Royal Scottish Forestry Society

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Royal Scottish Forestry Society
(RSFS)
legal form Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organization (SCIO) (SC002058)
founding 1854
Seat c / o James Anderson & Co; Pentland Estate; Straiton; Edinburgh EH20 9QH
motto ... for those who love the forests, woodlands and trees of Scotland
purpose "The advancement of education", "The advancement of the arts, heritage, culture or science", "The advancement of environmental protection or improvement" (promotion of education, art, heritage, culture and science; promotion of environmental protection or improvement)
Action space Scotland
Chair James Hepburne Scott (President 2017-19)
Managing directors George Moore (Executive Director)
Website https://rsfs.org.uk/

The Royal Scottish Forestry Society is a not-for-profit organization promoting knowledge of forestry and forestry in Scotland.

history

Foundation and early years

The society was founded in 1854 as the Scottish Arboricultural Society . Its first president was James Brown, who in 1847 published an influential book ( The Forester ) on forestry in Scotland. In the mid-19th century, trees were grown in tree nurseries in Scotland, new species were planted in arboretums, or planted in small groups as timber plantations or to protect livestock and buildings. Most of them were pine ( Scotch Fir ) or larch . One of the reasons for the establishment was the hope that imported tree species could increase wood production in Scotland and beautify the landscape. The founders were convinced that formal training could bring more benefits than purely practical training. This attitude was discussed in 1867, initially without any activity resulting from it. From 1875 onwards, petitions were submitted to parliament that should bring a solution. The discussion became formal in 1881, when the then President Cleghorn reported on his experience from India. In Surrey an engineering school at that time had been opened, where men were trained for service in India and to their curriculum and forestry belonged.

The Scottish-Indian connection

Hugh Cleghorn - charcoal drawing by Theodore Blake Wirgman as a gift from the Arboricultural Society to Cleghorn

The British Association met in Edinburgh in 1850. One of the topics discussed was the unchecked deforestation in India, which had been triggered by the high demand for wood by the British. The British Association commissioned the physician Hugh Cleghorn (1820–1895) to investigate what was going on in India. A year later the commission of inquiry published a report in which the adverse effects of deforestation - from water shortages to erosion and climate change were mentioned. The commission recommended a close inspection of the forests and almost spoke of the introduction of a central forest authority. The forest specialists trained in Scotland found a broad field for their knowledge in India and were happy to be employed. When the Indian Forestry Department was founded in 1864, many skilled workers trained in Scotland filled important positions. However, since there was little knowledge of the methods common in continental Europe, the German Dietrich Brandis was commissioned as inspector general of the authority. Brandis preferred to hired German specialists, including his successors in office William Schlich (1840-1925) and Berthold Ribbentrop (1843-1917) in office. But Scottish experience was also required to find workable concepts for the complex environment in tropical India from the reductionist Franco-German methods.

The well-trained specialists in Scotland found hardly any employment in Scotland at the time. So they took up their service in the British colonies, where their skills were in demand.

Training and professionalization

In 1882 plans were discussed to organize an international forestry exhibition together with the Highland and Agricultural Society . The proceeds should go to a forestry school in Edinburgh . In 1884 the exhibition opened on the grounds of the Donaldson School in Edinburgh. During the three months of the exhibition, around half a million visitors visited the site. Unfortunately, the proceeds were still not enough for the desired school. Despite all odds, William Somerville was able to hold 100 lectures in forestry in 1889.

Success was considered insufficient as there was still a lack of terrain for students to gain practical experience and conduct research. Lobbying only provided non-binding commitments. The First World War brought about a rethink and led to the University of Edinburgh introducing a Chair in Forestry in 1919. In 1926 another chair followed at the University of Aberdeen . Together with the forestry chairs at Bangor University and the Empire Forestry Institute at the University of Oxford , the forest managers trained for the slowly shrinking Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations that grew out of it.

In addition to these successes for scientific work, the RSFS also set professional standards and, together with the Royal Forestry Society of England and Wales, defined the training and examination goals for forestry workers and also contributed to the harmonization of professional qualifications with the European Union .

In 1869 a royal charter was granted and Queen Victoria became the patroness of the company. Since then, it has always been the respective queen or king who took over the patronage of the society. In 1887 Queen Victoria also allowed the use of the title “Royal” on the occasion of the first annual excursion to Balmoral Castle since then . The name then changed to Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society . In 1930 the society changed its name to the Royal Scottish Forestry Society for the last time .

Modern times

On May 8, 2017, the RSFS changed its organizational form. The organization founded in 1899 as a non-incorporated organization became a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organization (SCIO). The organization formulates its goals as:

  1. Promoting the best forest management in Scotland and the wider world for the benefit of present and future generations.
  2. Influencing the respective governments to formulate and pass forest legislation
  3. to bring the forest management principles, goals and benefits closer to the public through training, advertising, demonstration and other means of society
  4. Organize meetings for discussion and exchange of information and ideas.
  5. Publication of a journal - annually or more frequently - and publication of further periodical or non-periodical literature on forest management
  6. Promotion of science, research and technical efficiency in forest management
  7. Promotion and further development of vocational training in forestry, holding qualification tests and cooperation with other bodies with a similar function, as well as maintaining a library
  8. Organization, authorization, guidance, assistance and encouragement to conduct or organize expeditions, excursions, demonstrations, exhibitions, experiments and studies in connection with forestry in Britain or outside of Britain.
  9. Continuation of the mediation and relationship activities between various areas of industries and trades interested in forestry, as well as with other organizations in land use.
  10. Support for members of society who are employed in forestry or who offer employment.
  11. Organize regional activities under the direction of the Board in any part of Scotland, or through other activities the Board deems appropriate to achieve the objectives.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa About Us. In: RSFS website. Royal Scottish Forestry Society, accessed April 27, 2020 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m K. Jan Oosthoek: Conquering the Highlands: A history of the afforestation of the Scottish uplands . Australian National University Press, Canberra 2013, ISBN 978-1-922144-79-9 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e unknown: Royal Scottish Forestry Society, SC002058. Registred Charity from 14 July 1899. In: Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator website. OSCR, January 6, 2020, accessed April 27, 2020 .
  4. ^ A b Christian Lodz: Rescaling sustainability: International forest science congresses and debates about the future resource supply in the North and Baltic Sea region (1870–1914) . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2018, ISBN 978-3-412-50026-9 .