Rebecca Logsdon is Forest Education Initiative co-ordinator with the Forestry Commission in Edinburgh, Scotland.

“Volunteering was my route into environmental education and youth work. Over the last eight years I have worked with a range of organisations in many outdoor settings including running conservation activities for teenagers and wildlife-related activities for primary school children. I studied a Resource Management MSc which gave me a good background to forestry and am currently training as a Forest School leader.

“The Forest Education Initiative (FEI) cluster groups are made up of committed individuals, from the timber industry and the education sector, who together find innovative ways of creating learning opportunities linking wood, forests and timber products. It’s my job to support their activities. I’m interested in helping children to form links between the natural world and their lives and the Forestry Commission is committed to developing forest education particularly in urban areas of Scotland.

“A typical week includes meetings with teachers, rangers and foresters to share examples of projects amongst FEI groups. Much of my time is spent identifying key partners and the funding resources for working on joint forest education projects in the central belt. I get to travel around much of Scotland and to meet lots of new and inspiring people. Forest education is certainly a growing area and I am proud to be promoting awareness of renewable resources and sustainability issues. Involvement with FEI is a key mechanism for communicating with the public in a positive way.”