Introducing Tree Talk with… Ben Williams
Now a CFT Trustee, Ben has been in and around the environmental sector for nearly 25 years, starting with voluntary work while at university in Sheffield and then with a long spell with Groundwork over in the North West.
I want to see a bigger focus on managing high quality wooded environments longer term… including long-term investment in management of our existing woodland alongside tree planting.
How did you become involved in the world of community forestry?
Within that time, I was involved in the Newlands project - still one of the most substantial brownfield woodland creation programmes of its kind, which brought me into contact with the Mersey Forest and Red Rose Forest (now City of Trees). That was the start of the association, and thereafter I worked more and more in that area, up to the present day where I am working for Earthwatch Europe creating a network of Tiny Forests across the UK.
The work of community forestry in bringing trees to where people live, work and play is incredibly significant, especially in communities where people either don't or can't visit the countryside.
Please tell us a little more about your interest in community forestry that led you to becoming a Trustee for CFT?
For me, community forestry occupied a really important niche. Big, rural reforestation schemes are of course vitally important, but the work of community forestry in bringing trees to where people live, work and play is incredibly significant, especially in communities where people either don't or can't visit the countryside.
I'm also a self-confessed governance geek, and have been involved with boards and committees throughout my career (I know, get a life Ben but that's how it is!). I was just finishing a term as parent governor and chair of our local primary school when the advert came out for CFT Trustees, and I jumped at the opportunity to combine the two aspects.
What are your future hopes for trees and forestry?
More, obviously! However within this I want to see a bigger focus on managing high quality wooded environments longer term. It's the nature of the sector that the money and political impetus focuses on the planting, but this is no good without long-term investment in managing our existing woodland stock as well.
The benefits these landscapes provide don't just scale up infinitely over time - there comes a point where without active management the benefits begin to fall away, and I would like to see governments and localities invest sustained, long term resources into creating and managing woodlands, rather than being driven by sporadic planting programmes.
After a year of restrictions in accessing public spaces and countryside, people have really come to understand the benefits that trees on their doorsteps can provide, and
tapping into that positivity will be a vital step for the future.
What are you most excited by currently in the world of community forestry?
There's some hugely exciting stuff going around the Community Forest Trust just now, which is one of the reasons I'm so excited to be part of the movement at this time. Trees4Climate is a massive boost for the sector, and it's great that CFT has been able to take such a leadership role in this.
The expansion of the Community Forest network is also a huge positive, with new areas recognising the value of this approach and the partnerships that drive it. And finally, I think public appreciation for trees and woodlands has never been higher - certainly not in my lifetime. After a year of restrictions in accessing public spaces and countryside, people have really come to understand the benefits that trees on their doorsteps can provide, and tapping into that positivity will be a vital step for the future.
What do you think will make the biggest difference in the next 5 years?
Leadership and organisation. The sector is really thriving, but without really systemic collaboration and organisation, backed up by influential leadership and a coherent and powerful lobby to government, there's a danger that this momentum will be lost, and this is a key area where I see CFT having a strong part to play over the coming years.
Do you have any recommendations for anyone who would like to get more involved in community forestry in their local area?
Volunteer. It's a pretty universal route into this line of work. If there's a community forest already established in your local area, then great, but if not there are always local groups to connect with, whether that's a friends group in your local park, or the local Groundwork, Wildlife Trust or The Conservation Volunteers (TCV).
There will always be something out there to turn your hand to. And don't get disappointed if you're not planting trees every day - as I mentioned earlier, looking after these spaces, and helping people connect with them, is just as important as creating them in the first place, so maintenance days or community activities are every bit as valuable as planting days, and help people to understand the inner workings of parks and woodlands.
Explore the map of community forests on England’s Community Forests website
Where do you enjoy going for a walk and do you have any recommendations for fab places that people can experience woodlands?
I will always advocate the Terraced Gardens up on Rivington in Chorley. It was my privilege to work there for nearly five years, developing the National Lottery Heritage fund programme that has transformed its future. It's a dramatic and breathtaking combination of historic design intent and natural processes. Even having studied the place in minute detail, it was still full of magic and discovery every time I set foot on there.
Do you have a favourite tree?
Species or specimen? Species would have to be Rowan, the Mountain Ash. It's visually lovely, great for wildlife, and with loads of really fun social history over the centuries. Individual would be the little Prunus nigra that I planted in the garden with the kids three years ago. In all these years of professional work in the sector, it's the first time I've actually been able to plant one myself in my own space, and it's been such a joy to watch it grow and thrive over the years.
The little Prunus nigra planted three years ago!
You can find out more about Rivington Terraced Gardens in Bolton on their website