The Sylva Foundation is a charity working to revive Britain’s wood culture. It runs a number of projects under the themes of science, education and forestry. These include the the think-tank Forestry Horizons, the OneOak project, and the myForest service, which supports over 1000 woodland owners across Britain in caring for their forests. www.sylva.org.uk
The Forest Education Network (FEN) promotes the wide range of learning experiences in relation to trees, woods and forests, and is hosted by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom. More information about the FEN can be found at www.lotc.org.uk/fen/
Westonbirt is the National Arboretum, located in Gloucestershire, and part of Forestry Commission England. In recognising the high quality of its learning programmes, Westonbirt was an early recipient of the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge [England & Wales], in 2009. In particular, they seek to raise understanding of the importance of trees to society, and in the context of this project, seek to highlight the roles trees can play in mitigating the impact of climate change. As part of this work they developed the original Forests for the Future education programme and support materials including The World is Hot Enough DVD, which have been adapted and added to in completing this final resource. Initial funding was provided by the Cotswold AONB.
In Scotland, the Royal Highland Education Trust provides a link between the farming industry and Scottish schools. RHET organises farm visits or classroom talks, as well as providing free resources. They also manage the education programme at the Royal Highland Show and provide general support for schools teaching about the issues surrounding food, farming and the countryside, of which one is climate change and its impact on Scottish farming and woodland management. They are supporting this resource, as part of our promotion of outdoor learning, and especially farm woodlands as potential sites for school groups to visit.
Farming and Countryside Education is a membership organisation for England and Wales, committed to educating children and their families about food, farming and the countryside. They recognise climate change as a key issue facing today’s farmers. They seek to promote visits to farms and easy access to the countryside for first-hand experience, learning and enjoyment. To assist this aim they provide an accreditation system, serving schools and farms, for countryside visits. They are supporting the outdoor focus and interdisciplinary approach of this resource, in promoting understanding of the role trees can play in mitigating the effects of climate change on our farms, and countryside.
Forest Research is part of the Forestry Commission. It carries out world-class scientific research and technological development relevant to forestry for a range of internal and external clients.
For further information visit www.forestry.gov.uk/forestresearch.