The Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF) has announced that early bird tickets for the 2015 ICF National Conference: Tree Health, Resilience and Sustainability, have been released on general sale. The event will take place 22-23 April at The Angel Hotel, Cardiff, exploring tree health challenges currently facing UK forestry and arboricultural professionals.
Early bird discounts end on Monday,16 February, and with tickets selling fast, ICF is encouraging those interested to secure their place as soon as possible.
Carl Sargeant AM, Minister for Natural Resources, Welsh Government, will open the conference, followed by a prestigious line-up of UK and international experts in tree health, including Prof Nicola Spence, UK Chief Plant Health Officer, Prof Mike Wingfield, President of IUFRO and Director of the Forestry Agricultural Biotechnology Institute, University of Pretoria, South Africa, and Martin Ward, Director-General, European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation (EPPO).
Topics under discussion include the Tree Health and Biosecurity Initiative, experience from crop diseases, future pest threats such as the emerald ash borer (USA) and the mountain pine beetle (Canada), and managing risk.
ICF Vice President and Conference Chair, David Henderson Howat FICFor, said:
“There is no doubt about the importance of this subject for the future of UK forestry, and it is great that we have so many top-flight speakers, including internationally renowned scientists, key decision makers and practitioners.”
He added:
“In the UK we are facing increasingly serious tree health challenges, and other uncertainties such as climate change. These may force us to make fundamental changes in our approach to forestry and arboriculture. It is therefore important that we learn from the discussions during our two days in Cardiff, and apply our increased knowledge to the biosecurity challenges.”
The event also encompasses the ICF President’s Conference Reception & Dinner, where James Astill, Political Editor of The Economist and author of award-winning special report The World’s Forests will attend as after-dinner speaker.
For booking information and the full programme, visit www.charteredforesters.org/conference2015.
This event is kindly supported by headline sponsors Scottish Woodlands and UPM Tilhill and Conference Media Partner Forestry Journal. Supporters include Forestry Commission Corporate & Forestry Support, Forestry Commission Scotland, Natural Resources Wales, Earth Systems (R&D Poster Zone sponsor) and GreenBlue Urban (delegate bag sponsor)
