The forester who shapes public opinion about our industry isn't the trade association president or CEO giving a keynote. It's not the communications director drafting press releases.

It's you. Standing on a forest path when a curious hiker asks why you're cutting those trees.

Every forester is a PR person for their profession. Whether you like it or not. Whether you're trained for it or not. Every conversation, every field encounter, every question answered—or avoided—shapes how someone thinks about forestry.

My previous articles examined how we lost the PR battle and catalogued the achievements we failed to communicate. This piece is different. This is the playbook. Practical strategies that don't require million-euro budgets or professional communications staff.

Because most of us will probably not have those resources. But all of us have daily opportunities to tell forestry's story.

The Uncomfortable Truth About Communication

Here's what nobody wants to admit: Most decisions about forestry communication are made by people with no communication training.

We're foresters. Engineers. Biologists. We understand growth rates and sustainable yield. Those skills don't automatically translate to public relations. The UNECE/FAO Forest Communicators Network observed this years ago: “Many people taking decisions on communication matters are not educated in communications.”

This isn't a criticism. It's a structural reality. And it explains why our communication efforts often fail.

Environmental groups hired journalists from the beginning. Greenpeace was founded by media professionals who understood storytelling, emotion, and audience psychology. We promoted technical experts to communication roles and expected them to figure it out.

They couldn't. Neither can most of us—without training.

The good news? Basic communication skills can be learned. And small improvements compound over time.

Every Forester Is the Face of Forestry

Let's return to that hiker on the forest path. Unlike steel mills or chemical plants, forests are open to the public. I've called this the “open factory” problem. Anyone can walk through. Form opinions. Take photos. Feel emotions. Every weekend, millions of people visit our industrial area without permission or understanding.

This creates a unique challenge—and a unique opportunity.

I experienced this firsthand in October 2025, when Hungary hosted the 19th European Forest Pedagogics Congress in Visegrád. Participants from 16 countries gathered under the motto: “Forest pedagogy: a tool for educating for (offline) life.”

The congress addressed a growing crisis. European children spend 2–3 hours daily in front of screens. One in four has no connection to forests at all. As FAO’s Maria DeCristofaro told participants, foresters and forest pedagogues must “learn to communicate and find the right channels” because “through education and communication it is possible to rebuild the link between people and nature.”

Research presented at the congress reinforced this urgency. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Karim from the University of Tübingen showed

that stress hormone levels drop significantly when people spend time in forests—but merely scenting a room with forest smells produces no effect. People need to physically be in forests to receive the benefits.

The pedagogical skills used in forest education—patience, clarity, storytelling—apply to every public interaction. Good forest educators learn to communicate complex content in accessible, engaging ways. Those skills transfer directly to media relations, public speaking, and everyday conversations with curious visitors.

Here’s the key insight: forest pedagogy isn’t just educational work. It has a PR effect. When foresters explain their work well, they build trust. When they avoid conversations or give defensive answers, they confirm suspicions.

Every forester who interacts with the public is conducting public relations. The question is whether they’re doing it consciously or accidentally.

What Works: Lessons from Successful Campaigns

Not all forestry communication has failed. Some campaigns achieved remarkable results. Understanding why illuminates the path forward.

Finland’s Forest Finland Campaign

Launched in 2020, this joint effort across the Finnish forest sector took an unusual approach. Rather than defending forestry, it connected forests to Finnish identity and daily life.

The campaign revealed surprising facts through outdoor advertising and social media: Finland plants 150 million trees yearly. Finns live on average 700 meters from the nearest forest. The message wasn’t “forestry is sustainable.” It was “forests are part of everything you do.”

The Finnish Forest Association has built communication capacity over decades. Their Forest Academy brings decision-makers from across society—politicians, civil servants, business leaders, media, NGOs—into direct dialogue with forestry professionals. The goal isn’t persuasion. It’s relationship-building before relationships are needed.

As one programme coordinator observed: “It’s too late to form a network when you need one.”

Sweden’s A Richer Forest

In the early 1990s, Sweden launched A Richer Forest—72,000 copies of educational materials distributed to forest owners and forestry officials. This campaign succeeded because it targeted the people who actually make decisions in forests, not just the public.

The key lesson: sometimes the most important audience isn’t external. Training your own people to communicate effectively multiplies your reach far beyond any advertising campaign.

Estonia’s Cultural Integration

Estonia connected its Forest Week to the nation’s largest song and dance festival in 2004. The “Million Trees” planting campaign recruited 12,000 festival participants. By linking forestry to cultural identity, they achieved visibility no standalone campaign could match.

The principle applies everywhere: connect forestry to things people already care about.

