Primary school children given opportunity to learn about forestry

June 26, 2012 - PRLog -- Sonia Jones, one of UPM Tilhill's Forest Managers based in South Wales spent an afternoon with 30 children from Llanddewi Brefi Primary School in Ceredigion.

The children discussed what a forest manager does, what a forest is and how woodland succession happens.  They then went on a "Welly Wander" up to a piece of community woodland in the village and looked at nature in the village on the way.

At the end of the event, Sonia presented the school with a cheque from UPM Tilhill for £500 towards new Apple Mac laptop computers for the children. The school has recently received a first-class Estyn inspection which included praise of their good use of IT in the classroom.

The village of Llanddewi Brefi is adjacent to UPM Tilhill’s Esgair Goch managed complex of woodlands of which Bryn Coch, owned by UPM Tilhill, covers almost 230 hectares. The complex is undergoing restructuring at present and there is a lot of felling and restocking activity in the woodlands.

“Llanddewi Brefi is on the main route into and out of the forest and we were keen to explain what we are doing in the forest, which is open for permissive public access and is well used by the local community. When the school's PTA approached us for assistance it seemed like a good opportunity for us to make a positive financial contribution to the community and to tell them more about UPM Tilhill,” Sonia explained.

Established more than 60 years ago, UPM Tilhill is a national company operating from a network of offices throughout the UK, with a turnover in excess of £100 million.

UPM Tilhill provides landscaping, arboriculture and environmental services throughout the UK. Clients include civil engineers, developers, landscape architects and local authorities as well as landowners. The company is a member of BALI and is registered with Construction Line, Achilles and Link-up, and has a CSCS Gold Standard Certificate. UPM Tilhill operates a stringent code of practice and complies with ISO 9001:2008 (quality assurance), ISO 14001 (environmental management), and OHSAS 18001 (health and safety) standards.

UPM Tilhill is the UK’s largest timber harvesting and forest management company. It harvests and markets over 2.0 million tonnes out of a UK market in excess of 8 million tonnes per year. The company provides a full range of consultancy and contracting services to the forest owner and forestry investor. Further information is available on the company’s website at www.upm-tilhill.com  

ENDS

Notes to editors:

For further press information contact Suzi Christie PR Consultant for UPM Tilhill on 01435 830031 or e-mail suzi@blueberry-pr.co.uk

UPM leads the integration of bio and forest industries into a new, sustainable and innovation-driven future. Our products are made of renewable raw materials and are recyclable. UPM consists of three Business Groups: Energy and pulp, Paper, and Engineered materials. The Group employs around 24,000 people and it has production plants in 16 countries. UPM's annual sales exceed EUR 10 billion. UPM's shares are listed on the Helsinki stock exchange. UPM – The Biofore Company – www.upm.com