In 2018, the Scottish Government passed the Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Act that sets out a framework for the devolution of Scotland’s forest management.

To support this framework, a new Forestry Strategy for Scotland 2019-2029 was developed by Scottish Forestry on behalf of Scottish Government. This created a 50-year vision for the future of Scotland’s forests and woodlands and ten-year objectives and priorities to achieve this vision.

Before publishing the strategy, Scottish Forestry conducted a public consultation to inform their work and appointed us to lead on engaging young people aged 11 to 25.

The consultation aimed to discover young people’s priorities in forest management, find out about their use of forests and discover their visions for the future of Scottish forests and woodlands. We also launched a national survey to explore young people’s understandings and perceptions of forestry and key themes of the new strategy consultation.

The insights gained through this survey can be read in this report. The key themes and issues which were identified in the survey responses were used to tailor three Young Scot Co-design sessions, the outcomes of which are summarised in this report.

You can view a preview or download a PDF version of the full report below.