In 2020 I’m working with a team of activist filmmakers to record a series of conversations with experts about the future of our forests.

I have worked with wood all my life, as have the past three generations of my family, and I hope that the next three generations can continue this tradition. But British woodlands are in peril. Our trees are at risk from climate change, disease and poor management.

Trees capture carbon and provide space for wildlife, and when managed well they can also provide us with fantastic timber. British timber is a renewable and sustainable resource, and I believe making more of our homegrown timber is key to a lower carbon future.

2020 could be a golden opportunity to capture the public and political will to plant more woodland. Broadly speaking, we all want ‘more trees’ but there’s an increasingly polarised debate about how we should plant and manage our forests. If we get this right, we could see the greatest period of afforestation in the UK, but getting it wrong could be disastrous.

I hope you’ll follow our journey, and join the conversation.