SCOTTISH FORESTRY TRUST - Key Persons
Adam Kleczkowski is a statistician and mathematician with over 30 years of experience addressing plant and tree health. Having graduated in Poland, he worked on epidemiological and ecological models in Germany and the UK, holding a Senior Research Fellowship at the King's College, Cambridge, and a lectureship at the University of Cambridge, followed by a professorship at the University of Stirling. Since 2018 he has been a Global Talent Professor in Mathematics at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. His work is dedicated to understanding how pests and diseases affect the UK and global forests and what can be done to prevent such devastating outbreaks as Ash Dieback or Emerald Ash Borer, and to future-proof the woods from climate change. He firmly believes that we can only start to understand the links between forestry, ecology, economics and health by bringing together different disciplines. He uses statistics and mathematics to underpin this work. He has written multiple popular science articles on epidemiology and statistics. He has been a member of the British Society for Plant Pathology for 20 years and a Fellow of the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications.
Amanda Bryan MICFor joined the Trust as Executive Director in August 2020. Amanda has a background in rural development and land management and was previously Head of the Scottish School of Forestry where she was responsible for development of the Honours Degree in Forest Management. The role is part time and Amanda is also a Board Member of Highlands and Islands Enterprise and she continues to lecture on a part time basis at the Scottish School of Forestry, Inverness College UHI and undertake some consultancy work. Amanda has been appointed External Examiner for undergraduate forestry degrees at University of Bangor from 2022-2026.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Forest Ecology and Diversity at the University of Aberdeen
David Burslem is Professor of Forest Ecology and Diversity at the University of Aberdeen, and Keeper of the Cruickshank Botanic Garden and Arboretum. He was recently appointed interim Director of the University's Inter-disciplinary Centre for Environment and Biodiversity. His research and teaching interests focus on forest ecology and conservation science, responding to the linked crises of biodiversity loss and climate change in collaboration with partners in government agencies, non-governmental organisations and statutory bodies. A major theme of his current research is to leverage time-series of forest inventory and remote sensing data-sets for quantifying changes in forest cover, dynamics and carbon storage, and to use these results to inform policy and fiscal interventions that would incentivise forest restoration. David has 30 years' experience of forest research in the UK and overseas and has authored or edited more than 150 papers and two books. DB Register of Interests
Job Titles:
- Forest Research in 1988 As a Plant Pathologist
Dr Helen McKay first joined Forest Research in 1988 as a plant pathologist to improve the physiological quality of planting stock. Over the following 12 years, her remit expanded to cover seedling morphology, seed nutrition and wider nutritional sustainability. She became a specialist adviser for Corporate and Forestry Support for the Forestry Commission where she advised on and commissioned research on a range of topics. In 2007, Helen returned to Forest Research and has been Head of the Centre for Sustainable Forestry and Climate Change since 2009. She is a Fellow of the ICF and has been editor of the ICF's scientific journal "Forestry"; an international journal of forest research, since 2002. Helen is also a member of the Trust's Projects and Research Committee. HM Register of Interests
Ian is a Principal Silviculturist with Forest Research, and has particular research expertise in integrated forest vegetation management and early silviculture. In both cases his ethos is to deliver clear, practical solutions for forest managers, based on undertaking high quality peer reviewed science. He has authored over 100 publications.
Ian's research on forest vegetation management covers all silvicultural systems and includes plant competition, the use of pesticides as control measures for dealing with invasive pests, diseases and weeds, alternatives to pesticides and pesticide reduction, and developing integrated solutions for managing invasive vegetation. His research on early silviculture focuses on adapting forest regeneration to increase resilience to climate change and biotic threats.
Ian obtained a BSc (Honours) in Forestry from the University of Wales at Bangor in 1991, an AMBA accredited Master's Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the Open University in 1999 and a PhD in Forestry from the University of Wales at Bangor in 2010. He joined the Forestry Commission in 1991 as a District Forester, has worked for Forest Research since 1992, as well as spending time in management roles in various other parts of the Forestry Commission. Ian is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Foresters.
Dr Keith Kirby has been a woodland ecologist with the government conservation service the Nature Conservancy Council and its successor bodies, English Nature and Natural England. More recently, Keith was seconded to the Secretariat to the Independent Panel for Forestry. He also holds a position as Visiting Researcher at the Oxford Plant Sciences Department working particularly on long-term vegetation change. Keith is a Fellow of Institute of Chartered Foresters, a Fellow of the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management and was Awarded the Royal Forestry Society's medal for Distinguished Services to Forestry in 2012. KK Register of Interests
Job Titles:
- Joint Managing Director of James Jones & Sons Ltd
Eddie Balfour is Joint Managing Director of James Jones & Sons Ltd, an integrated timber processing group with operations covering harvesting, sawmilling, timber engineering and pallet manufacture across the UK. A Forestry graduate from Edinburgh University, Eddie started his career with the Forestry Commission before moving into the timber processing sector in 1989. During his 30 year career in the sector Eddie has held management roles in both timber harvesting and sawmilling operations within Wales, Aberdeenshire and the Scottish Borders. In the last 12 years Eddie has been heavily involved in the development of the Stevens Croft site near Lockerbie, with particular focus on timber processing technologies which can add value to our homegrown timber resource. EB Register of Interests
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of Scottish Woodlands Ltd
Ralland Browne is the Managing Director of Scottish Woodlands Ltd with 30 years experience in most aspects of private sector forestry management since joining the company in 1987. Ralland has particular experience in Forestry investment having served as Investment Director of the company since 2007. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Foresters and has served both on council and as an examiner. Ralland is also a Board member of ConFor. RB Register of Interests
Tim grew up with forestry in the South West of England where his father had a forestry business. He studied Forestry in Aberdeen graduating in 1980, when he went on to join Tilhill as a forest manager. He has enjoyed the challenges and opportunities in the industry over the last 40 years.
After a spell in landscaping in Central Scotland he moved to Yorkshire and worked in a diverse range of operational work from landscaping in Tyneside, Community woodland creation in Teeside, to investment and estate forestry in Yorkshire. In his time in Yorkshire he was also Chairman Yorkshire Division Royal Forestry Society - 1996-1998.
In 2001 he moved to South West Scotland managing commercial investment forestry in that area and became a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Foresters in 2004 of which he is still a member.
Trefor Owen is a chartered forester and senior leader in large scale sustainable land management and climate transition and adaptation. He was formerly responsible for the care of Scotland's 650,000 Hectares national forests and land. He is a strong advocate for sustainable resource use, multi-dimensional land management, skills & learning and further development of the bio-economy. Trefor is also a proficient programme/project sponsor and independent reviewer. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Foresters Professional and Educational Standards Committee. He is also a member of Bangor University's Accelerator Advisory Board that supports science and technology start-ups in North Wales, to drive the growth of innovative businesses in the region.