Our 2026 Scottish Forestry writing award winners.: (L-R) Ross Watson, RSFS Executive Director Cat Wilson and Nicola Hunt.
Lessons on invasive species from Cambodia and the Balkans, and a detective quest using dendrochronology to restore a wood pasture, were the topics covered by the year’s best writing in Scottish Forestry journal.
The Royal Scottish Forestry Society presented the winning authors with their trophies at the organisation’s annual dinner on 2 June during its Annual Study Tour, held in the Borders.
The Neil Findlay Memorial Trophy recognises articles that offer perspectives on trees, woodland and the environment – and people’s involvement with them – beyond the technical details of forestry, and for 2025 it was awarded to Resisting the alien invasion: Lessons from Cambodia and the Balkans in how Scotland could take long-term, community-focused action on INNS by Ross Watson (Vol 79 No 2, Summer 2025).
Ross’s article was an account of his Churchill Fellowship research trip – which took him to Cambodia and the Balkans to learn about the ways in which grassroots, community-led initiatives were tackling invasive non-native species (INNS) – and his proposals for how Scotland could learn from their examples.
The independent panel of judges said the article was ‘outstanding’, with one saying: ‘A captivatingly written article hooking the reader from the very beginning right through to the end! An extremely informative and inspiring read with intriguing examples of people identifying, successfully controlling and removing invasive non-native species. An exquisite illustration of creative and highly beneficial collaborative ways to address a serious contemporary challenge we too face here and now.’
The Sir George Campbell Memorial Trophy recognises detailed technical, scientific or research papers, case histories, reports and reviews. For 2025 it was awarded to Back to the future: Investigations to inform the restoration of Dairy Wood, a historic wood pasture near Moffat by Coralie M Mills, Nicola Hunt and Catriona Patience (Vol 70 No 1, Spring 2025).
The piece describes the painstaking ways in which historical research was applied, using maps and dendrochronology, to determine the most appropriate way to manage an old wood pasture based on its history of change over time.
Judges said the article was original, and interesting, with one adding: ‘This is a well-rounded article, combining historical interpretation with modern survey techniques and analysis, and setting these in the context of future management. The use of well-referenced photographs, maps and tabulated results adds real depth; I found myself returning to the maps to study them in more detail as the article progressed.’
Both winning articles are publicly available to read on the RSFS website at https://rsfs.org.uk/2025-2/.
The journal’s editor, Gavin McGregor, said: ‘These are such well-deserved winners from a very high-quality field, and it is a pleasure to receive and a privilege to be able to publish such original, colourful and expert work in Scottish Forestry. Congratulations go to the winning writers, as well as huge thanks to our independent judging panel of Claire Glaister, Anna Lawrence and Angela Douglas.’
The journal trophies are just two of a wide range of awards and bursaries granted each year by the RSFS, including categories, grants and opportunities new in 2026 and 2027.
Reflecting the RSFS’s charitable mission of promoting education and learning about forestry, woodland and trees, the awards include recognition for forestry students’ writing and academic excellence, bursaries for forestry students in further and higher education, as well as a new award for a Rising Star Forester. Early career foresters are also supported by a bursary for equipment and another for professional development, and established foresters now have access to a new European Forestry bursary.
NOTES TO EDITORS
- All articles by RSFS members or those who work for RSFS corporate members are eligible each year.
- Photos are available to download from https://www.swisstransfer.com/d/4886b9bf-b55b-408d-8a3f-b32e5a43189e and show (L-R) Ross Watson, RSFS Executive Director Cat Wilson and Nicola Hunt.
- For information about the range of RSFS awards and bursaries, see https://rsfs.org.uk/awards/.
- Contact editor@rsfs.org.uk with any queries.