Llais y Goedwig, a collective of community woodland groups across Wales were recently celebrating their successes and looking towards the future of their beloved woodlands as part of their annual gathering. The focus for this year’s event was urban woodlands.The event was hosted across two important urban community woodlands in South Wales - the historic Penllegare Valley Woodlands near Swansea and Wild Spirit Woods, Merthyr Mawr near Bridgend.
Over two days and two sites current community woodland issues were explored through networking and talks to seek new opportunities with partner organisations. Woodland site visits, workshops and craft activities provided a real sense of community to the event.
FSC UK are supporting Llais y Goedwig through a grant from our Impact Investment Fund to enable community woodlands to become FSC Forest Management certification-ready and achieve Verified Impact, recognising that the forests are being managed responsibly to support ecosystem services. Amanda Calvert, Certification Coordinator at Llais y Goedwig, delivered a very well-received talk to stakeholders at the gathering on FSC Verified Impact.
The UK’s forests and woodlands provide a range of ecosystem services, from purifying water, maintaining soil health, and storing carbon, to providing recreation services. Both within the UK and globally, these services are essential to our health and wellbeing, and to the economy, with their value estimated at 10 billion for the UK in 2021.
FSC Verified Impact helps forest managers and owners to quantify the intangible value of their forest with third-party validation. This data can be shared with stakeholders, showing the real-world impact of their responsible forestry practices. It can also be used to attract investments, sponsors, and other rewards for maintaining services that are not recognised by traditional markets.
FSC Verified Impact enables organisations to financially sponsor responsible forestry projects, that make a real difference in the fight against climate change, biodiversity loss, and other global challenges.
They can also be used by retailers and other companies to promote FSC 100% products from forests with verified ecosystem services impacts.In return, organisations receive third-party data verifying the positive impact of their investments and their contribution to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
If you are a business interested in supporting Llais y Goedwig in their journey towards becoming certified for Verified Impact, please get in touch.