Awards

John McHardy - 2009 winner P. Savill Award

Last Updated on Wednesday, 14 October 2009 13:55 Written by Geraint Richards Sunday, 09 August 2009 22:50

It was early on in my forestry career with the Duchy of Cornwall that I, along with some colleagues, first visited the woodlands on the Longleat Estate, to learn about continuous cover forestry. The visit proved to be extremely inspiring, not simply because of the superb quality of the woodlands (Douglas Fir that almost made me turn green) but also because of the man who managed those woodlands and was our host for the day, namely one John McHardy.

I don’t use the word “inspiring” lightly: I know I am right when I say that John has inspired a whole host of younger foresters, myself included. His silvicultural skills (practising continuous cover forestry when most people had not even heard of it) and his marketing shrewdness make him something of a living legend to many of us.

‘When will you fell that tree?’ I asked him, pointing at a magnificent Douglas Fir. ‘When someone pays me enough money for it’ he replied with a grin and a twinkle in his eye. ‘How do you sell Grand Fir?’ I later asked. ‘Call it something different’, he joked (although I’m not sure he was joking).

Later, during our visit, the hard forest road we were travelling on abruptly ended: ‘What happened here?’ I inquired. He then told me that at that point the materials he had ‘kindly’ been accepting as a result of nearby road repairs had come to an end… ‘but I’ll carry on when they do the next batch of repairs’ he told me.

Yet one of the remarkable things about John is that, despite being a true timber man, he has embraced the opportunities offered by the public’s desire to visit woodlands and, with the wider Estate, made that financially advantageous.

I have yet to meet anyone in the forestry sector who has anything but good words to say about John. It’s always a pleasure to meet him and a privilege to learn from him. Personally speaking, I can think of no more worthy winner of the Peter Savill Award and I congratulate John on his success.

Geraint Richards, Head Forester Duchy of Cornwall