Introduction to forest certification and forest management planning
A 1 to 3-day training course for forest managers, delivered by Soil Association Certification in partnership with the Royal Scottish Forestry Society.
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Who the course is for
This course will be invaluable for:
practising forest managers who manage forests within the UKWAS certification
new forest managers who want to broaden their professional skills and knowledge
Course length and location
You'll learn in Perth, Scotland, and can book single days or the full 3-day training.
Course fees
A day ticket is £120 for members of the Royal Scottish Forestry Society or Soil Association Certification certificate holders, and £150 for non-members and non-clients.
What you will learn
Our introductory forest certification and forest management planning course covers:
what forest management certification is
the fundamentals of forest management planning
how it relates to certification
Day 1
Introduction to Certification and UKWAS for foresters
This one-day course introduces foresters to forest management certification within the history, background and context of the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®), and how that translates into the UK Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS).
We will discuss some of the common stumbling points and the additional benefits that forest managers can gain from certification, such as the Group Scheme System and FSC Ecosystem Services.
Held at Glenearn Community Campus, Perth, Scotland.
Day 2
Forest management planning and certification
Discover what makes a management plan different from management planning within the context of certification.
We will explore:
requirements under Section 2 of UKWAS
how the Management Plan pulls together the entire UWKAS standard
how to link visions and objectives to real world operations and compliance
We will discuss common pitfalls based on our experience as auditors and a certification body. You'll get the chance to work as a group and have open discussions to make this day as practical as possible.
Held at Glenearn Community Campus, Perth, Scotland.
Day 3
An applied day in Craigvinean Forest
The final day applies classroom learning in a real forest setting, examining an active management plan in practice. You'll explore decision-making, outcomes, and compliance from an auditor’s perspective.
This hands-on day reinforces key concepts by connecting theory with real-world forest management.
Held at Craigvinean Forest, Tay Forest Park, Perth, Scotland.
