eAlert: 1 September 2022
Published 1 September 2022
Applies to England
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1. Are you a nursery or a supplier of trees for the England Woodland Creation Offer or the Tree Health Pilot?
If so, you must now be able to demonstrate that you meet the requirements set out within the Plant Health Management Standard.
Suppliers can do this either by being Plant Healthy Certified (or having formally applied to the certification scheme) or by providing evidence that the stock you are supplying has passed a Ready to Plant assessment, conducted by Fera Science Ltd.
If you have any questions about how this works, Fera Science Ltd. are running a free online workshop which will provide an overview of the Plant Health Management Standard, and Plant Healthy, as well as the new Ready to Plant Assessment. It will also provide detailed guidance on how to complete an application for Ready to Plant.
There are two workshops available: (the two workshops are identical)
Monday 12 September 2022 10:00-12:00 am
Monday 3 October 2022 1:00-3:00 pm
Find out more and request a team’s invite at the Ready to Plant - Assessment Online Workshop website.
2. Seed Sourcing for Trees of the Future Webinar
Sign up to the webinar.
On Tuesday 13 September, the Institute of Chartered Foresters will host a free one-day webinar, Seed Sourcing for Trees of the Future.
Supported by DEFRA and the Forestry Commission, the webinar will provide landowners, managers and foresters with guidance and advice on seed sourcing, a vital but often overlooked part of the tree production and planting process.
On the day, attendees will hear from technical experts as well as commercial seed suppliers and landowners. Topics covered will include how to effectively manage existing seed sources, identifying and registering new seed stands and the planting of seed orchards.
The webinar is in partnership with the Royal Forestry Society (RFS), Country Land and Business Association (CLA), Confederation of Forest Industries (Confor) and Small Woods Association (SWA).
When: Tuesday 13 September 2022, 9:00 am – 4:45 pm
Registrations now open.
3. Thinking about woodland creation and want to know more about potential income streams?
Read about the Woodland Carbon Code and the Sixth Woodland Carbon Guarantee Auction.
Growing a woodland offers a potential additional income stream from selling carbon units from projects registered with the Woodland Carbon Code (WCC) or, with increasing demand for net zero supply chains, by helping compensate your business against your UK-based emissions. To find out more about how much income can be generated from selling carbon units, download the Farming Advice Service (FAS) online August newsletter where an article on the Woodland Carbon Code is included on page six.
You must register your woodland creation project with the Woodland Carbon Code before planting trees, and don’t forget, once you’re registered with the Woodland Carbon Code, now is also the time to apply for the Sixth Woodland Carbon Guarantee Auction.
Following the online auction process, successful bidders will be offered the option to sell woodland carbon units to the government over 30-35 years at a guaranteed price protected against inflation. The scheme reflects the government’s confidence in the continued growth of markets for woodland carbon, as landowners will have a revenue stream in future from selling carbon on the domestic market.
Applications can be made for the sixth Woodland Carbon Guarantee Auction until 23:59 on Sunday 6 November, ahead of the auction taking place 21–27 November 2022.