Certification Pilot

Through the Yorwoods regional team, RDI ran one of the Forestry Commission's 3 England pilot certification schemes to help woodland owners with the process of certification to the UKWAS standard, and to provide advice to timber using businesses on chain of custody.

Specialist advisors from the Yorwoods team provided the following support :

• Provision of information and access to new grants for woodlands achieving certification;
• Providing access to new grants to help with the costs of writing management plans and carrying out survey work as required;
• Free advice and guidance to any interested woodland owners, including a site visit and the provision of information packs;
• The provision of template documents to enable woodland owners to write their own management plans, records etc;
• The active development of new local markets for certified timber;
• Running training courses for woodland owners.

The project was integrated with a business-support initiative funded through North Yorkshire Councy Council. This provided the Yorwoods team with a wide range of resources with which to assist the tree and timber businesses of the Region. By the end of the project several jobs had been created and many hectares of small, fragmented woodlands brought into certification.

RDI responsible Director is Will Richardson. Please contact Will at the Yorkshire and Humber Office (01765 609 355) in the first instance if you would like to discuss this project or benefit from the learnings associated with it.