28 June 2024

We are very proud that The Forest of Biologists has been shortlisted for the ALPSP Impact Award 2024. This is a great recognition for a project that we have thoroughly enjoyed launching and that we feel makes a true impact to both the scientific community and the natural environment.

ALPSP, the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers, grants two prestigious awards every year:

• The ALPSP Impact Award, which recognises initiatives, projects, campaigns or collaborations demonstrating beneficial impact within scholarly publishing and communications.
• The ALPSP Award for Innovation in Publishing, which celebrates any new development, product, service, launch or project which is both innovative and of significant value to scholarly communication.

We are honoured to be shortlisted for the ALPSP Impact Award 2024 for our bio-positive publishing initiative, The Forest of Biologists.

The Forest of Biologists is a living and growing forest that was created in 2023 as part of a biodiversity initiative from The Company of Biologists, with support from the Woodland Trust. For each Research and Review article we publish in one of our five journals, we are planting a tree in a UK forest. We are also funding the restoration and protection of ancient woodland and dedicating these trees to our peer reviewers. All these real trees are also represented together in a virtual forest. The Forest of Biologists is a celebration of the work of the scientists whose research and expertise fills our journals, and it is a clear statement of The Company of Biologists’ commitment to sustainability.

As we aim to make a positive difference, it’s important that we think carefully and that our actions are directed and evaluated by science. We’ve therefore chosen to work with the Woodland Trust, the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity focusing on the role that trees and woods play in tackling the threats of climate change and nature loss.

Since launching this initiative, we have received great feedback from the community. Here are some examples of social media posts mentioning the initiative:

“I just came across @For_Biologists and I can’t believe how extraordinary this initiative is! Making science accessible while simultaneously preserving the environment? Yes, please! Check out the plants @Co_Biologists planted for their published articles.”

“Super Bio-Positive publishing experience where you get a tree planted at Young People’s Forest at Mead as a thank you for publishing a paper. Super cool. We love it.”

“Fantastic biodiversity project from Co_Biologists!”

“The @For_Biologists initiative reminds me that good people still do good things for good reasons.”

The Forest of Biologists is just one of our sustainability initiatives. We are committed to ensuring that our environmental impact is kept to a minimum and we are working hard to make sustainability a consideration in everything we do. Read more about this in our sustainability hub.

Read more about The Forest of Biologists, the UK sites where we are planting and restoring trees and discover the virtual forest and its associated articles. Watch our video showing Publisher Claire Moulton exploring the UK sites.

Find out more about the ALPSP Impact and Innovation Awards and the other 2024 finalists.