A day at work with Laura: Partnerships Manager

What is your role?

I joined the Forest of Avon as a Tree and Woodland Officer in 2023 and last year moved into the Partnerships Manager position. This mainly involves distributing and championing our Trees for Climate grant fund, provided by DEFRA. Both jobs are interesting in different ways and involve working practically and at a desk. I find it’s the best of both worlds!

Being a part of the Tree Team and Engagement Team, I am lucky enough to be working across the Forest of Avon Charity – helping enable tree planting whilst also engaging strategically with landowners, partners and funding bodies. With so many environmental projects going on in the Avon area, no two days are the same!

What does a typical day look like for you?

The practical side of woodland creation is highly seasonal. In winter and early spring, the Tree Team are outside, with our hands in mud, working with landowners and volunteers to get trees safely in the ground. We work hard to make sure every plant is happy, and protected, according to the carefully designed plans we have drawn up over the preceding months. It’s vital we plant the right species and that the landowner is provided with the funds and support to maintain those trees over the coming years.

Over the summer and autumn, we work hard to engage with those who own or manage land in the Avon region, including the larger organisations such as Local Authorities, the Woodland Trust, the National Trust and the Forestry Commission. By working together, we can make sure the many complex factors affecting woodland creation are considered, everything from Landscape Character and our Local Nature Recovery Strategy, to water catchments, public access and climate change.

As one of England’s 15 Community Forests, as well as a key part in various nature recovery strategies across the South West, I support lots of partnership meetings, both remote and in person, as well as public events and hugely enjoyable time carrying out site visits around our beautiful region.

Please have a watch of a short film we made of one of the projects I was fortunate enough to work on here.

What’s the best part of your job?

Spending time with other people who care deeply about trees! I have worked with trees and woodlands in the region for a long time, and am highly aware of their vulnerability to changing land use, weather conditions and invasive threats; I would not be happy working for an organisation which did not have a vision such as the Forest of Avon’s.

Everyone at the charity is passionate about protecting, restoring and celebrating the natural world within our fantastic south west community, and it’s a pleasure to meet others who want to support those goals.

Even in the face of an undeniable climate crisis here in the UK, I have never worked anywhere that elicited more teamwork and laughter. Even on a freezing, windy day, planting in a remote field, knee-deep in mud, it’s impossible not to feel exquisitely, viscerally alive!

Do you have any advice for someone wanting to get into the sector?

I began in the sector as a tree surgeon and have worked in a number of different sectors within the tree world. I would recommend volunteering with any company, group or charity you feel aligns with your values, and seeing how it feels.

You are more likely to make friends in the places you might want to spend time, hear about roles soon to be advertised and learn what really means something to you. If you enjoy your job, you will succeed.

For those interested in local trees and woodlands, a great way to start is by coming along to a tree planting day. We would love to welcome you and I’ve yet to meet someone who didn’t have fun!

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