It was great to host the Confor: Confederation of Forest Industries (UK) awards dinner 2023 at the sparkly Surgeons Quarter in Edinburgh.

The awards celebrated great communicators, brilliant innovators and future leaders, as well as those upholding the highest professional standards and showing total commitment to tackling the climate crisis.

Confor CEO Stuart Goodall & Scotland's Environment Minister Màiri McAllan MSP presented the Dedicated Service to Forestry Award to Graham Taylor of Pryor & Rickett Silviculture, the scourge of (grey) squirrels.

Earlier, Màiri McAllan MSP described forestry and wood as “a thriving and successful industry looking to the future".

She praised the industry for the range of economic, environmental and social benefits it delivers, but challenged it to always "be adaptive and better.”

And she posed the question: "How do we secure more carbon sequestration, biodiversity recovery, improved economic activity - and foster good relationships with communities, and ensure a sustainable supply of timber to the wood-using industry?” A big question indeed.
Anyway, it was a cracking night.

Congratulations to all the winners, but note to self: ditch the axe factor joke next year. It looks good on the page - but not so great out loud.