Passion for woodlands shines through in Flintshire Woodlands team videos
The passion for forestry shared by the Flintshire Woodlands team shines through in a new series of Meet The Team videos filmed in North Wales.
David Crozier, Charles Gittins, Alastair Squire and Adam Stirling talk about their love of trees and woodlands in the short videos shot at Flintshire Woodlands’ office in Chirk, south of Wrexham, and on the nearby Maes Gwyn Estate.
Flintshire Woodlands is the trading name of Scottish Woodlands in Wales and the west of England - and both have their roots in the woodland cooperative movement.
David Crozier, Senior Forest Manager, says forestry is both a job and a lifestyle choice: “Being able to live and work in these beautiful places is really important to me. It sounds cheesy, but being able to have a positive impact on the areas we manage is really attractive.”
He was drawn to Flintshire Woodlands by the “really good work-life balance”. He explains: “I've got two young children, and it's really important for me to be able to do my job, but also to do the family side as well. The way the company is structured promotes that balance; it allows me to to give everything I can to work, but to be a good dad as well.”
Charles Gittins, Senior Forest Manager, has spent almost 40 years in forestry and describes his love of working outdoors. Reflecting on the highlight of his long career, he says: “A lot of my client work is commercial timber production. So what is quietly enjoyable, is that I'm now able to work in forests that I was involved with from day one. So we're actually harvesting trees that I organized the planting of. That's personally a really good feeling.”
Senior Forest and Harvesting Manager Alastair Squire grew up with a real love of the outdoors and said he always wanted to be a forest manager. Explaining why he enjoys being part of the Scottish Woodlands group, he says: “The 80% employee ownership is a major attraction, and unusual in a business of this scale, and I like that a lot.”
Adam Stirling, a Forest Manager with Flintshire Woodlands, also highlights the employee ownership - and says he loves being outside “in a variety of seasons and settings”. He says the biggest challenge working in forestry is public perception, and that the industry needs to tackle negative press by standing up as “custodians of our woodlands”.
The team also explain why they love specific tree species - ranging from “one of the great underdogs” ash, to the rowan (or mountain ash), copper beech and Douglas fir.
Michael Hall, Scottish Woodlands Director for Operations in South East Scotland, England & Wales, said: “We’ve got a brilliant team at Flintshire Woodlands and it’s great to be able to highlight that in these short videos. The passion of the team, their deep knowledge, and their love for forests and woodlands, really shines through.”
To contact a member of the Flintshire Woodlands team, please call 01691 770261 or email enquiries@flintshirewoodlands.co.uk.