This guide is for community woodland groups who are considering using private sector forestry skills and expertise to develop and/or deliver their forestry-related plans.

Most community woodland groups will use a combination of in-house capacity (direct employees or volunteers) and externally procured services: the extent of private sector involvement, and the nature and structure of the relationship, can vary significantly. The guide describes the range of relationships between community woodland organisations and the private forestry sector and details several case studies.