CCFG turned to Pro Silva Britain
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CCFG is working according to their new strategy and is rebranding the organisation as Pro Silva Britain!
In their last general assembly Pro Silva Switzerland elected a new president: Mélila Saucy, forest engineer FH and forester leading “Forstbetrieb Leberberg” is a young ambitious collegue. She will lead Pro Silva Switzerland in the next years, because after retirement Erwin Schmid stepped down from his position.
"On 30 April, at our general meeting, an era came to an end: after 14 years as a highly influential president, Erwin Schmid stepped down. From 2002 to 2021, Erwin Schmid also served as Head of “State Forests and Training” for the Canton of Zurich. During this period, management plans were drawn up for the entire state forest with the aim of continuous cover forestry. The continuous training and professional development of practising forestry experts, which Erwin Schmid consistently and passionately developed, repeatedly proved to be the most important factor for success.
Following an extensive search, we were able to secure Mélila Saucy as his successor. Mélila is a young, dedicated and highly skilled forester and works in a district in the canton of Solothurn. She was elected at the meeting to loud applause. We were also able to welcome a new member to the board: Nils Schönenberger, City Forester in Zurich. The next generation is well established, and we are very well positioned for the future." (Stephan Hatt, 15.04.2026)
In 2023 Pro Silva Switzerland organized the following highlights:
Around 110 people took part in our own events in 2023, including around 20 non-members. The excursions with the forestry schools and ETHZ once again attracted around 50 young people.
In 2025 Pro Silva Switzerland presented their acivities as particular highlights:
Around 100 people took part in our events in 2025, including around 15 non-members. The excursions with HAFL and ETHZ students attracted another 40 young people.
What we want to improve
We want to clarify the position of the continuous cover forest in the context of climate change and ‘adaptive silviculture’. The large-scale forest regeneration projects – some covering vast areas – being carried out in the name of improving the climate resilience of forests, which are taking place nationwide (and beyond our borders) and are also supported or even promoted by official bodies (forestry services, research), are a cause for concern for us and a big part of the public. We will include this topic in our 2027 programme in the form of a national “Day of Continuous Cover Forests”.
The following are planned:
Zurich, Dezember 2025, Stephan Hatt (Secretary)
In the year 2024 Pro Silva Switzerland had its focus on the followiing activities:
Around 150 people took part in our events in 2024, including around 30 non-members. The excursions with HAFL and ETHZ and with the German students attracted another 50 young people.
What we want to improve
A new “keyword” has emerged: ‘adaptive’. The continuous cover forest is criticized in Switzerland for being less ‘adaptive’ with regard to climate change, mainly because of the demanding regeneration of light tree species. We strongly disagree: continuous cover forest is very adaptive, especially because of its good structures, the stability of individual trees and the continuous natural regeneration. Regular inspections of the entire forest area also ensure that the state of health is monitored in real time. We want to better position the continuous cover forests in terms of its great adaptability.