Our aim:
Treescapes2021 will create an inclusive forum to appraise current research, practice, and mechanisms for knowledge exchange in the UK. We aim to capture the priorities and concerns of stakeholders and, using this, influence future research agendas and practices. Above all, this event seeks to establish communications between early careers researchers and practitioners.
Trees are an integral part of many landscapes in forests, woodlands, parks, streets and cities; they create our much valued treescapes. There are growing expectations of treescapes to provide an array of ecosystem services which are increasingly recognised and valued – from carbon capture and flood attenuation to health and wellness benefits.
The responsibility of fulfilling these expectations lies with researchers, practitioners and policy makers. Treescapes2021 is a unique opportunity to focus on the rewards of collaborative working, to identify whether we are currently realising them, and how can we promote collaboration further.
Organisers:
This conference is organised by Doctoral researchers in collaboration with the Royal Forestry Society with support from Forest Research and the Woodland Trust.
The Central England NERC Training Alliance is a consortium of 6 research intensive Universities and 4 research institutes that are working together to provide excellence in doctoral research training. CENTA encompasses research activities within three broad themes: Climate & Environmental Sustainability; Organisms & Ecosystems, and Dynamic Earth. Our University partners include University of Birmingham, University of Leicester, University of Warwick, Loughborough University, Open University and Cranfield University.
The NERC-funded Envision Doctoral Training Partnership brings together a powerful group of UK universities and research institutions with industry and NGO partners to provide a new generation of environmental scientists with the skills, knowledge and experience they need to take on the challenges of a changing world. Envision is led by Lancaster University, and brings together the Universities of Bangor and Nottingham, the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the British Geological Survey and Rothamsted Research. Forest science is a major research strength of these partners and, as a result of the current 72 Envision students, 12 are researching forest-related projects. To further strengthen this research and training theme, Envision is developing a ‘Forest Science College’ as part of its second phase. Through this Forest Science College Envision will link to the CENTA DTP, with complementary strengths in forest atmosphere, biogeochemistry, hydrology, and socio-economics, with benefits including access to UK field-site networks, summer schools, doctoral training/placements, and co-design and co-supervision of PhD projects with end-users, CASE and collaborative partners.
Forest Edge is a Doctoral Scholarship programme funded by the Leverhulme Trust and based in the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR). The programme is supporting 20 PhD studentships over four years to explore the fundamental science, social science and cultural importance of forested landscapes. The organising principle of the programme is; “To determine to what extent Forest existence, form, and function emerge from detailed interactions within and across scales, from molecules, to individual organisms, to communities and societies.” The two cross-cutting areas of the programme are spatial and temporal scales of forests and complexity of forest systems. Projects are rooted in a strongly disciplinary setting, but set out to explore interdisciplinary challenges around themes of: values and meanings of forests, change drivers and resilience of forests in a changing environment, and communication cascades at molecular, ecological and social scales. The key philosophy behind the programme is to provide support for projects and lines of enquiry which would not normally be funded by UK research councils.
The Royal Forestry Society (RFS) is the largest and longest established educational charity promoting the wise management of trees and woods in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Our mission is to inspire passion and excellence in woodland management. We do this through education and knowledge-sharing, which have been at the heart of the RFS ethos since its foundation in 1882. For information go to www.rfs.org.uk. Follow us on Twitter @royal_forestry, Facebook: Royal Forestry Society – RFS
With support from:
The Woodland Trust
The Woodland Trust is the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity. Our vision is a UK rich in native woods and trees, for people and wildlife.
Scientific evidence underpins our conservation work. We are constantly looking for effective, credible solutions to deal with the challenges facing trees and woods in the UK. Research and evidence feeds directly into our practice as well as our policy, whether to understand the impact of climate change or to support a campaign to save ancient woodland. Knowledge is the key to ensuring we can engage people and inspire support, as well as develop and advocate strong, effective conservation techniques.
Forest Research