What made you become a member of RSFS?
The site visits have always been really interesting, there was one someone told me about that I wanted to go on so I signed up and have continued on since then.
Where did your interest in forestry begin?
My interest was really started from my business partner, Carlota. Carlota and I are old friends from university days, she’s been in forestry from the start of her career, but I used to be a neuroscience researcher until I was in my mid-late twenties. I have always loved the outdoors and I was getting very disenchanted with neuroscience and academia, and it didn’t help that at work I was often in a black-out room with just a computer screen and no daylight – neuroscience is not as glamourous as it sounds! When I eventually left my job, Carlota offered me some part-time temporary work helping her do peat surveys for some woodland creation sites, and my interest snowballed from there. At the time she was working for Mark Hamilton, and he gave me a lot of work surveying and mapping for woodland creation sites to help me get started in my new career. I still have a soft spot for peat surveys!
Where is a great place in Scotland that not everyone knows about? I
My current favourite place in Scotland is Wanlockhead, it’s a lovely village with a great pub. We had a nice weekend sat in the sunshine by a river there last summer whilst a few of my friends tried their hand at gold-panning.
Do you have a favourite tree and why?
Ash is my favourite tree, I love how it’s great for both biodiversity and timber potential, but it’s very sad that a lot of stands and roadside trees have been hit hard by Chalara. Hopefully the ones remaining will have some resistance.
Can you give us a book, movie, TV show or podcast recommendation? It doesn’t have to be forestry related!
The best book I read within the last year was The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guinn, I can highly recommend!
What do you think is an important issue in forestry today?
I think a combination of moving away from large clearfells and towards smaller group felling / thinning along with diversification of species mixtures are both crucial to sustaining Scottish forestry in the long term. With the frequency and severity of storms increasing, we will start to see even more windblow in unthinned stands. In combination with Ips typographus spruce bark beetle inevitably making it’s way into this country, stressed or windblown trees will be the perfect breeding ground for the insect. By thinning or small group felling, and using a wider range of species that are not just limited to Sitka and Norway spruce, we will start to create forests that are more resilient to extreme weathers and incoming pests and diseases.
Outside of forestry, what is a hobby or activity you enjoy?
I’ve always been big into dancing, I did ballet when I was younger and have more recently taken up aerial trapeze dance which is lots of fun.
What was your first job?
My first part time job was as a waitress at a restaurant, and my first full-time job was as a researcher at Edinburgh University.
What do you love most about forests or forestry?
What I love most about forestry is that there’s a real balance between science, practical work, and the outdoors. You’re not stuck doing the same thing every day. One day you might be out on site, the next creating maps, and the next writing plans. It’s also satisfying to see the results of your work over time, whether that’s a new woodland taking shape or a site you’ve worked on improving year by year.