Forestry & Arboriculture

Forestry is defined as the science and practice of all tree management and includes:

• Forest and woodland management
• Arboriculture
• Urban forestry
• Environmental forestry and research
• Education and training in all these fields

Forests and woodland are an important resource for timber, amenity and recreation, tourism and biodiversity.

Forestry focuses on the management of forests and woodland, from planting through to thinning and felling.

Arboriculture centres on the cultivation, management and care for individual trees, or groups of trees, with the primary aim of maintaining them for amenity purposes.

SRUC Forestry and Arboriculture graduates can expect a great deal of employment opportunities with a well-rounded education in these respective areas.

Forests provide an important income stream as well as habitat resource for plants and wildlife. The benefits of forests to health, wellness and recreation are now more widely recognised. Skilled people are needed to manage trees, woodlands and forests in urban areas and on transportation and power corridors.

SRUC Barony, Dumfries has excellent facilities and equipment ranging from the Scottish Forest Industry Technology Centre (SFITC) and Forestry Engineering Workshop with access to specialist forestry simulators, forwarders and climbing equipment.

We utilise our own trees, woodlands and forests on the 12 hectares of forest cover for practical forestry and arboriculture skills training.

These facilities are used to enable a wide range of forestry and arboriculture courses, many of which are run in partnership with organisations such as John Deere Forestry, Ponsse, Honey Brothers, Forest and Land Scotland and a range of local business's.

Good links with international schools and universities from Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Holland, Austria, Spain and Germany have also been established, allowing staff and student exchanges and innovative projects in the forestry and arboriculture sectors.