Author: LiNE

Job Vacancy: myForest Manager

0 commentsAnnouncementsforestryjobs

We are seeking an exceptional forester or land manager to join our dynamic team Salary range: £27,000-32,000     Position: Permanent, Full-time         Location: Sylva office / home working providing woodland advice Sylva is known for its highly innovative approaches to supporting sustainable forest management across Britain. The myForest platform is one of our flagship projects, used ….  Read More

myForest provides support to the Community Woodland Association

0 commentscollaborationCommunity Woodland AssociationdemonstrationforestrymyForestvideo

The myForest team regularly provides support and advice to woodland groups across Britain. Last week, George Dennison (myForest Manager) and Paul Orsi (Director of Operations) hosted a webinar for members of the Community Woodlands Association looking at how they could use myForest to support their woodland management activities. The Community Woodlands Association was established in ….  Read More

Impact Report 2022

0 commentsAnnouncementsImpact Report

We’re pleased to published our Impact Report for 2022. The theme this year is ‘collaboration’. Through our many collaborations we can illustrate the diversity of our work, and just as importantly, shine a spotlight on our partners, and the impact we are making together. Collaboration is one of our core values: To work extensively and ….  Read More

Innovative support available for existing and new woods across England

0 commentsAnnouncementsDefrafarmersForest Canopy FoundationforestryGrown In Britainland managementPIESwoodland owners

Landowners and managers across England are invited to apply for an innovative package of fully-funded advice, providing vital information to support them in taking the next steps in managing existing woodland and/or creating new wooded areas. The fully-funded advice is being delivered under the PIES (Protect Improve Expand Sustain) project. It is run by a ….  Read More

Hand-crafted stools made in collaboration with the National Trust

0 commentsAnnouncementsashcollaborationfurnitureGrown In Britainhome-grown timberNational TrustSylva Wood SchoolWOODWood School

Sylva Foundation has teamed up with the National Trust to turn trees lost to Ash dieback into a range of hand-crafted stools. The ash stools made at the Sylva Wood School in collaboration with the National Trust ©National Trust Images/Arnhel de Serra Ash dieback is a widespread fungal disease that has had a dramatic impact ….  Read More

Call for urgent action to adapt forests to climate change

0 commentsadaptationAnnouncementsclimate changeFCCPforestryForestry and Climate Change PartnershipresilienceSCIENCE

Forestry, conservation and government organisations have come together to reaffirm their commitment to work together to promote the importance of adapting trees, woods and forests to climate change.   The Forestry and Climate Change Partnership (FCCP) has published the Forestry and Climate Change Adaptation Accord which sets out a collective vision that Britain’s trees woods ….  Read More

Sourcing and Using Home-Grown Wood Products

0 commentsAnnouncementshome-grownposition statementWOOD

Sylva Foundation’s views on sourcing and using home-grown wood products. Using more wood products sourced from UK forests will stimulate our economy while improving the environmental condition of more woodlands, reducing wood-miles (carbon footprint of importing timber), and help reconnect people with the benefits of a working countryside. Sylva Foundation has set out its views ….  Read More

Innovative support launched for existing and new woods across England

0 commentsAnnouncementsDefraEnglandForest Canopy FoundationforestryfundingGovernmentGrown In BritainmyForestPIESwoodland creationwoodland management

An innovative new project known as PIES, standing for protect, improve, expand, and sustain, has been launched to help with the creation and management of woodlands across England. PIES project. Image (c)GabrielHemery The project is funded by the Trees Call to Action Fund. The fund was developed by Defra in partnership with the Forestry Commission ….  Read More

Free Advice for Woodland Owners

0 commentsadviceEnglandexclude from front pageforestrymyForestsouth-east

If you own an area of woodland in the south-east region of England, you could benefit from free one-to-one professional forestry advice. woodland advice Landowners are increasingly aware of the threats from climate change, pests and diseases, but are also aware of opportunities to provide services from woodlands they manage, such as carbon sequestration and ….  Read More

Summer School 2021

0 commentsdesignEDUCATIONGrown In Britainhome-grownmakeSummer SchoolSylva Wood SchoolWOODWood School

In September, Sylva Foundation hosted a Summer School for young creative people to promote design and craft using home-grown timber. The inspiring report from the workshop is published today to coincide with Grown in Britain week. Sylva Foundation cares passionately about trees and people, and at its Wood School in south Oxfordshire it has set ….  Read More

