If Trees Could Talk: The Future of the Forests

The Future for Trees

Sir Henry Studholme BT DL manages the Perridge Forest near Exeter. The forest was the joint winner in the All-England Woodland Resilience Awards 2021 and won the Duke of Cornwall Gold Medal for Resilient Multi-Purpose Forestry in 2025. The forest has been managed for centuries and has been a microcosm of Devon forestry, ebbing and flowing with the comparative profitability of agriculture and timber markets. Currently the woods are managed on a continuous cover, close to nature, basis sustainably producing more than 2,000 cubic meters of timber a year, while the farmland that lies around it and runs through it is largely organic and managed regeneratively. Harry was previously the chair of the South West Regional Development Agency, the GB Forestry Commission and the FTSE listed Phaunos Timber Fund. Harry is an Honorary Professor at the University of Exeter and the chair of Adapt Biogas. Harry Barton is currently Chief Executive of EarthWatch Europe, a trustee of the charity Rewilding Britain, and chair of the Dartmoor Nature Alliance. He was previously Chief Executive of Devon Wildlife Trust and Earth Trust. He has held senior roles in Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and CPRE. He led a multi-partner project mapping opportunities for nature restoration at scale across the South West of England. He has worked closely with partners at the University of Exeter, University of Plymouth, the Met Office and elsewhere. In the 1990s Harry worked at Kew Gardens, where he was closely involved with a wide range of botanical projects, including the Millennium Seed Bank.

This is one of five talks in June and July at Ashburton Arts Centre which form part of If Trees Could Talk Devon 2026 International Art Biennale in conjunction with Significant Seams here in Devon, and the Tuvmboa-Tunmba Children’s Museum of Philippine Art, Batangas, Philippines.