Smart Forests workshop: A cross-sectoral conversation

On 22 May 2025, the Smart Forests research group at the University of Cambridge hosted a full-day knowledge-exchange workshop at Cambridge Cottage, Kew Gardens, in London . The event brought together a diverse group of participants, including forestry science, geospatial technology, drone operations, community woodland networks , policymakers, start-ups, and social research from organisations including Defra, Forest Research, Mozaic Earth, Zulu Ecosystems, AutoSpray Systems, UNEP, Sylvera, Dark Matter Labs, Argyll Countryside Trust, National Trust, Llais y Goedwig, European Forestry Institute, and the Natural History Museum, for a conversation about the use of smart technologies for forest management and community engagement. This Smart Forests Atlas Story provides an overview of key discussion points.

In the morning, we invited participants to share a key question about smart forest technologies and community engagement, many of which resurfaced throughout the day. Recurring questions centred on how smart technologies and data could support community engagement and inclusive governance , while also navigating tensions around access, funding , and commercial interests. Questions broadly raised issues such as:

• How can smart technologies contribute to increasing community engagement and shaping new practices, including inclusive decision-making and woodland access?
• How do technology and data impact governance, and can they foster polycentric and participatory practices, or do they risk deepening inequalities?
• How can we identify, use, and share diverse forms of data?
• How can we engage local communities in site-level data collection and ensure data is returned to them in accessible formats?
• What are the potential and limits of citizen science in aiding ground-truth data collection?
• Is it possible to make data widely open — to the public and across organisations, sectors, and borders – without undermining data ownership and commercial interests?
• Can smart forest technologies improve the cost-effectiveness, granularity, and scale of monitoring forests and tree health?
• What are the barriers to building robust business plans for nature restoration?
• How can we ensure sustained funding for NGOs and not-for-profits contributing vital environmental research and data?

The workshop was centrally structured around three demo-dialogues on the themes of restoration , implementation, and community participation . Each demo-dialogue was followed by collective discussion, concluding with small-group reflections. The first demo-dialogue on restoration featured presentations from Zulu Ecosystems and Forest Research on how cutting-edge technologies, such as remote sensing , satellite imagery, and digital platforms, can help identify and manage restoration areas with greater precision.

These data-driven approaches prompted discussion about how to ensure that decision-making processes (from data selection to prioritisation of actions) remain open and inclusive, in line with the social and cultural values of local communities. Ground truthing emerged as a key topic, with citizen science tools like handheld LiDAR and smartphones seen as promising while constrained by expertise gaps and limited resources.

After lunch, the second demo-dialogue on implementation with organisations began outdoors. Participants gathered around a seed-spraying drone for a live, on-ground demo. The drone disperses seed mixed with wood pellets from its hopper, enacting wind-driven seed dispersal across the landscape . Drone-based mapping also helps locate Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) rhododendron for targeted removal from temperate rainforests.

Back indoors, we heard from drone company AutoSpray Systems and Argyll Countryside Trust about how emerging technologies can support landscape restoration projects and how they evolve through implementation, interacting with environmental conditions, regulatory frameworks, and community needs. The discussion reflected a growing interest in drones to support ecological goals. However, participants also noted the need for long-term monitoring and evaluation, highlighting the importance of sustained collaboration with forestry organisations and social researchers.

The third demo-dialogue on community participation focused on community woodland and youth-focused projects with organisations Llais y Goedwig and Defra. This session showcased the potential of new technologies to revitalise community engagement by attracting people from different backgrounds and enabling less politically represented groups, such as children, to participate through visual, playful and multilingual means. The subsequent reflection underscored the importance of amplifying diverse voices and stories about woodlands to support a plurality of imaginaries and futures in an increasingly data-driven context.

The day concluded with breakout group discussions about challenges and opportunities, summarised here in four thematic clusters:

(1) Cultivating open and inclusive data practices

Participants discussed how to balance data accuracy and quality and what counts as ‘good enough’ data for scalable, actionable outcomes. There was a strong emphasis on integrating varied data types – ecological, social, and remote-sensed — and recognising forms of knowledge that often remain outside formal data systems. Emerging technologies such as AI and large language models were seen as promising tools to synthesise diverse data types and amplify community voices. Standardising data formats and improving system interoperability could help break down silos. Participants called for stronger government support for open data and cross-sector incentives to enable greater data sharing.

(2) Widening community participation and interdisciplinary collaboration

Participants highlighted that the relevance and usability of smart tools depend on co-design with communities, particularly with marginalised groups. There was a strong call to involve communities across the entire data lifecycle, from collection to decision-making. Ongoing challenges in interdisciplinary work were also noted, particularly the marginalisation of the social sciences. Many advocated for practising forestry as a field that fully integrates both ecological and social expertise. Cross-disciplinary fieldwork was suggested as one way to address this gap.

(3) Shifting power dynamics and governance

Resistance to tech monopolies was among the recurring themes. Participants voiced concern over the dominance of Big Tech in shaping eco-digital technologies and called for more democratic design and governance of hardware, software, and data. Ensuring ethical supply chains and developing locally responsive tools were seen as key to preventing external agendas from overriding local needs. Participants also urged governments to move beyond current roles as regulators or funders and act as coordinators, enabling cross-sectoral collaboration while supporting traditional land practices.

(4) Maintaining longer-term and equitable funding frameworks

Funding was raised as a major constraint, especially for long-term monitoring and under-resourced areas such as community-led woodland research. The withdrawal of support for local record centres was cited as an example of misaligned funding priorities. Participants called for more equitable, sustained, and flexible funding frameworks that support both grassroots initiatives and larger institutional projects. High-quality evaluation, often underfunded, was seen as critical for building long-term capacity.

The Smart Forests workshop was held to foster conversation about our interim report, Community-led Forest Technologies: A Smart Forests Interim Report.

The workshop discussions helped to test, query and expand the key findings and proposals in this report, further informing the final version of this document, which we plan to publish later in 2025.

With this workshop, we sought to create a space for building new connections across sectors, enabling collaborative responses to the challenges outlined, and ultimately working toward more democratic and inclusive smart forests. We look forward to continuing these conversations with the stakeholder network.

We also thank the University of Cambridge Social Science Impact Fund (SSIF), which together with the ERC Smart Forests funding helped to make this workshop possible.