Knowledge mobilisation and skills development in silvicultural science and practice to support adaptive and “closer to nature” forest management. Technical and applied courses designed to meet the needs of forestry professionals.
Overview
Productive forests in Britain and Europe are under increasing stress because of climate change and the impact of pests and diseases. To maintain functioning forest ecosystems, it is necessary to adapt forestry practices and increase their stability and resilience. This calls for a closer focus on individual silvicultural interventions at the forest stand level, supported within a policy framework that facilitates an adaptive management strategy. A recent review paper by Leslie et al. (2024) provides important context [download here].
Underpinning future developments in sustainable forestry is an urgent need for forestry practitioners with appropriate skills and competencies to implement robust and resilient silvicultural strategies and plans. Sound decision making and operational planning builds on a foundation of knowledge in silvicultural science (Ashton and Kelty 2018, Park et al. 2014), and especially the ecological processes associated with forest stand dynamics (Oliver and Larson 1996). This programme of training and skills development, therefore, aims to provide practitioners with relevant information and skills, as well as strategies for stand prescription design and problem solving.
The Silviculture for Forest Resilience [SFR] Programme is designed in 6 modules that function as s series of individual short courses addressing major themes in the science and practice of silviculture. This programme is augmented by a 3-day short course in the key skill of “tree marking”. This is where decisions are made at the individual tree level and influence the future developmental pathway of a forest stand, which is essential for adaptive forest management.
SFR Courses
- Each of the core modules will last 5 days (Mon PM to Fri AM) and be based at a central location. This will allow participants to travel on the Monday AM and return home on Friday PM. Accommodation for 4 nights is required near Penrith, not included in the course fee.
- Content will include relevant silvicultural science, case studies and practical exercises.
- Delivery will be a combination of lectures and field trips, and will use appropriate online tools and resources.
- Each course will have a problem-based learning activity that allows participants to work in small groups.
- Modules 1-4 will be themed and focus on specific aspects of the SFR curriculum. Arrangements are in place with local woodland owners and managers to access a range of sites in the Penrith area for practical exercises and demonstration purposes.
- Module 5 will serve as a “capstone” module that aims to be highly integrative and where the focus is on operations and implementation of innovative and adaptive silvicultural strategies.
- Module 6 (Advanced Inventory Techniques) will link to modules 1-5 through use of case studies and practical exercises on turning remote sensing data into useful information for forest stand management.
- Courses are designed for forestry practitioners interested in consolidating prior knowledge in silviculture and developing new approaches to forest stand management.
Prospectus 2025-2026
- Silviculture 1 | Site, Soils, Species
- Silviculture 2 | Establishing Resilient Woodlands
- Silviculture 3 | Forest Stand Dynamics and Density Management
- Silviculture 4 | Continuous Cover Forestry
- Silviculture 5 | Forest Operations, Marketing and Integrated Management
- Silviculture 6 | Advanced Inventory Techniques and Remote Sensing for Resilient Forests
- Tree Marker Training | Early Stage Transformation to CCF
- Tree Marker Training | Late Stage Transformation to CCF [opens in new tab]
SFR COURSE 1
Silviculture 1 | Site, Soils and Species
- Duration – 5 days (Mon PM to Fri AM)
- Location – Penrith, Cumbria, UK
- Course Numbers: Maximum 15 per course
- Delivery Date: (details TBC)
Content
This course focuses on the foundations of silviculture, which includes tree biology, applied forest ecology, and relevant tools and site assessment techniques for robust decision-making. The course will provide an overview of silviculture and silvicultural systems.
