Take part in the future of forestry at WoodBUILD 2025, Day 1, Tuesday 3 June. With a focus on woodland creation in the morning and woodland management in the afternoon
Tuesday 3 June 2025
Session 1: Woodland Creation | 11:00–12:30
Chair: Andrew Sowerby, Bronwin & Abbey
Session 2: Woodland Management | 13:30–15:00
Chair: Elaine Heckley, Confor
Specialist advisor: Chris Jones, Woodknowledge Wales
Host: Tom Henderson, Woodknowledge Wales
Wales has a strategy. We have a National Forest. And we have momentum. Yet many of the barriers to woodland creation and management remain stubbornly familiar. So, what’s actually working? What’s getting in the way? And what needs to change if we want to grow more forests — and grow more value from them?
At WoodBUILD 2025, we’ll be hosting two roundtable workshops on the future of forestry in Wales. These sessions are designed to go beyond the usual soundbites and surface real, grounded perspectives from across the supply chain — from nurseries to sawmills, contractors to policymakers.
This is not just about speaking. It’s about listening. And about taking stock of what’s happening now — and what must happen next.
The future of forestry: woodland creation
11:00–12:30, Tuesday 3 June
This roundtable will explore the strategic and systemic barriers to establishing new productive forests in Wales. We’ll be asking: what’s working, what’s not, and where are the opportunities for collaborative action?
While the conversation will determine the flow of topics, potential discussion themes include:
- Declining productive forest area in Wales
- The disappearance of larch from our productive forests
- Labour shortages and shortage of forestry workers and workforce attrition
- Contracting challenges (scale, safety regs, tenders)
- A failing farm forestry narrative
- Market visibility and long-term demand
- Reconciling objectives for timber production and other ecosystem services
Whether you’re grappling with practical constraints or seeking policy reform, this session is about clarifying what it will take to move from strategy to delivery.
The future of forestry: woodland management
13:30–15:00, Tuesday 3 June
What does it take to keep forests in active, sustainable, and economically viable management? This session explores what’s helping and hindering woodland stewardship across ownership types and scales.
While discussions will determine the flow of topics, potential key issues on the agenda include:
- Under-managed forests and missed opportunities
- The role of community woodlands
- Market barriers for small operators
- Small sawmills and local resilience
- Regulatory and procurement pressures
- The enabling role of forestry officers
Working together, we’ll shine a light on the practical experience of landowners, community groups, contractors and others, helping surface what’s really needed to support long-term, active woodland management in Wales.
Why This Matters
For Woodknowledge Wales, these workshops are part of our effort to recalibrate our role in the natural environment space. We want to understand where we can be most useful — helping unlock progress, spotlight overlooked issues, and inspire targeted, collaborative action.
By platforming practical experience and honest reflection, these sessions aim to clarify how Wales can move from good intentions to meaningful change.
Chair and Contributors
We are delighted that Andrew Sowerby, Bronwen & Abbey, will chair the morning session with Elaine Heckley, National Manager Wales for Confor, chairing the afternoon. Chris Jones, Woodknowledge Wales’ forestry expert, will attend these sessions as a specialist advisor. Both sessions will be hosted by Woodknowledge Wales’ forestry and timber expert, Tom Henderson.
A full contributor list for this roundtable is still being finalised, with a mix of confirmed, invited, and suggested participants from across the forestry and land-use spectrum. We’re particularly keen to include perspectives that are often left out of national-level conversations — from nurseries to harvesting contractors to community woodland managers.
Take part
If you’d like to suggest a contributor, or want to be involved, please first register for WoodBUILD 2025. Then select ALL the relevant workshops you wish to attend (including these two if relevant) in our follow up email. It is also advised that you contact Tom Henderson with an expression of interest if you wish to participate in either of these roundtable discussions.
