Future Woodlands Scotland is excited to announce the appointment of a new Trustee who has recently joined our Board.

Charlie Taylor brings with him a wealth of forestry experience from the public sector, having worked in the industry for over 40 years, most recently as Strategic Planning Manager at Forestry and Land Scotland.

During this time, Charlie has held a variety of leadership roles with experience in building teams and leading several groundbreaking initiatives to help protect and develop forest cover.

As Strategic Planning Manager, Charlie oversaw the delivery of national programme of Land Management Plans. He also personally led Project Next 100 – an ambitious plan to predict future outputs from the national forests and lands over the next century in response to climate change and testing the potential impact of a range of future scenarios.  

Awards include the Sir George Campbell Memorial Trophy for the best paper for professionals published in Scottish Forestry and Landscape Institute Award for outstanding professional achievement. He is the author of 14 research and scientific papers and has co-founded a number of voluntary groups and charities including the Native Pinewood Managers and Perthshire Big Tree Country.    

Charlie says: “I was attracted by Future Woodland Scotland’s innovative approach to expanding and conserving native woodlands in Scotland.

“I have already been very impressed by the commitment and enthusiasm within the charity team and I am looking forward to working with them.”

“I hope that my experience will help the charity when reviewing funding requests and options for new areas of work to support native woodlands that might otherwise not happen.

“Now is an exciting time to be joining FWS. It’s a really positive period for forestry in Scotland and FWS has an important role in helping to maintain focus on the value of native woodlands as an integral part of the country’s woodland cover.  There are also exciting new initiatives, such as our planned work on urban woodlands.  The recent lockdowns have emphasised the huge value of people in urban areas being able to easily access local areas of green space and woodland.

“Even after four decades in the sector, I still really enjoy learning about forestry, environmental issues and land use.  I’m also really heartened by the growing appreciation of the overall value of trees and woodlands and their potential contribution to help tackle climate change and the biodiversity crisis.

Tim Hall, Chair of FWS says: “The whole team at Future Woodlands Scotland are immensely pleased to welcome Charlie on board as our newest volunteer. The strength of his professional background, combined with his passion for native woodlands will be invaluable in helping to shape our strategy over the months and years to come.”

Charlie will join our board of six trustees who come from a range of backgrounds. Meet the rest of the team.