The Three Ps: A Simple Framework

For individual foresters without communications training, I suggest a simple framework: Positive, Personal, Practical.

Positive: Lead with what forestry provides, not what it defends against. “We plant three trees for every one harvested” lands better than “we’re not destroying forests.”

Personal: Share your own experience. “I’ve worked in this forest for fifteen years and watched it grow” is more compelling than statistics.

Practical: Connect to things people understand. “This wood will become furniture that stores carbon for 100 years” makes abstract concepts concrete.

When that hiker asks why you’re cutting trees, don’t launch into sustainable yield calculations. Try: “These trees are ready for harvest. We’ll plant new ones next spring. In 30 years, someone will be having this same conversation here.”

Answering the Difficult Questions

Some questions come up repeatedly. Having prepared answers makes the difference between a defensive stumble and a confident response.

“Why are you cutting down these trees?”
“Forests need management, just like gardens. These trees reached their target age. We’ll replant, and the young trees will grow faster and absorb more carbon than the old ones did.”

“Isn’t this destroying the forest?”
“Actually, European forests have grown 37% since 1950. We harvest about two-thirds of what grows each year. The forest keeps expanding even as we use it.”

“What about the wildlife?”
“We leave habitat trees and dead wood for wildlife. Diverse forest ages actually support more species than untouched old forest. I can show you where the birds nest if you’re interested.”

Notice the pattern: acknowledge the concern, provide context, offer engagement. Never dismiss the question. Never get defensive. Never make the person feel stupid for asking.

Low-Cost Tactics That Work

Professional PR campaigns cost money most operators don’t have. But effective communication doesn’t require big budgets.

Your smartphone is a content studio. Forest photos on your phone are marketing materials. A short video explaining why you’re thinning a stand takes five minutes to record. Share it.

Local media need content. Journalists face shrinking newsrooms. A forest owner offering a guided tour and interesting story is a gift. Propose a “day in the life” feature.

Schools want forest experiences. Teachers seek outdoor learning opportunities. Offering forest education to local schools costs time, not money. Children tell their parents what they learned.

Open days work. Invite the community to see a harvest operation. Explain what’s happening. Transparency builds trust.

Social media is free. You don’t need to be an influencer. Sharing your work occasionally humanises forestry. The UK’s #ILookLikeAForester campaign challenged stereotypes simply by encouraging women in forestry to share their photos.

What Companies and Associations Can Do

Individual effort matters. But systemic change requires institutional support.

Include communication basics in every forestry programme. Communication skills should be as fundamental as silviculture.

Create simple messaging guides. Give field workers prepared answers to common questions. Not scripts—frameworks.

Celebrate and share success stories. Make good communication visible and valued within the profession.

Fund coordinated campaigns. Fragmentation is forestry’s weakness. Trade associations must coordinate messaging—and fund it properly.

Measure public perception. You can’t improve what you don’t measure.

The Digital Shift We Can’t Ignore

Communication has moved online. If forestry isn’t telling its story digitally, environmental groups are telling their version instead.

Be present. Silence online reads as absence or evasion.

Visual content wins. Forests are inherently visual.

Respond to criticism professionally and factually.

Show your work. Transparency is the best defence.

Long-Term Thinking

Rebuilding public trust takes time. We face a 30-year communication deficit. That won’t be closed with a single campaign.

But compound effects matter. Every forester who improves their communication skills. Every company that invests in outreach. Every association that coordinates messaging. Every positive public encounter.

These accumulate.

The Finnish Forest Association has been building communication capacity since 1877. They didn’t become effective overnight. They committed to long-term investment in professional communication. That’s why 90% of Finns still view the forest industry positively.

Patience isn’t passive waiting. It’s sustained effort over time.

The Forester as Ambassador

You will be asked about forestry. At community events. By curious visitors. By sceptical neighbours. By your children’s teachers. By the person you meet at a party who learns what you do for a living.

In those moments, you represent not just yourself or your company. You represent an entire profession.

This isn’t a burden. It’s an opportunity.

Environmental groups built their influence one conversation at a time. One volunteer at a time. One story at a time. We can do the same—if we choose to.

Every forester is a PR person. The question is whether you’re a good one.

We operate in the open factory. Everyone is watching. Everyone is forming opinions.

What story will you tell them?

About the author

Peter Hasulyó is a licensed forest engineer and founder of ForestryBrief, a European forestry intelligence service read by professionals across 15+ countries. With 25 years of experience in translation, journalism, and forestry, he specialises in the intersection of forest management, regulation, and industry communication. He served as host and speaker at the 19th European Forest Pedagogics Congress (Visegrád, Hungary, 2025) and previously worked as a journalist for Nimród hunting magazine.

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