Understorey

Understorey is our new publication featuring the work of forestry students from across Scotland and the North of England, kindly sponsored by EGGER UK and F&W Forestry. It aims to showcase the quality and diversity of work from students studying across different levels – National Certificates, Higher National Certificates and Diplomas, degrees and postgraduate degrees. Understorey is published annually in the autumn.

Information for students

Understorey is open for student submissions with a deadline of 1 June. Find out how to take part and get your work published.

Understorey will be published in the autumn and circulated to all of the Royal Scottish Forestry Society’s members. It will allow the best student work to reach a wide audience, and inform the thinking of our forestry community.

Who is eligible to submit work? Any student who studies forestry or a related discipline at any level at any Scottish institution or University of Cumbria

What sort of submissions will be accepted? We are open to a wide range of submission types including but not limited to a report, poster, book review, opinion piece, article, reflective writing, artwork, poem or infographic. You can submit up to three separate pieces of work.

Are there any specific themes for the work? Work can be on any topic, but broadly you might wish to consider work that can relate to woodland health, forest monitoring, technology in forestry, forest threats, the role of forester, and the future of forestry.

How long should my submission be? Space in the publication is limited, so we are looking for relatively short and concise submissions. If you have an extended report, you might wish to submit a condensed summary. The maximum length for any one submission is 4000 words, including figure captions, references and any appendices.

The John Paterson Award for best submission: The student who submits the adjudged best submission will be awarded the John Paterson trophy and £500 provided by our sponsors EGGER UK.

Apply by 1 June via this online form.

Any questions: Email: director@rsfs.org.uk

Technical details for submission:

• Updated technical details for 2027 submission will be published here shortly.

About our sponsors

Understorey is kindly supported by generous support from EGGER UK and F&W Forestry.

EGGER UK, part of the family owned EGGER Group, is a manufacturer of wood based panels with production plants in Auchinleck East Ayrshire and Hexham Northumberland. We believe in making ‘more from wood’ and annually convert over 1.1m tonnes of fresh and recycled wood fibre into high quality sustainable panel products. We have a multi-disciplinary team in the UK, engineers, logistics experts, sales professionals, administrators and not least our Forestry team and so we’re delighted to support this educational initiative by the Royal Scottish Forestry Society. The UK’s forests don’t manage themselves and our colleges and universities are at the heart of the next generation of Foresters who will plan and manage sustainable woodlands for generations to come. This project showcases some of their excellent work and we look forward to watching their careers develop.

F&W Forestry is one of the UK’s leading independent forest management companies managing woodland and forests across the country—from the northern landscapes of Caithness to the woodlands of Cornwall. With a heritage dating back to 1957, the company has built a long‑standing reputation for excellence in sustainable woodland management. As part of the global F&W Forestry Services Inc, students joining the organisation benefit from a much wider international network. The group manages approximately 900,000 hectares of forests and woodlands worldwide, including North America, South America, the UK, and France, giving young professionals exposure to global best practice and innovative forestry techniques.