News Stories

Northwoods Project Director advises the BBC's 'Watchdog' programme

David Clubb, Project Director of the Northwoods office, was recently chosen as a renewable energy expert to advise the BBC television Watchdog programme which was investigating a solar water heating company. David has experience with installing solar water heating systems in Spain, and has previously run a European project promoting the use of solar water heating in campsites.

David said “it was a very interesting day and an enjoyable experience meeting the crew and the presenter, though it involved getting up at 3.30am which is very unusual for me!”

New Staff at Yorwoods

Due to new funding contracts being secured at our Yorwoods office, we have taken on the following new members of staff to help with the expansion:

Chair of UK Sustainable Development Commission to Launch Ignition09

Jonathon Porritt – Programme Director of Forum for the Future and Chair of the UK Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) – has been announced as special guest speaker at Ignition09 - the UK’s first dedicated wood fuel expo taking place at The Sage Gateshead on 11th - 12th March 2009.

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RDI Publishes Stirling and Tayside Timber Transport Strategic Assessment

RDI has been working with the Stirling and Tayside Timber Transport Group to deliver a strategic assessment of timber transport issues within the region.  This 18 month contract has been partially funded by the Strategic Timber Transport Fund and has culminated in the production of the Stirling and Tayside Timber Transport Strategic Assessment – you can download the report at the bottom of this page.

RDI's NEWHeat Project support Wood Rush

NEWHeat – an initiative funded by One NorthEast to encourage businesses across the region to switch their heat energy supply to wood heat – teamed up with the Northumberland Lights festival last night (Wednesday 12th November) to offer cyclists the chance to experience a magical cycle ride at Kielder Water & Forest Park in a mission to highlight the benefits of wood heat.

Funding Success for Forestry Businesses

Yorwoods have been successful in assisting a number of forestry businesses in the region access funding through the Rural Enterprise Investment Programme. The REIP is a programme of funding available through Yorkshire Forward for targeting rural development focused projects. Funding is available to forestry businesses amongst others, for a whole host of projects including supply chain added value activity, infrastructure investments and woodfuel developments.

RDI Director Appointed to Key Forestry Advisory Body

RDI is delighted to announce that Claire Glaister, RDI’s Director with responsibility for Scotland, has been appointed to Forestry Commission Scotland’s Grampian Forestry Forum.

Along with four other Forestry fora across Scotland, the Grampian Forestry Forum was established to provide advice on forestry policy and practice within its geographic area, with its members representing the economic, environmental and social aspects of forestry.

Read all about it...

The latest edition of the ‘Northwoods Newsletter’ is now available.

Information on funding for forestry training, the latest on the Northumberland Fire Group and what's available through RDPE's bioENergy support programme, are just a few of the topics covered.

To read the Newsletter in full please click on the pdf attachement below

For more information about woodland initiatives and Northwoods click here:

RDI Provides Renewable Energy Advice on TV!

Northwoods’ Project Director, Dr David Clubb, made a short appearance advising families on renewable energy options on the Welsh-language television series ‘Cmw Glo, Cwm Gwyrdd’ (Coal Valley, Green Valley).

RDI Project Director joins Courvoisier's 2008 Future 500 list of up and coming entrepreneurs

We are proud to confirm the selection of Rural Development Initiatives' Dr David Clubb (Project Director of the Northwoods office) to the prestigious Courvoisier Future 500 list of up and coming entrepreneurs of 2008.

The Observer & Courvoisier partnership will follow the 500 and the progress of their businesses over the next 12 months and expect to report on significant success. A private members community has been set up for the 500 to share experiences & comment on forum debates on key subjects of national importance.