CFA

Young Forester Award

Outline of the Award

The CFA is committed to supporting the professional development of young foresters. It does this in several ways; the involvement of young people on the Governing Council of the CFA, the establishment of the Young Scientist Publication Award, assistance with writing scientific papers, publication of news and information in the CFA newsletter of relevance to young foresters, and perhaps most clearly through the Young Forester Award.

The Young Forester Award is designed to support the professional development of foresters below 35 years of age through the provision of a short-term work placement in a country other than their own and consists of a designated placement combined with a bursary of between Ł1000 and Ł1500 to cover a stay of between three- and six-months (depending on the placement selected) with established and renowned forestry organisations in order to meet their professional interest. The hosts might be major timber companies, research organisations or NGOs but they all share the desire to support the development of the next generation of foresters.

Young Forester Award 2009

We are pleased to announce that the hosts for two awards in 2009 will be the Uganda Sawlog Production Grant Scheme who share with CFA the desire to support the development of the next generation of foresters. The Sawlog Production Grant Scheme (SPGS) (www.sawlog.ug) is a European Union funded programme that aims to promote private investment in timber production in Uganda. The SPGS started in 2003 and in just five years has subsidized 10,000 hectares of commercial plantations throughout the country: this includes small community-based, tree planting associations up to large-scale commercial operations. Discussions are currently underway between the Government of Uganda and potential donors (notably, the European Union and the Norwegian Government) to expand the programme over the next 4 years (2009-2013).

Successful applicants will work with SPGS in at least one of the following areas:

Training in basic plantation and small business (i.e. contactor) skills.
Planning: potential planters need better advice/support with Management Plans – re. business planning and environmental & social issues.
PR to raise profile of project’s objectives – at decision-maker level and with the general public.
Community support initiative (for tree planting) needs to be expanded and re-designed.
Research: this area will be significantly expanded to include introducing a demo modernized (i.e. containerized) nursery; countrywide species trials; market research.

Applicants will be expected to have experience in at least one of the above areas in order to be able to contribute to SPGS's work.

Application process: Please click here to download the Application Form.

Closing date for applications has been extended to 1st August 09.

PLEASE NOTE: The Young Forester Award is restricted to CFA members (applicants must have taken out an individual membership to qualify for application, i.e. membership via subscribing organisations or national forestry associations does not entitle application for the YFA).

2007 diary - Sri Lanka

Coconuts, mangroves and bumpy roads

Irfan Ullah reports from Sri Lanka where he has been working with Rainforest Rescue International on a range of projects including analogue forestry, mangrove conservation and nursery management. Click here to read his report.

Young Forester Award winners 2007

After a long evaluation process we were pleased to announce the two winners of the 2007 CFA Young Forester Award were Irfan Ullah and Jenny Greaves who undertook their placements in Sri Lanka and Guyana respectively in 2007/08.

Irfan Ullah (full name Sahibzada Irfanullah Khan) is a 32-year old forestry professional from Pakistan who has more than 8 years of experience in the field of natural resource management, working with a number of national and international development organizations including ICIMOD, SDC, IC, and IOBB. He has worked in diverse ecological and social conditions, ranging from the high hill Hindu Kush-Himalayan temperate region in Northern Pakistan to arid and semi-arid rainfed zones in the south. He is excited by the prospect of working in Sri Lanka and said “I have zeal to develop my professional capabilities to cope with diverse situations and challenges that I may face during my professional life. I like to share my knowledge and experiences with others and want to learn from others”.

Jenny Greaves is 26 and her motivation to work in forestry grew from her early years in Britain when she was brought up “in the middle of a housing estate without a tree in sight”. Although initially she wanted to work in conservation forestry, through study and work experience, she realised that commercial forestry is in fact more sustainable; it enhances the natural environment, provides local jobs and supports the economy. She said of her planned “I am motivated by the challenges and opportunities the forestry industry is facing, both nationally and internationally, and I am excited to be given the chance to see something other than Sitka spruce!”

Young Forester Award on the radio!

Listen to the podcast of Pick of the Commonwealth from June 2006 which features an interview with Alan Pottinger (CFA Technical Director) and one of last year's Young Forester Award winners, Rachel Murray, by clicking on the links below.

More details of the Young Forester Award can be found by clicking here.

Item 5: Opportunity for forestry fans
(2mins 39secs)

Every year the Commonwealth Forestry Association offers awards to young foresters who want to work in another Commonwealth country. It's a short term work placement for men or women under the age of 35. Now's the time to apply. Alan Pottinger is the man who runs the scheme. Robin White asked him what its aims are.

Download just this item (mp3, 1089KB)

...and hear from a previous winner
(3mins 47secs)

One of last year's Award winners was Australian Rachel Murray. She went to a remote area of Guyana to work with the Makushi Kemekun logging cooperative. She told Robin White how she'd got on.

D ownload just this item (mp3, 2226KB)

Pick of the Commonwealth is a monthly news programme covering major political and social issues throughout the Commonwealth. For more information visit their website at http://www.cba.org.uk/pick/

From Australia to Guyana

Rachel Murray a full-time Forest Officer with ForestrySA in Australia spent the last three months of 2005 helping the Macushi Yemekun Cooperative to start the business of selling logs. She also assisted the Cooperative implement its Business Plan by developing systems and structures for managing harvesting operations over an area of 8,000ha.

Click below to read Rachel's work diary and an article that will be published in the CFA Newsletter in March 2006. Her back-to-office report will appear later.

Work diary

Article

Working with Rainforest Rescue International in Sri Lanka

Courtney Johnson, a young forester working with the Nurseries and Research group of Hancock Victorian Plantations in Australia, was the first recipient of the CFA Young Forester Award. Her prize was a two-month work placement with Rainforest Rescue International in Sri Lanka in 2005. Click below to read Courtney's work diary, Back-to-office report and also an article that she wrote for the CFA Newsletter in December 2005.

Work diary

Report

Article

The CFA Young Foresters Award is supported by

Private donations

The Commonwealth Foundation

The Worshipful Company of Builders Merchants