The date for this year’s FSC Friday is Friday 24th September 2010. Once again the day will be marked internationally with events and promotions, raising awareness and understanding of FSC and celebrating the world’s forest. 

The main aim of FSC Friday is to raise awareness of the FSC logo as a mark of responsible forestry. Events will be taking place at FSC certified forests, schools, universities and community centers around the country (see our map of events) and we are launching a range of competitions for all ages with some great prizes.

FSC UK is asking organizations to hold events and to promote the day in whatever way they can. If you are interested in holding an FSC Friday event this year, we can send you ideas for the event, activity sheets and promotional materials along with the competitions and prizes to hand out.

If you would like further information, or to register an event, please contact our FSC Friday Project Officer, Amruta More (projectofficer@fsc-uk.org)

Highlights of FSC Friday 2009

Manchester Forest School hosted an FSC Friday event at Paupers Wood, a small woodland 3 miles south of Manchester city centre. Over 150 people took part, many arriving on foot and bicycles. Visitors brought picnics and enjoyed the activities laid on such as story telling and songs, sawing discs and playing boules, making bracelets and string out of natural materials, fire lighting as well as lots of opportunities for free play, climbing and den building. Many older children explored the trees doing an i.d trail matching leaves to seeds; which culminated in a game of conkers. The day ended around the fire talking about how useful woodlands are and the value of FSC logo on products, with examples of products sourced from trees.

Woking Beavers celebrated FSC Friday once again this year with a Forest Fun Day. The Beavers and families took part in a range of activities, including building Elf Houses !

Pupils at Tomintoul Primary School have used a tree from a local Crown Estate forest to create benches and flower tubs for their playground. The project was the idea of Vicky Hilton, Countryside Manager for The Crown Estate’s Glenlivet Estate.

Vicky said: “We wanted to support the ‘FSC Friday’ event being run by the Forest Stewardship Council, which aims to raise awareness of the FSC logo as a mark of responsible forestry and highlight the fact that forests and woodlands in the UK and internationally need to be well-managed. The purpose of involving the children is to make sure they understand where the wood they use comes from and why it is important for it to be traceable and sustainable. In this case we were able to take a tree into the school playground and using a mobile sawmill unit process it into planks and stakes, which the pupils then used to make benches, bird boxes and a raised bed for their wildlife garden.”

In Sheffield 32 teachers attended an outdoor education taster session at Ecclesall Sawmill and schoolchildren enjoyed a day of activities at the Forestry Commission’s Alice Holt site, through which they learned about the importance of woodlands, particularly as habitats.

A medieval knight led an FSC Friday walk through ancient semi-natural woodland owned by the Crown Estate in Wamphray Glen, Dumfriesshire. Participants heard about the relevance of the FSC logo, and how buying paper and products carrying the logo helps to support the responsible management of the world’s forests. The Chain of Custody system was also explained, and how every link in the supply chain from the forest to purchase of the final product is audited to ensure that they can be confident that the product meets stringent FSC standards.