Themes:
- Climate and environmental threats to forests
- Tree growth and development
- Soils and site productivity
- Forest stand dynamics
- Site assessment and inventory
Learning Objectives:
- Scientific concepts associated with silviculture
- Scientific overview of climate impacts on forested ecosystems
- Soil and vegetation site assessment
- ESC and DSS – field-based and desk-based
- FDTs
- Introduction to different types of stand development pathways (silvicultural systems)
SFR COURSE 2
Silviculture 2 | Establishing Resilient Woodlands
- Duration – 5 days (Mon PM to Fri AM)
- Location – Penrith, Cumbria, UK
- Course Numbers: Maximum 15 per course
- Delivery Date: (details TBC)
Content:
This course focuses on the various strategies for establishing and regenerating a woodland. This will include new woodlands designed for multi-purpose and resilient forestry objectives, and especially woodlands that are intended to be management on continuous cover forestry principles into the future. Also the course will consider restocking and regeneration within existing woodlands, embracing natural regeneration, underplanting and species mixtures. Practical elements will consider planning; protection (tubes/temp fence and permanent options); design considerations for access for operations; wildlife management; nursery practice. The course will progress from Silviculture 1 and both reinforce and add new information.
Learning Objectives:
- Planning and design
- Ground preparation, identify appropriate techniques
- Drainage – assess, plan and implement
- Planting: methods
- Supervision of cultivation
- Supervision of planting operations
- Plan for protection in cooperation with wildlife management requirements
- Fencing and tubing
- Site assessment and monitoring of natural vegetation
- Plan methods of vegetation control (weeding, singling, herbicide use), including implementation
- Supervision and control of quality
- Free-to-Grow [FTG] – post-establishment actions leading to FTG status for a new woodland.
- Wildlife management – planning considerations and practical applications.
SFR COURSE 3
Silviculture 3 | Forest Stand Dynamics and Density Management
- Duration – 5 days (Mon PM to Fri AM)
- Location – Penrith, Cumbria, UK
- Course Numbers: Maximum 15 per course
- Delivery Date: (details TBC)
Content:
This module focuses on the development of trees within forest stands from the point of establishment forward. Competition for space and resources and tree-tree growth responses will be considered. Also the effects of abiotic and biotic factors, including wind, climate, pests and diseases. In terms of future resilience, robust mixtures and strategies for diversification of the stand structure will be considered. This will be applied through a detailed review of alternative thinning strategies and pathways, while also considering timber quality, habitat and other aspects of forest development, including carbon sequestration and storage.
Learning Objectives:
- Forest stand dynamics – a framework for understanding the stages in forest development
- Yield Class, Stand Density Index and tools for assessing site productivity
- Assessing site suitability for a range of silvicultural systems
- Assessing wind hazard and risk, using site assessment and ForestGALES
- Thinning control
- Thinning approaches – Low, Crown, Intermediate, Graduated Density
- Tree marking – which tree to retain, which to remove, and when
- Timber quality – including pruning effects
- Mensuration and marketing of intermediate forest outputs
- Habitat and biodiversity attributes
- Managing thinning operations, site impact and damage limitation
SFR COURSE 4
Silviculture 4 | Continuous Cover Forestry
- Duration – 5 days (Mon PM to Fri AM)
- Location – Penrith, Cumbria, UK
- Course Numbers: Maximum 15 per course
- Delivery Date: (details TBC)
Content:
Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF) is now regarded as one of the most important strategies for increasing the robustness and resilience of productive forests, in the UK, Ireland and across Europe. Significant research is now being invested in this area, which is rapidly emerging as an important area of professional forestry practice. This course will build on earlier material in the SFR Programme and develop the skills and strategies to implement practical CCF stand prescriptions. The course will be highly applied and include a range of practical skills and activities.
Learning Objectives:
- Theory and practice of CCF
- Inventory and site assessment
- Prescription design
- Tree marking and implementation of stand prescriptions
- Assessment of stand conditions for adaptive management
- Operational factors, including soil and site impacts, planning and extraction of timber
- Habitat and biodiversity considerations, including provision of coarse woody material, standing deadwood and other stand attributes for nature conservation.
