Who we are
Footprint Forestry, established by experienced woodland managers Edward Mills and Christopher Guest, offers a wide range of forestry consultancy and woodland management services to suit clients’ objectives.
Our clients are primarily traditional and modern estates, private individuals, conservation trusts and farmers.
Footprint Forestry is a small company focusing on providing a highly professional, personal and flexible service based on in-depth technical know-how and industry experience.
Edward Mills
DirectorEdward attended Seale-Hayne Agricultural College in Devon. Early in his career, he worked for the Nature Conservancy Council, based in Berkshire, the Suffolk Wildlife Trust and BTCV focussing mainly on woodland management & conservation. In 1991, he moved north to work in the South Pennines to develop woodland creation projects.
After qualifying as a Chartered Forester in 1995, he moved to Cumbria to work for Cumbria Broadleaves. Edward worked for the renamed Cumbria Woodlands for almost 20 years. As Director, he managed the successful coordination of the multi-million pound Forest Futures Programme of investment followed by further successful programmes of woodland advice and training, including the improvement of over 500 ha of woodland designated as SSSI, as well as restoring large areas of Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites. Edward has probably been in more Cumbrian woodlands than anyone else.
Edward has served on committees for the Royal Forestry Society of England, Wales & N Ireland (2 years as Chairman of the NW England Division), the Coppice Association North West (two 3-year stints as Chairman), and the Bill Hogarth MBE Memorial Apprenticeship Trust. He has also been involved with the Rusland Horizons charity as a Trustee.
In 2005, Edward was appointed a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Foresters. He is also a Professional Member of the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management and is a Chartered Environmentalist. Edward has co-authored books on Coppice Management (2010) and a second book on the Greenwood Crafts (2012) both with Rebecca Oaks.
Edward has been lucky enough to be able to manage his own coppice woodland in the southern Lake District since 2003.
Edward continues his career as a partner with Footprint Forestry, managing a range of woodlands on small estates, farms and other privately owned woods.
Edward doesn’t have any spare time for hobbies except for making firewood for the wood-burning boiler at home and running moth traps.
Christopher Guest
DirectorChristopher studied a BSc in Forestry at Bangor University, Wales. He spent his 3rd year working on oak natural regeneration research at the Institute for Silviculture, Goettingen University, Germany. He also carried out an internship at the prestigious Bovenden Forest District. This sandwich year led to Christopher’s passion for Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF), silvicultural techniques to produce high quality timber and an interest in minor tree species. Following graduation, he trained with the Forestry Commission at Dornoch Forest District and managed the establishment of his family’s 16 ha mixed woodland.
He then returned to Germany to study an MSc in Forest Ecology and Management at Freiburg University, focusing on his interest in CCF. During his time in Freiburg, he worked as a scientific assistant at the Institute of Forest Growth and the Forest Research Institute, Baden-Wuerttemberg as well as carrying out an internship at Freiburg Forest District.
Christopher returned to the British Isles in 2007 to work as a freelance consultant forester for an oak silviculture research project funded by COFORD in Ireland (report title ‘Nursing Oak in Ireland’; Guest & Huss 2012) and to write a management plan for the Forestry Commission’s Newborough Forest, Wales. He moved to Wiltshire in 2008 to work as a forest manager on several forestry estates, including the prestigious Stourhead. He coordinated the CCFG course “Timber Harvesting Techniques in Stands Managed under CCF Principles” in 2011.
Christopher is co-ordinator of the wild service seed source trial set up under the auspices of Woodland Heritage and is an expert on this wonderful tree species. He has co-authored a paper documenting the establishment of the seed source trial, as well as other papers on this species.
Christopher actively manages his family’s mixed woodland employing CCF and silvicultural techniques to produce high quality timber.
In 2020, Christopher moved with his family to his wife’s native southern Lake District and continues his career as a partner with Footprint Forestry, managing a range of woodlands on estates, farms and other privately owned woods.
When Christopher has spare time, he likes travelling, mountaineering and cooking with fire.
Doug Mackenzie
Forest ManagerDoug studied a BEng in Aerospace Engineering at Coventry University, starting his professional career in 2009 as a graduate engineer with the Ministry of Defence, based in Bristol. During eight years in the public sector, he worked in roles providing gas turbine, diesel engine, and propulsion systems support for a variety of naval ships.
In June 2018 he joined Babcock International where he managed in-service technical support and capability upgrades for the carrier and destroyer class vessels, being promoted to Principal Marine Systems Engineer in December 2019. During twelve years in the marine sector, he also gained broader skills in project and programme management, developed financial and commercial understanding, and mentored apprentices and graduates.
In July 2021, Doug left the engineering sector to pursue a career change through study at the National School of Forestry in Cumbria, where he achieved a distinction in FdSc Forestry. Doug’s interest and experience in systems engineering thinking, understanding how different aspects interact and interface, lends itself well to woodland management. Alongside his studies, Doug worked with Forestry England at Grizedale, Brantwood Estate, West Cumbria Rivers Trust and numerous private woodlands applying his academic understanding into practice.
In June 2023, Doug joined Footprint Forestry as a Forest Manager, managing a range of woodland properties.
In his spare time, Doug enjoys walking on the fells with his dog Bea, cooking, playing the guitar, and listening to records.
Tim Knapp
Assistant Forest ManagerTim studied a BSc in Earth and Environmental Science at Cardiff University before attending Bangor University where he achieved a distinction in his MSc in Conservation and Land Management. Between his two degrees, he worked for The RSPB helping to manage a number of sites in Devon.
Upon completion of his MSc in 2020, Tim moved to Cumbria to join Forestry England. This was the beginning of 5 years working in practical forestry and estate management for both Forestry England and then The National Trust. He worked across a variety of sites in Cumbria including commercial plantations, ancient semi-natural woodland and large-scale nature restoration projects. This work gave him an understanding of the practical aspects of forest management which built on his theoretical knowledge gained through his studies. In 2024, he achieved the Royal Forestry Society Certificate in Forestry.
In February 2026, Tim joined Footprint Forestry as an Assistant Forest Manager to continue his forestry career.
In his spare time, Tim enjoys walking (especially in woodlands), cutting firewood and reading about trees and woodlands.