It was in the spring of 1993 when Peter Goodwin and I sat round a table bemoaning the sorry state of our trees and woodlands. I remember saying,
“Peter, we only have ten per cent tree cover in this country whereas our continental neighbours have an average of twenty-seven per cent!”
“Well we should try and do something about it,”
he replied and so we egged each other on.

We finally decided that as furniture makers and users of beautiful hardwoods – we should take the lead. We had to create a vehicle through which all users of wood could “put something back” and provide for future generations. The concept of wood users helping to grow and manage trees was elegantly simple. We presented the idea to twenty fellow furniture makers and every single one joined! Woodland Heritage was born.

Our concept of “wood users” went beyond craftsmen to include those who sold wood products and consumers who bought that beautiful oak kitchen, but we needed experienced tree growers on board also.Within a few months Peter, our Chairman of Trustees (above) had managed to enthuse many landowners to join and so we began the process of “uniting the tree grower with the wood user”.

Since then our membership has grown to include many hundreds of individuals and companies with a love of trees, wood and rural crafts. Over the last twelve years we have quietly got things done. We have always sought to work in partnership with other organizations (to avoid duplication) and to add value in any way we can.

So some twelve years on, Peter and I are still “at it”, egging each other on, still on a voluntary basis. But we are now supported by dedicated board of knowledgeable Trustees and of course.... our ‘broad church’ of Members.