Impact Report 2021

0 commentsAnnouncementsImpact Report

We are delighted to publish our first ever Impact Report, highlighting our achievements and impacts during the last year. The report came about thanks to the support of an amazing volunteer, Shems Hadj-Nassar, who brought her communications expertise to bear in supporting our team in writing and designing the report. This perfectly illustrates how Sylva ….  Read More

Join us for Artweeks 2021

0 commentsAnnouncements

We are pleased to be opening up the Sylva Wood Centre again to the public for Artweeks 2021. We are open for two weekends: 15/16 and 22/23 May from 10am-5pm. In a change from previous years, we are providing more open workshops that visitors can enjoy seeing the craftspeople at work and talk to them ….  Read More

British Woodlands Survey 2020 report published

0 commentsBritish Woodlands SurveySCIENCE

An independent report released today highlights that those who care for woodlands and forests across Britain are increasingly aware of the threats from environmental change, especially drought, wildfires, and pathogens, such as ash dieback and acute oak decline, yet there’s little evidence of action being taken overall to improve woodland resilience. BWS2020 report The 2020 ….  Read More

IT’S TIME TO ACT: Introducing the Youth Outdoor Equity Leadership Grant Program

0 commentsCampaign/InitiativeChildren & Nature NetworkEquityNatural Leaders NetworkThe New Nature Movement - Columns by Guest Writers

Dear friends, The Children & Nature Network is listening, reflecting, and asking ourselves what new actions we can take to address the systems of injustice that exist within our organization, in communities where work, and across our movement. The impact of systemic racism shows up in who has regular access to the benefits of nature; in how parks and ….  Read More

Woodland Creation In the Making

0 commentsAnnouncementsDefraforestryForestry CommissionmyForestProject Developmentweb developmentwoodland creationwoodland trust

We’re delighted to announce the development of a major new project. Working in partnership with the Forestry Commission and the Woodland Trust, the Sylva Foundation is delivering a Woodland Creation Test and Trial to support the development of Defra’s Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme. Woodland Creation project Sylva Foundation is well-known for its innovative land-management ….  Read More

Forester Wanted

0 commentsAnnouncementsforestryjobs

We are looking for an exceptional and early-career Forester Job advert We are looking for a Forester to join our dynamic small team. The important role will focus on improving the support we provide to users of our services, including working on new developments, improving communication with users, and providing training. The successful applicant is ….  Read More

British Woodlands Survey 2020 launched

0 commentsBritish Woodlands SurveyresilienceSCIENCEsocial science

The British Woodlands Survey 2020 (BWS2020) has been launched and remains open until the end of June. In this new survey, researchers want to understand awareness, action and aspiration among Britain’s forestry community to environmental change. BWS2020 comes five years after the ground-breaking British Woodlands Survey of 2015 which explored the same themes, and this ….  Read More

BUCKET FULL OF NATURE: A Fun Indoor Nature Challenge for Families

0 commentsFamilyLocalNearby NatureThe New Nature Movement - Columns by Guest WritersVitamin N

During the COVID-19 crisis, if you’re experiencing cabin fever and your kids (and you) are climbing (or drawing on) the walls indoors, we’ve got a plan to keep you connected with nature! The mental, physical, social and emotional benefits of regular and meaningful opportunities to connect with nature are many and vital for the health of ….  Read More

Coronavirus: Concern over Lack of Social Distancing During Outdoor Walks

0 commentsNews Round Up

In Ireland, the National Parks and Wildlife Service has raised concerns that people out walking in parks and elsewhere outdoors are failing to maintain advised social distancing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.The parks service called on “individuals to avoid congregating closely in large groups, even in these outdoor areas,” and to maintain 6.5 feet between ….  Read More

Global Call to Cut Urban Road Speed Limits

0 commentsNews Round Up

The 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety (Ministerial Conference) held in Stockholm, Sweden has called on countries to impose mandatory 20mph limits in urban areas to help cut deaths and injuries to pedestrians, including many children. Held in the final year of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, the conference brought government ….  Read More

Invitation to Tender to Supply Woodworking Machinery

0 commentsAnnouncementsinvitationSylva Wood Schooltender

Sylva Foundation is seeking a suitably qualified supplier to supply, deliver and install/commission industrial woodworking machinery. We are pleased to offer this as an open process for suitable suppliers to tender proposals. Deadline for submissions is 12 noon on 3rd April. Specification summary: Surface Planer, with Spiral/Tersa Block minimum 500mm wide.Minimum 7 KW motor Thickness ….  Read More

