David Carruth wins The Farm Woodland Young People’s Award at Scotland's Finest Woods Awards
Published April 3, 2024
We are thrilled to announce that our very own David Carruth has won The Farm Woodland Young People’s Award at Scotland's Finest Woods Awards 2023 for his work at The Future Forest Company’s Brodoclea site.
Scotland's Finest Woods are rewarding David’s work at Brodoclea for being exemplary use of both woodland and agricultural practice, with benefits being delivered to both the farming operation and quality of woodland management.
The Young People’s Award is part of the Farm Woodland Award which was created in 2018 to recognise young talent working in the woods. It is supported by Scottish Woodlands Ltd.
David accepted his award in a ceremony at The Royal Highland Show, saying, “It’s very affirming to receive this recognition from Scotland’s Finest Woods. It shows me that all the hard work we’ve put into building the mob grazing system up over the past few years is being noticed and that there is a bit of a buzz gathering around agroforestry at the moment."
“My hope is that this will begin to encourage more landowners to back young people with bright ideas on their sites, building people and community into models of land restoration.”
The Future Forest Company’s site at Brodoclea is being managed to fight climate change and reverse the nature crisis. It is a diverse reforested landscape with trees at every stage of life, and is home to our Mangalitza woolly pigs whose unique interaction with the soil helps with ecological restoration and increases biodiversity. We have planted a mixture of trees using a range of tree species at Brodoclea, extending woodland habitat networks and creating new habitats.
Our ongoing woodland management objectives at Brodoclea are to manage these existing young and mature woodlands so that they continue to capture and store carbon, to enhance nature in all habitats on the site by ensuring they are in good condition, to keep the woodland productive using regenerative agroforestry methods to secure the long-term financial security of the woodland, and to create a local nature resource for people to access.
David says, “For me the most special thing about Brodoclea is that the activity onsite is there to improve and support the woodland, and theoretically could be passed on and continue indefinitely, with the aim that this site will never again become deforested. A forest for the future.”
Congratulations, David!