Simon James - [email protected]
Simon leads our national work on woodland management policy and projects, including networking and representation, development of SWA policies on woodland management issues, overseeing development and implementation of WM projects.
He also coordinates woodland management advice and activities for members and wider public, including events, training, advice and networking.
Tom Dillon - [email protected]
Tom coordinates and teaches courses at the Green Wood Centre, as well as contributes to the management of the site. He has been a green woodworker for over ten years, starting out as Mike Abbott’s chairmaking assistant in 2011. He lived and worked in various woodlands around Herefordshire, and worked in a green woodwork teaching role for a Special Education College for young adults in the West Midlands.
His main crafts include green wood stool and chair-making, pole-lathe spindle and bowl-turning, spoon carving, and roundwood timber-framing, and his favourite tree is Ash.
David Reeve - [email protected]
David began his working life as an archaeologist, specialising in the prehistory of Britain before chance led him into writing for television. For 21 years he ran his own media and PR company making programmes and designing communications campaigns for large clients in the professional sports, events, arts and environmental sector.
David project manages a number of programmes including Mercian, the Succession Project and the Small Woods initiative on Biodiversity.
Russell Critchley - [email protected]
Russell began working for Small Woods as a voluntary intern in 2016, after graduating from Plymouth University with a BSc in Biological Sciences. Since then, he has worked in various roles for Small Woods as well as for the Rivers Trust and Hill Holt Wood.
In 2019, Russell established Deadwood: a countryside management company. To date, Deadwood manages several woodlands across the East Midlands, has laid over 4 miles of hedgerow and is currently training an apprentice hedgelayer and coppice worker.
Rachel Bates - [email protected]
Having spent a decade and more in ecological consultancy, specialising in bats and habitat surveys, Rachel completed an MSc in Conservation and Forest Protection in 2020. She advises project participants on how to better manage their woodlands to benefit wildlife.
Her favourite tree is Silver Birch, because it’s simply a lovely tree in every way.
John Mitchell - [email protected]
John has a varied background, working on environmental and land management projects across the public, private and third sectors. With a specialism and particular fondness for trees and woodlands, he has endeavoured to prolong his childhood playing in the woods, just with louder and more expensive toys. Owing so much of his own personal happiness to time spent in nature, he feels obliged to pass this on and enable others to experience its benefits for themselves.
Alice Brawley - [email protected]
Alice is Woodland Management Project Officer for North Wales. Alice has experience in both the public and private sector where she has managed a community woodland in central Scotland for the last 3-years and worked for a small private forestry company focusing on woodland creation in the Scottish borders. She is experienced working with different landowners and designing and managing woodlands with an environmental and social focus.
Passionate about all things tree and woodlands, she is enthusiastic about enabling the UK’s woodlands to be better managed for people, wildlife and local production. She is interested in developing projects which enable different uses of wood-based products and exploring how woodlands can fuel creativity. Over the last year she managed the build of a Musical Forest – an outdoor space hosting wooden musical instruments – and is building a yurt in her free time.
At Coed Lleol she is responsible for surveying, monitoring and advising on woodland management and delivering woodland management activities as part of our wellbeing sessions.
Aaron Berg - [email protected]
Aaron is the Woodland Management Project Officer for South Wales. His love of working on the land has led him through a 15-year career of contracting in commercial forestry, private woodland management and tree surgery. He also runs a sawmill and building business specialising in traditional green timber framing.
At home he manages an off-grid woodland smallholding where he grows food and timber with his family. His favourite tree is a sweet chestnut for their delicious nuts and beautiful, useful timber.