10 Nature Activities to Help Get Your Family Through the Pandemic

0 commentsFamilyNearby NatureOutdoor PlayParentingRichard LouvThe New Nature Movement - Columns by Richard Louv

If the coronavirus spreads at the rate that some experts believe it will, schools and workplaces will continue to close. Here’s one thread of silver lining. We’ll have more time for each other, and for nature. “Do not stay inside all the time: your vitamin D level goes down,” advises John de Pluma, MD, a ….  Read More

Study Reveals Positive Connection Between Nature Experiences and Happiness

0 commentsNews Round Up

A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) used social media and artificial intelligence (AI) to look at the connection between nature experiences and happiness. The team analyzed over 31,500 photographs across 185 countries on social media with the help of an automated image recognition technology, finding global evidence of the biophilia ….  Read More

Renovation of the old Grain Store

0 commentsAnnouncementsbuildingfilmSylva Wood CentretimelapseWOOD

Despite the wet winter we’ve been busy at the Sylva Wood Centre completing the renovation of our old Grain Store. We’ve just completed this timelapse film, taken over several months, which finishes with the fitting of innovative thermally-modified hardwood products, including cladding, windows, and a door. The Brimstone products were provided by Vastern Timber, in ….  Read More

Better Access to Nature, Even Just Your Local Park, Helps People and the Planet

0 commentsNews Round Up

New research from the European Centre for Environmental and Human Health at the University of Exeter shows that people who spend time in nature are more likely to engage in environmentally friendly behaviors. Using data from more than 24,000 English adults, the researchers found that exposure to nature, including strolling through a city park, makes people ….  Read More

Experiencing Wilderness Keeps Us Happy, so We Should Protect It Even in Cities

0 commentsNews Round Up

New research led by University of Washington researchers found that experiencing wilderness is important for our physical and mental health. The study, based in Discovery Park in Seattle, reports that exposure to wilderness is especially important in urban landscapes, even compared to other types of natural areas. The research was prompted by the park’s advisory ….  Read More

NATURAL STEWARDS: Top Activities with Kids that Help Give Back to the Outdoors

0 commentsThe New Nature Movement - Columns by Guest Writers

Kids are naturally drawn to the outdoors. This fascination provides parents and educators with teaching opportunities to help children care for nature. According to the latest research, spending more time outside promotes more sustainable and environmentally-friendly behavior in children. So the more connected to nature a child is, the more likely they are to take environmentally conscious actions— and the ….  Read More

VITAMIN N FOR THE SOUL: How Nature Can Nourish the Spirit of Children and Adults

0 commentsFamilyreligionRichard LouvspiritualityThe New Nature Movement - Columns by Richard LouvVitamin N

Matthew, my youngest son, once asked me if a connection to a higher power is, in fact, an underutilized sense—one that some people find activated in nature. This is the same son who, when he was five, asked, “Are God and Mother Nature married, or just good friends?” Great questions. Most religious traditions, especially in ….  Read More

Study: Children Who Grow up Feeling Close to Nature Are Happier and More Likely to Care for the Planet

0 commentsNews Round Up

According to a research team in Mexico, children who grow up feeling close to nature are happier and more likely to become eco-friendly, compared to those who suffer from nature deficit disorder. The researchers surveyed nearly 300 children to find a link between ecological and sustainable awareness and feelings of happiness. The study is the ….  Read More

Playing Freely in Nature May Boost Complex Thinking, Social Skills in Kids

0 commentsNews Round Up

Researchers from the University of South Australia found that nature play positively impacts the health and development of children ages two to 12. The study, published in the journal PLOS One, found that nature play improved children’s levels of physical activity, health-related fitness, motor skills, learning, and social and emotional development. It also showed that ….  Read More

Study Highlights New Strategies For Helping Children Process Negative Emotions

0 commentsNews Round Up

The findings of a study of indigenous people in southern Chile challenge Western assumptions about the value of spending time outdoors to help children regulate their emotions. The study surveyed 271 parents and teachers in southern Chile, approximately half of which were Mapuche, an indigenous people of the region. Researchers found that the Mapuche parents believe ….  Read More

NATURE CONNECTIONS: How a Summer Camp Helps Kids Connect with Nature and Each Other

0 commentsThe New Nature Movement - Columns by Guest Writers

Each summer 4,500 kids from the south metro area of the Twin Cities head outdoors. Coming from under-resourced communities, these children and youth will be connecting to nature through the outdoor programming efforts of the YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities. Many of these campers will be connecting to nature for the first time. As ….  Read More

