It’s three years now since I was invited by Peter Goodwin and Lewis Scott to become a Trustee. At that time I knew very little about Woodland Heritage except that it was one of the charities concerned with trees and woodlands. Now that I am fully aware of its mission, and the energy with which it carries it out, I am even more delighted and honoured to be a Trustee.
Let me spell it out. An organisation is the sum of its people. No other organisation in this field, let alone a charity, has such a wealth of experience and expertise amongst its members as does Woodland Heritage. To read the Journal, to listen and talk with experts during the Field Days, is to read and to hear, to tap into a mine of knowledge of our subject and our objectives. For the sake of other “lay” members (I am an ex-furniture manufacturer: not a “tree person”), I will restate our purpose: it is to encourage the use of and to spread the knowledge of best practice in the planting and care of trees to provide the best timber for commercial use. Trees can be, and should be, much more than an attractive way of coating the land. Woodlands, properly looked after, can provide their owners with a full and sustainable return on their investment; trees can earn their keep – and they do it beautifully.
As an active Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers, I also have a personal objective: to strengthen the ties between Woodland Heritage and the furniture industry’s livery company.
Roger Richardson