SFR COURSE 5
Silviculture 5 | Forest Operations, Marketing and Integrated Management
- Duration – 5 days (Mon PM to Fri AM)
- Location – Ashford, County Wicklow, Ireland
- Course Numbers: Maximum 15 per course
- Delivery Date: (details TBC)
Content:
This module represents a capstone for the SFR Programme. Here we will draw all the relevant information together and visit a series of woodlands in close proximity that are being managed on CCF principles and closely adopting current policies for climate adaptation and adaptive management. We will work closely with a forest manager and forest contractor who are recognised experts on managing stands at a range of stages in transformation to CCF. Also included will be operations planning, marketing of timber and wider social aspects of resilient forest management.
Course Leaders:
- Edward Wilson, Silviculturist
- Liam Byrne, Forest Manager and Forestry Contractor
- Rainer Wirz, Forester and Forest Business Manager
Learning Objectives:
- Planning in continuous cover forestry systems
- Forest operations – thinning and harvesting
- Machine selection and application
- Site assessment and surveys
- Woodland Improvement Grants for CCF
- Marketing of timber and other forest products
- Working with large dimension (over-size) timber
- Grading and quality of timber
- Contracts and supervision of operations
- Health and Safety
- Environmental protection
- Veteran trees, archaeology and biodiversity conservation
Technical Note:
It is proposed that the module be held in County Wicklow, Ireland because there are several productive conifer woodlands in close proximity with over 20 years of active management under CCF management principles. It will be possible to also demonstrate results from long-term research trials on early stage stand transformation using the thinning experiment at Ballycullen Forest. Liam Byrne and Rainer Wirz are internationally recognised leaders in the practical application of CCF and will be able to demonstrate active management of large forest blocks to meet multiple forest management objectives. The sites being recommended for the module have recently hosted the Pro Silva Europe Annual Conference and are set up for demonstration and training purposes.
SFR COURSE 6
Silviculture 6 | Advanced Inventory Techniques and Remote Sensing for Resilient Forests
- Duration – 5 days (Mon PM to Fri AM)
- Location – Penrith, Cumbria, UK
- Course Numbers: Maximum 15 per course
- Delivery Date: (details TBC)
Content:
This module provides an in-depth overview of tools and methodologies for assessing forest stand composition, structure, and growth. Utilising drones, handheld LiDAR devices (such as iPhones with LiDAR capabilities), with refined data analysis software, forest managers can develop skills to perform highly detailed and cost-effective evaluations of forest stands.
Within the forestry sector there is an increasing focus on silvicultural practices, particularly continuous cover forestry and adaptive management, this module will demonstrate the tools that need to assess tree quality, health, and growth responses to silvicultural operations. The module will use a range of data from multispectral, RGB, and thermal sensors, to demonstrate precision mapping of forest canopies, health monitoring, and stand data. This data will be used in conjunction with stand data obtained from handheld LiDAR devices showing accurate three-dimensional models of individual trees.
Participants will engage in practical exercises that will include undertaking stand inventory using drones and handheld LiDAR. Participants will have a hands-on opportunity to process and analysis stand data using a range of different software including platforms such as Pix4D, CloudCompare, and QGIS.
Course Leaders:
- Course Leader TBC
- Edward Wilson, Silviculturist (supporting)
Learning Outcomes:
- Remote sensing as a cost effective method for silvicultural applications
- How to plan and conduct remote sensing with drone
- Remote sensing processing and analysis workflow
- GIS integration with remote sensing data
- Application of LiDAR (aerial and ground-based)
- Visualising output data
Tree Marker Training
Early-Stage Stand Transformation to Continuous Cover Forestry
- Duration: 3 days
- Location: Penrith, Cumbria, UK
- Course Numbers: Maximum 15 per course
- Delivery Date: The latest course will be 18-20 March 2025 (details TBC)
- Additional course dates are currently being planned for July, August and September 2025.
- Dedicated webpage: Tree Marker Training
Content:
The Tree Marker Training Course is an established short course that has been delivered 14 times in England, Wales and Ireland. The course involves both indoor and outdoor sessions. The key tool is a silviculture training plot, called a marteloscope. This is a plot (0.25 to 0.5 ha) where each tree is measured and scored for its economic, biological and ecological potential. Participants complete several exercises to learn the effects of alternative intervention strategies. There is detailed discussion and feedback using a results dashboard.
