Ideas below were submitted for sharing by audience of PS delegates
* points for PS Ireland to consider/discuss
Focus Question 1: EU-wide responses/ experiences of Education and Public Relations related to close to nature forestry
- Teaching young people is more efficient*
- Informative signs*
- Useful to bring journalists to demonstration forests
- Invite representatives from other stakeholder groups *do more
- Booklets, films, websites
- Teach the teachers*
- Time and patience
- Balance between theory and practice experiences
- Tree marking exercises in groups
- Field visits (forest)
- Shared experiences
- Visit and discuss many good examples
- Discussion; learning by doing
- Practical e.g’s of CTNF – objects, impact, practices, public
- Exchange of excursions between countries etc
- Pro Silva stands at NGO meetings*
- Demonstration stands used as workshop objects ?
- Guerrilla marketing – lo cost marketing ?
Focus Question 2: What are the main problems in spreading/communicating Pro Silva ideas
* Also in Ireland
- Pro Silva principles are not mainstream*
- Pro Silva ‘a closed group’*
- No active dissemination of ideas
- Pro Silva is unknown by other stakeholder groups*
- Foresters conservative
- Forestry universities are conservative*
- Forestry students are taught wrong theories, age class models, clear-cutting etc*
- Sticking to old thinking schemes
- Most teachers have been taught in traditional methods*
- Lack of common ideas
- Slaughtering of foresters over last 20 years, less employed
- No post-graduate training?
- More complex practice to teach
- Time and money
- Low budget (funds) because of independence*
- Industry resistance
- Difficult to explain complex issues to public & stakeholders
- Foresters need better communication skills*
- Forestry is not recognised by public*
Focus Question 3: what are some ideas/solutions? * for things Ireland group may consider/discuss
- Create summer jobs for forestry students with Pro Silva foresters (mentoring)*
- Common platform of good examples (computer network)
- Get teachers into Pro Silva*
- Forest tours for secondary school teachers*
- Create student conference about Pro Silva
- Pro Silva Eramus programme
- ‘training’ forests
- Public use? of PS forests
- Create Pro Silva diplomas for professionals (loggers)
- Put PS symbol on gates of PS managed forests*
- License foresters and re-wire them to get continuing education
- Communication material on (wider) European situation*
- Closer connections between national groups*
- Pro Silva should make facebook page and use popular network tools*
- More general info for the public about forestry and Pro Silva*
- Inform the politicians*
- Influence the policy makers*
- Use images and symbols for communication*
- Improve the network of demonstration forests (could put a google map on website)*
- Be aware not to be used as a ‘label’ by other groups
- Input and contribute to international processes*
- Find partners and alliances*
- Political lobbying = permanence for PS Europe
- Need new allies
- Make clones of Slovenian foresters!
prosilvaireland.com 