Utah’s Office of Outdoor Recreation Program Grows to Expand Access to the Outdoors

0 commentsNews Round Up

Over the last five years, Utah’s Outdoor Recreation Grant program has invested approximately $10 million into 155 projects across the state, dedicating even more resources toward the program. Created to help communities around the state fund outdoor recreation infrastructure to help drive tourism, the program has funded the construction of new hiking and mountain biking ….  Read More

A MILESTONE IN THE STUDY OF NATURE’S BENEFITS: From Intuitive Understanding to Overwhelming Evidence

0 commentsChildren & Nature NetworkEarly ChildhoodEDUCATIONResearchThe New Nature Movement - Columns by Guest Writers

Thirty years ago, I was a newly hired faculty member in the Department of Special Education at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Many of my graduate students were working as teachers in classrooms with young children with disabilities. Teaching strategies, at the time, were based in part on behavior modification principles. This approach uses ….  Read More

Racist Housing Policies in US Linked to Deadly Heatwave Exposure

0 commentsNews Round Up

A study published in the journal Climate examines the link between historical housing policies to exposure to current deadly heatwaves. The study finds that deadly urban heatwaves disproportionately affect underserved neighborhoods because of the legacy of racist housing policies that have denied African Americans homeownership and basic public services. Each year, more than 600 Americans die ….  Read More

HEADING TO THE FOREST: Bringing Joy, Accomplishment & Hope to Children

0 commentsAccessAlliesEarly ChildhoodEDUCATIONEquityFamilyNearby NatureOutdoor PlayregionalThe New Nature Movement - Columns by Guest Writers

This is the second installment of a two-part series. In the first part of this article, we visited a nature-based early childhood program in a forest preserve on the western edge of Chicagoland. Here, children found treasure, became pirates, engineered a raft/bridge and adventured for long distances in the winter woods. In this part, we’ll ….  Read More

No Child Left Inside: Small Grants for Getting Kids Outdoors in High Demand

0 commentsNews Round Up

For its first round of No Child Left Inside grants, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources received an overwhelming response to its call for grant proposals. Program administrators received 200 applications in just six minutes from schools, nonprofits and community organizations. The majority of projects were focused on trying to conduct classes outside, at their school. ….  Read More

The Rise of Short-sightedness in Kids

0 commentsNews Round Up

As the number of people with myopia, or short-sightedness, has increased dramatically in recent years in various regions of the world, the risk of blindness with worsening severity of myopia has made the condition a major public health concern. While many studies have looked at possible risk factors, only a few factors have come out consistently around the ….  Read More

Children in Rural Areas Have Better Motor Skills

0 commentsNews Round Up

Researchers from the University of Jyväskylä in Finland found that children living in metropolitan areas have weaker motor skills compared with children living in the countryside. Study results also showed that children from the countryside spent more time outdoors, while children from the metropolitan area most frequently engaged in organized sports.

Study: Watching TV has Strongest Link with Childhood Obesity

0 commentsNews Round Up

An international health research centre which looked at city children’s habits found that watching television is the lifestyle habit ‘most strongly associated’ with obesity in children. Researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) studied 1,480 children, looking at five lifestyle habits: physical activity, sleep time, television time, plant-based food consumption and ultra-processed food ….  Read More

The 2020 Grassroots Grants to Get More Kids Growing & Learning Outside Opens

0 commentsNews Round Up

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation and the national nonprofit KidsGardening opened its Gro More Good Grassroots Grants, an annual grant program designed to get more kids outside through the development of youth-based garden and greenspace programs. The Gro More Good Grassroots Grants will support all types of community-driven garden and greenspace projects that directly engage youth. Grant funding will ….  Read More

Exposure to Household Pet Cats and Dogs in Childhood and Risk of Subsequent Diagnosis of Schizophrenia or Bipolar Disorder

0 commentsNews Round Up

A study examining the relationship between exposure to a household pet cat or dog during the first 12 years of life and having a subsequent diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder found that exposure to a household pet dog was associated with a significantly decreased hazard of having a subsequent diagnosis of schizophrenia. The researchers ….  Read More

Children Who Attend Schools with Green Space Are Less Likely to Have ADHD

0 commentsNews Round Up

Researchers at Guangzhou’s South China Institute of Environmental Sciences found that children at schools with more trees and green space are less likely to have ADHD. After assessing the surrounding environments of the schools of almost 60,000 youngsters in China, the study showed that children were less likely to have attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder if their school offered ….  Read More