International silvicultural expert and Chair of the Continuous Cover Forestry Group, Bill Mason, is to deliver a talk called ‘Transforming British Forests through Continuous Cover Forestry’ in Room G23, Thoday Building at Bangor University on Thursday, 28th March 2019 starting at 6.30pm.
Organised by Bangor Forestry Students Association (BFSA) and Woodland Heritage in collaboration with the Continuous Cover Forestry Group (CCFG), this will be the first time in nearly 15 years that Bill Mason has spoken at Bangor University.
“As an alumnus of the University and a long-time proponent of alternative silvicultural systems, BFSA was really keen to invite Bill to speak”, said BFSA President and Woodland Heritage Ambassador, Sarah Ellis. “CCF is an integral part of the University’s forestry degree courses, one of a number of various approaches to silvicultural management that we’re encouraged to consider. There are also a huge range of different definitions banded about, so this talk by Bill Mason will undoubtedly be both informative and inspirational”.
Chair of CCFG for nearly seven years and long-serving silvicultural researcher, Bill Mason said:
“Many field meetings reported in forestry society journals today include an account of a visit to stands that are being identified for management under a CCF regime. However, despite this welcome recognition of the potential role of CCF in British forestry, recent surveys have suggested that perhaps only 10 per cent of British forests are being actively managed using CCF silvicultural systems.
So, there remains a major issue of translating the increased interest and awareness of CCF into practical actions that will transform our forests into the mixed species and varied structures that are envisaged by forest policies across Great Britain. Thanks to the interest shown though by the next generation of foresters, such as the students at Bangor University, I remain hopeful that CCF has a bright future and that CCF will be adopted ever more widely.”
Bill Mason’s talk is open to all and for more information, please contact Sarah Ellis via afu896@bangor.ac.uk.
