The Royal Forestry Society is an educational charity and one of the oldest membership organisations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for those actively involved in woodland management. HM The Queen is the patron. The RFS has a broad membership which includes woodland owners, managers, countryside professionals, academics, students and others with a general interest in woodland management. Membership is open to all.
History
The Royal Forestry Society was established in 1882 in Northumberland, England. Originally known as the English Arboricultural Society, the organisation was founded by foresterHenry Clark and nurseryman John W Robson, both from Hexham. The Society's first President was John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham. In 1905 it was granted a Royal Charter by King Edward VII and was renamed the Royal English Arboricultural Society. It was renamed The Royal English Forestry Society in 1931, and in 1962 its title was changed to the Royal Forestry Society of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. A separate organisation operates in Scotland, the Royal Scottish Forestry Society, which was established in 1854.
Woodlands
Although the Society is not a major woodland owner, it manages three working woodlands:
Hockeridge and Pancake Woods in the Chilterns, on the Hertfordshire/Buckinghamshire border and close to Berkhamsted and Chesham, gifted to the RFS in 1986 by Mary Wellesley, great-great-granddaughter of the Duke of Wellington;
The Society has 20 Divisions which between them organise up to 100 woodland field meetings a year on topics that span seed to sawmill. Annually: a top-level conference is held; there is a 4 or 5 day woodland study tour in England, Wales or Northern Ireland; Excellence in Forestry Awards take place, there is a travel bursary for forestry study abroad, and workshops, seminars and knowledge transfer events. Overseas study tours are held every other year. The RFS helps shape formal forestry qualifications and its own Certificate of Arboriculture is recognised across the sector; it encourages students with a range of awards, bursaries and internships; has launched a research programme with colleges and has partnered with a number of organisations to help share knowledge. A professional qualification is offered by the RFS, the Professional Diploma of Arboriculture. The RFS Teaching Trees project is expanding, introducing primary schools and their pupils to their local woodlands and their benefits to the economy, environment and society. The RFS maintains a library of forestry related books for members. The society is headquartered in the grounds of Upton House, Warwickshire, near Banbury.
Journal
The primary publication of The Royal Forestry Society is the Quarterly Journal of Forestry.
