Ireland, unfortunately,” says Owen, “but I was delighted to be able to meet David Brown, Ruth Pybus and Daniel Ackerley at the recent RFS field meeting in Gwydir Forest. As I said then, I firmly believe that small woods are capable of delivering FSC’s vision of environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable forest management, and these winners exemplify that. It is an honour to be able to recognise and support them.”
1. Between 2016 and 2019, our Forest Standards Manager, Dr Owen Davies, was a judge for the RFS Excellence in Forestry Awards, and in 2019 FSC UK became the sponsor for the Small and Farm Woodland Award.
The awards operate on a regional basis, and in recent years have moved around the whole of England. Sadly, in 2020 the pandemic disrupted the judging and awarding of prizes in Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. Now finally in 2021 we have been able to come together with the winners to applaud their successes.
The quality of entries for the Small and Farm Woodland Award was so high that the judges couldn’t choose between the top two and awarded an equal first prize. David and Alison Sandford were recognised for their small farm woodland at Portloughan Farm, Strangford, Co. Down, while David Brown and Ruth Pybus were recognised for Bron Haul near Abergele, Conwy. David and Ruth are actually two-time winners, having also won the last time the Excellence in Forestry Awards were in Wales, back in 2015.
In addition to the two winners, a certificate of merit was awarded to Daniel Ackerley for Wurthymp Wood near Wrexham.
You can read more about these three woods on the RFS website.
“I wasn’t able to make it to Northern Ireland, unfortunately,” says Owen, “but I was delighted to be able to meet David Brown, Ruth Pybus and Daniel Ackerley at the recent RFS field meeting in Gwydir Forest. As I said then, I firmly believe that small woods are capable of delivering FSC’s vision of environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable forest management, and these winners exemplify that. It is an honour to be able to recognise and support them.”