Our history
The Scotland’s Finest Woods Awards – run by independent charity, Scotland’s Finest Woods – celebrate the contribution that woodlands can make to the people of Scotland and to its environment and economic prosperity.
The underlying principle of the Awards is that people from across Scotland work hard to support their local communities and the environment, and the Awards provide a way to recognise and reward their achievements and so identify exemplars for others to follow.
The annual awards programme was first established in 1985. Since 2005 the awards programme has been managed by a charity which operates as a not-for-profit company. The types of woodlands included in the Awards has grown over the years so that it now includes Schools, new native woods in 2011, community woodlands and new commercial woods in 2012, farm woodlands in 2018 and in 2021 the climate change champion and Early Years awards were added.
A special Silver Jubilee Competition held in 2010 to mark the 25th anniversary of the awards attracted a record number of entrants. 2020 marked the 35th year of Scotland’s Finest Woods Awards.
