Author Tom Barnes

Tom Barnes is the Managing Director of Vastern Timber and has over twenty years experience in the timber trade. He is passionate about increasing the use of British wood in the built environment.

Notes from Knepp and finding middle ground

This month has been exceptionally busy, with a record number of sales and enquiries, so I had to miss out on a trip to Knepp to meet rewilding expert Alistair Driver for part ten of ‘Wood For The Trees.’  Alistair… Continue Reading →

Sustainable Forestry: The Need for Nurture, part 9 of Wood For The Trees

There’s a lot going on at the moment in the context of forestry and the wider environment. The England Tree Strategy has just been published, the Sixth Global Carbon Budget was recently announced, and the UK government is putting proposals… Continue Reading →

Calling for a National Timber Strategy at the Parliamentary Group on Tree Planting

I’ve been asked to speak to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Forestry and Tree Planting today. This is what I’m planning to say: Last time I presented to you I talked about the benefits of using home-grown timber and… Continue Reading →

Wood for The Trees #8, with Future Trees Trust, “Growing improved trees for timber”

Using more timber can reduce the carbon costs of construction, but where will the wood we need in future come from? We’re already the second biggest importer of timber globally, and that’s before we fully embrace the use of bio-based… Continue Reading →

Over 10,000 views of Wood For The Trees

This week, our YouTube channel “Wood For The Trees” hit a milestone with over 10,000 views of our films. It has been fascinating to visit and talk with experts from a range of different perspectives to discuss the future of… Continue Reading →

Agroforestry: The benefits of growing trees on farms, Wood For The Trees part 7

‘Wood For The Trees’ is series of films dedicated to the future of British forests, woodlands and trees, where I try and balance my deep despair at the declining state of our woodlands with a healthy dose of optimism. Since… Continue Reading →

Filming part 7 of Wood For The Trees

In December we filmed part 7 of ‘Wood For the Trees,’ this time looking at Agroforestry. Between lockdowns, on a very cold day, I visited a small farm in Frome, Somerset, to find out more about tree-planting on farms.  The… Continue Reading →

Season’s Greetings, and Happy New Saw!

I’d like to send hearty Season’s Greetings to all after this very unusual year. It’s not been easy for anyone, but despite the difficulties, our customers have clearly been busy this year and we have been flat out to keep… Continue Reading →

See the wood for the trees: England’s woodland is in decline, and we must act now.

This year, while looking into the future of the UK’s forests, I’ve seen how climate change, pests and pathogens, and lack of investment has already had a huge impact on British woodlands. Currently over 40% of our woodland is unmanaged,… Continue Reading →

Small Woodlands Q&A, Edited transcript

Editor’s note: On 22 November, Tom spoke with Doug King-Smith about the challenges facing small woodland owners. This is an edited transcript of the first part of that conversation. Watch it in full on youtube: https://youtu.be/hMQXf8-fkuc   Tom: Watching the… Continue Reading →

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2024 Tom Barnes Blog — Powered by WordPress

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