Forestry Commission chair calls for more trees in the UK

Speaking at a reception marking the 50th anniversary of the APF Show, Baroness Young said the Forestry Commission had a broad remit covering timber, biodiversity, climate change, access, health, flood risk, water quality and soils.

Young called for more trees to deliver timber, carbon, biodiversity and wider environmental benefits (Image: FJ/John McNee)

“The one thing I’ve learned as a result of my first impression is that multi-purpose forestry is not as easy as it sounds,” she said.

However, she said the answer was to increase activity across all areas rather than choose between competing objectives.

“As a nation we need to grow more trees to meet that broad range of objectives that I talked about,” she said.

“One of my mottos is: I’m like Oliver Twist, I want more.”

She added: “We need to grow more trees. That’s absolutely fundamental to deliver all those objectives.”

Baroness Young also argued that timber security should receive greater attention alongside food security as part of national resilience.

“They always immediately think of food security and not timber security, and we’ve got to just keep hammering away at that,” she said.

She called for greater use of timber in construction, highlighting the difference between Scotland and England.

“In Scotland, 91% of new homes are timber-framed; in England, we’re at a pitiful 9%.”

Baroness Young said public understanding of forestry also needed to improve, particularly around activities such as felling, restocking and deer and squirrel control.

“The public love trees and woods,” she said. “But they don’t know that they’re also things that they should value.”

She also called for future forests to contain a wider range of climate-robust species, age classes and management approaches.

With forestry facing competing demands, Baroness Young said collaboration would be crucial.

“I would prefer the term ‘co-conspirators’, because I think that’s how cunning we’re going to have to be together.”

The APF Show marked its 50th anniversary at Ragley Estate, bringing together the forestry, woodland and arboricultural sectors for the three-day exhibition.