Learning Objectives:
- Site assessment
- Tree classification and quality assessment
- Rapid stand inventory
- Prescription design
- Low thinning strategy
- Crown thinning strategy
- Skills development in tree marking (2 in-forest exercises/case studies)
Additional Information
The programme is subject to adjustment and development to meet client needs.
Learning Resources. Throughout each module there will be foundational information rooted in silvicultural science, linked to application and practice. The necessary resources will be made available to participants through workbooks and a detailed indexed bibliography. Scientific papers and materials used in the teaching will be made available to participants through an online archive/cloud storage.
Delivery Mode. Module delivery dates are subject to confirmation, but timing is provisionally set to avoid the worst weather and poor lighting conditions between November and February. Most of the courses will be scheduled between June and October in any year, depending on funding.
Lead Trainer/Lecturer. The lead organiser for the SFR Programme is Professor Edward (Ted) Wilson MSIF FRSB, Silviculturist. Ted brings over 30 years of experience in training, teaching, research and knowledge mobilisation to these modules, which are designed to meet the needs of modern forestry professionals. Ted will be supported throughout by a team of colleagues who bring expertise in their specific topics and technical aspects of silviculture. Therefore, each course will include a team of lecturers/trainers who bring knowledge, experience and a range of perspectives.
Pricing. Fees include all lectures, activities, learning materials and resources. Full details are outlined through the Forestry and Arboriculture Training Fund website (below). Participants are responsible for their own travel, food or accommodation costs.
Logistics. Participants are required to find their own accommodation and meals. The Penrith modules will be delivered partly indoors and partly in the field. Classroom sessions will take place in or near Penrith. A minivan will be hired for transport of the whole group for field exercises. Provision will be made for participants wishing to use public transport to attend courses.
Registration
All modules will have dedicated information and registration pages through Eventbrite. Links will be posted here once the course information goes live, from spring 2025. Please check back later for updates.
Enquiries
Please contact Ted Wilson. Email: ted.wilson@silviculture.org.uk
Funding
Funding for course fees is available from the Forestry and Arboriculture Training Fund. The procedure for securing funding is in two steps:
- Step 1 – COURSE REGISTRATION Each participant must register for individual approved courses directly through the training provider. All our courses are eligible for funding and will be delivered in the 2025-2026 financial year. We will post links to course registration pages before the funding is open for applications.
- Step 2 – FUNDING APPLICATION Once registered for a course, apply for the course fees through the training fund portal. Please note that funding for approved courses is awarded on a first-come-first-served basis, so early applications are essential once the funding portal is open. Funding covers 100% of course fees; participants are responsible for additional costs, including travel, accommodation and subsistence.
Financial support through the Forestry and Arboriculture Training Fund for 2024-2025 is now closed. We anticipate that funding for 2025-2026 will be announced in the spring and available for new applications from summer 2025. Full details of the Silviculture for Forest Resilience Programme (including course fees) will be announced to coincide with the timeline for the training fund. See below for latest information about the Forestry and Arboriculture Training Fund.
Forestry and Arboriculture Training Fund: www.forestryandarbtrainingfund.co.uk
Literature Cited
- Ashton, M. S,, and M. J. Kelty. 2018. The practice of silviculture: applied forest ecology, 10th edition. John Wiley and Sons, New York. 784 pp.
- Leslie, A.D., E. R. Wilson and A. D. Park. 2024. Increasing resistance and resilience of forests, a case study of Great Britain. iForest 17: 69-79
- Oliver, C. D., and B. C. Larson. 1996. Forest stand dynamics. Update Edition. John Wiley and Sons, New York. 520 pp.
- Park, A., K. Puettmann, E. R. Wilson, C. Messier, S. Kames and A. Dhar. 2014. Can boreal and temperate forest management be adapted to the uncertainties of 21st Century climate change? Critical Reviews in Plant Science 33 (4): 251-285 DOI: 10.1080/07352689.2014.858956
