This year, woodlands.co.uk is launching and sponsoring a brand new set of Woodlands Awards. They are a celebration of all the hard work, skills, expert knowledge, initiative, innovation and dedication that are applied to woodland up and down the country day after day, year after year – and which so often go unsung.

There are 14 awards altogether, divided into two groups: awards for individuals (woodland owners and users) and awards for enterprises (woodland organisations, businesses, educational programmes and so on). Essentially we are looking for the best examples in each category, so they can be rewarded with recognition and a prize.

Awards for individuals

• Woodland Blogs
• Small Woodland Websites
• Woodland Photography
• Woodland Buildings/Shelters
• Woodland Tool Recommendations
• Woodland Water Projects
• Whole Wood Owners’ Coordinators

Awards for enterprises

• Woodland Contractors
• Forest Schools
• Woodland Courses
• Community Woods
• Woodfair Trade Stands
• Woodland Books of the Year
• Regional and National Woodland Organisations

You can find full details about each at www.woodlands.co.uk/awards/woodlands-awards-2017.

Some awards (such as the Woodland Photography Award) will depend on individuals submitting their own entries. Others (such as Woodland Courses) will depend on personal recommendations. Others still (such as Woodland Blogs) will depend on a mixture of these.

The deadline for all submissions is 31 July 2017.

A panel of judges will draw up shortlists of the best entries, and then award the prizes. The winners will be announced in late August 2017. There may be a number of winners in each category: all entries judged to be of equally high merit will be awarded a First Prize (i.e. no Second, Third).

The prizes will consist of an award certificate and recognition, plus for some (but not all) categories a selected woodland book and woodland hand tool.

So please do enter! Enter your own work, or recommend someone else’s. We want as much participation as possible to ensure that the best contributors to the vitality of the woodlands sector receive the recognition they deserve.