Supporting Forestry Research, Education and Training throughout the UK.
Supporting Forestry Research, Education and Training throughout the UK.
Supporting Forestry Research, Education and Training throughout the UK.

The Scottish Forestry Trust was established in 1983 by a gift of share capital, and our role is to provide funds by way of grants, to support research, education and training in forestry throughout the UK.  

Since our establishment, we have provided nearly £3.5m to fund nearly 300 projects ranging from supporting post graduate industry applied research, social and environmental forestry, policy formulation and broader public education and awareness. The Trust is a charity registered in Scotland (Scottish Charity Number SCO08465).

Our charity deeds give us the ability to support projects throughout the whole of the UK provided they can demonstrate a direct benefit to improving knowledge and practise in UK forestry and woodland management; the woodland ecosystem and the processes and products derived from UK woodlands. Our latest Development Strategy: Futureproofing Forestry: Priorities for 2022-2031 can be found here.

Our income is provided in two main ways. Firstly we receive investment income from our Endowment. These funds are managed on our behalf by Brewin Dolphin. We have an active responsible investment policy and our funds are not invested in in any company that promotes pornography or where the principal business is in tobacco or weapons manufacturing or in companies where there has been evidence of controversies relating to deforestation or permanent removal of natural forests. As of April 2022 the Trustees are also satisfied that there are no investments in companies that actively operate in or have a connection to Russia. Secondly we also work with partners who entrust us with managing their funds to support forestry research education and training on their behalf - this includes Forestry Commission, Scottish Forestry, Natural Resources Wales, Tilhill Forestry, QBE Insurance and the Hylobius Industry Research Partnership. The Scottish Forestry Trust is open to work with other partners and aims to increase funds available via this route over the next 10 years.

  • We provide grant support, often in partnership with other organisations,  for individuals, organisations and research institutions offering funding to assist work which supports education, research or training leading to the development of UK forestry

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  • We have a range of schemes to support your research, education and training needs.

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  •  There are lots of ways you can help support us; Become a Friend of SFT, Payroll Giving, Legacy Giving.

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Wednesday, February 7th 2024

Scottish Forestry Trust Seeks New Executive Director

The Scottish Forestry Trust is seeking an Executive Director to lead and administer the affairs of the Trust and to support the Trustees in the delivery of the Trust’s charitable objectives. This is an exciting role at a period of growth and change for the Trust where the Executive Director... Full Story...
Monday, May 8th 2023

Joint Winners of Scottish Woodlands Student Excellence Award Announced

The Scottish Forestry Trust is delighted to announce two joint winners of their Scottish Woodlands Student Excellence Award for 2023 which were presented at their recent Bursary Student Seminar at the University of Stirling and supported by Scottish Forestry. The first joint winner is Dr Heather... Full Story...

How we help

We support forestry in the UK by contributing to the scientific, technical and economic information required to support its development. The range of projects we support cover many topics and you can get a flavour of our recent work by following the projects pages.  

We provide grant support, often in partnership with other organisations,  for individuals, organisations and research institutions offering funding to assist work which supports education, research or training leading to the development of UK forestry.  With assistance from the Forestry Commission, Scottish Forestry and Natural Resources Wales, our Bursary Scheme will help to fund post-graduate and masters degrees tackling many of the key issues affecting the future of forestry in this country.

Our Annual Report gives a flavour of the projects and initiatives we support and the latest report can be viewed here.

Support our work

The challenges for forests and woodlands are continually changing with the current threats of pests and diseases from Chalara fraxinea and Dothistroma septosporum being just two.

You can read a recent joint article on ash dieback by former Trustee, Prof Steve Woodward here.

You can help us to support research to tackle these threats by donating to our funds.  

Stay in touch

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