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As the planting season nears its end, Forestry England is celebrating the completion of an ambitious four-year woodland creation programme with 1.8 million trees planted at 16 new woodlands across England expanding the nation’s forests. Source: Timberbiz Launched in March 2021, the program, funded by the Government’s Nature for Climate Fund, has planted 16 new woodlands across England together covering 1,000 hectares. These woodlands will offer rich habitats for wildlife, beautiful spaces for people to enjoy and be a sustainable source of timber in the years ahead. York Community Woodland was the first new site to open to visitors in August 2024, with more set to welcome people this year. Most of the new woodlands will have public access under CROW designation, alongside the majority of the 1,500 woodlands and forests in Forestry England’s care. “This ambitious program is our largest woodland creation initiative for decades. These new woodlands will bring benefits for hundreds of years, providing crucial green spaces for communities, providing a sustainable source of timber and supporting wildlife to flourish,” Beth Cambridge, Forestry England Head of Woodland Creation, said. “And they’ll help tackle the climate emergency through the many benefits woodlands offer from carbon storage and flood mitigation to supporting air quality and soil health. “We’ve used a combination of buying land and partnerships with private and public landowners, who have leased their land to Forestry England for woodland creation. “We’ve been planting trees from Northumberland and Cumbria to Norfolk and Devon and we’ve carefully planned each site to create high-quality, resilient woodlands, using the right mix of tree species for each. “We’ve engaged with the local communities living near each of these woodlands to share our plans and hear their views and are excited the final one of our 1.8 million trees is now safely in the ground at Clipsham Wood, which straddles the border of Rutland and Leicestershire.” Over the next twelve months, Forestry England is planning to plant seven more woodlands, also funded through the Nature for Climate Fund. Looking ahead, Forestry England hopes to continue expanding the nation’s forests between 2026 and 2030 to continue delivering the many benefits the nation’s forests provide, subject to future funding.  

UPM Biofuels is celebrating 10 years of successful operations at its Lappeenranta Biorefinery, the world’s first commercial-scale facility producing advanced biofuels from wood-based residues. Since 2015, the refinery has been at the forefront of developing renewable alternatives to fossil-based fuels and materials, driving the decarbonization of the transport and petrochemical industries. Source: Timberbiz “For 10 years, our team has delivered exceptional performance and reliability,” said Robert Marx, Vice President of UPM Biofuels and Biorefining Commercial Development. “Their operational excellence and professionalism have set the benchmark for the industry. The biorefinery has also played a pivotal role in advancing UPM’s business in renewable fuels and chemicals—building technical know-how, opening new markets, and laying the foundation for future developments and investments.” The UPM Lappeenranta Biorefinery produces approximately 130,000 tonnes per year of UPM BioVerno renewable diesel and naphtha, using crude tall oil (CTO), a residue of pulp production. CTO stands out as a superior feedstock for renewable diesel production due to its fully traceable origin, integration in UPM’s existing value chain, and excellent sustainability profile. All products are backed by globally recognized sustainability certifications. UPM BioVerno diesel cuts lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by over 80% compared with fossil diesel and is suitable for all diesel engines. UPM BioVerno naphtha, used in applications such as packaging, textiles and automotive components, offers a sustainable alternative to fossil-based raw materials in the plastics value chain. Looking ahead, UPM continues to invest in technology development to broaden its feedstock base beyond CTO, exploring new forest-industry residues and side streams within its ecosystem. The company is also progressing in the technical qualification of tall oil–based fuels for use in aviation, with ongoing testing under ASTM standards showing a positive track record. While a second biorefinery investment remains under consideration, UPM is prioritizing platform advancements and feedstock versatility to enable scalable and impactful decarbonization solutions.

TerraCross by Sterling Solutions in the US is an engineered, easy-to-deploy clear-span temporary, portable, and modular bridge system for crossing waterways, ditches, underground utilities, and other obstacles, and made from CLT. Source: Timberbiz The lightweight portable bridge design allows for lifting and construction with a mid-size excavator or similar equipment while the steel beam construction provides a sturdier, more sustainable load-bearing solution. Portable bridges are essential when permanent installations aren’t feasible and avoiding a crossing isn’t possible. TerraCross bridges provide an engineered solution to quickly and easily bypass small rivers and ditches to maintain access for equipment, materials, and personnel throughout the duration of a project. Additionally, they can protect underground equipment, such as buried gas pipelines by providing an air-bridged pathway over the impacted area. Unlike commonly used timber mat bridges that are made from mixed woods of different grades and quality, the engineered TerraCross bridge is made from welded structural steel. It has certified weight specifications and provides consistent performance. It isn’t susceptible to deterioration like wood so sudden bridge failure due to accidental overloading or internal unseen wood rot is no longer a concern. And the durable qualities of the TerraCross means it can be relocated and reused across different projects, providing a flexible solution for various construction needs. TerraCross is ideal for spanning small to mid-size crossings, up to 50ft it allows you to go right over the top fast, clean, and with minimal site disturbance. Some smaller bridges are not rated to carry heavy loads so TerraCross can be used to “bridge over-the-top” of existing structures to provide the capability needed for large construction projects. It’s a practical solution to increase capacity without needing to re-engineer existing infrastructure and when engineers won’t sign off on timber mats or steel plates.

South Australia’s forest industries are working in partnership with the State Government to eradicate the spread of giant pine scale (GPS) in Adelaide’s north-eastern suburbs. Source: Timberbiz “The South Australian Forest Products Association (SAFPA) are grateful to be working hand in glove with the South Australian Government on eradicating GPS from Adelaide’s suburbs. It would be a biosecurity disaster if this infestation reaches our 128,000-hectare commercial pine plantations and neighbouring urban forests,” said Mr Nathan Paine, Chief Executive Officer of SAFPA “Giant pine scale is a sap sucking insect that feeds on pine trees and closely related species including firs and spruces. Infected trees exhibit canopy thinning, branch deaths and tree deaths. “With large numbers of pine found across Adelaide’s parks and gardens, the pest has the potential to impact our urban forest, with less shade for residents and nesting sites or food sources for local birds. A detection of GPS in Highbury in 2023 triggered an eradication process involving the removal and destruction of infected trees, with surveillance, monitoring and tree removal efforts continuing to ensure the eradication is successful.” Mr Paine said that it was unfortunate that trees in suburban parks and reserves have had to be felled in a bid to prevent GPS from spreading yet it was imperative to protect Adelaide’s canopy cover and the businesses and the livelihoods of those working in the forest and timber industries. If the infestation reached any of the State’s commercial pine plantations it would have a devastating impact on the state’s economy and regional communities. Forestry in South Australia contributes almost $3 billion to the State’s economy, employed more than 21,300 people and there were countless industries that relied heavily on timber products, such as residential and commercial builders and the agriculture and horticulture industries. “Forestry is a fundamental industry to growing our nation, with wood fibre products playing an integral role in building our nation by producing house frames, home furnishings, pallets, cardboard packaging, toilet paper and tissues, mulch and biofuels,” Mr Paine said.