a career in forestry will not make you rich - even at the top of the tree - so it is surprising that professionals are giving up jobs as lawyers and doctors to retrain for woodland life.  The desire to work in the open air and to help to protect the environment are the big attractions: those and being surrounded by birdsong rather than ringing telephones.  Three universities run degrees in forestry with others offering ecological sciences, arboriculture, tree management and urban forestry as well as conservation and forest protection. This plethora of academic courses may astonish those who think forestry involves little more than sticking trees in the ground, root-side down, and felling them decades later.  Dr Mike Hale, a lecturer in environmental, forest and wood sciences at Bangor University, says that until public sector cutbacks started to bite, good graduates could be assured of finding employment within the industry and that some mid-career jobs were hard to fill, possibly because foresters are happy doing fieldwork.  "We have two BScs in forestry, one a full-time, three-year degree and the other a sandwich course with a year out working with organisations like the Forestry Commission, conservation bodies, private estates or companies using forest products," Hale says. "This practical year teaches things that we do not, such as climbing the trees or using chainsaws. "as well as school-leavers we have applications from mature students who decide on a career change and in some cases go on to earn much less than they did previously."  Hale sometimes suggests to mature students who already have a degree in an arts subject that they should do a master's in forestry - which can be taught by distance learning - rather than a BSc, first taking a short Open University access to science course.  The University of Cumbria also teaches forestry via degree or shorter courses at the National School of Forestry (NSF) near Penrith, which was originally set up to train supervisors at the Forestry Commission. andrew Leslie worked in forestry in Somalia and Guyana before joining NSF, where he is now a senior lecturer.  He says: "There is more to managing woodland than sticking trees in the ground and harvesting them. There is more biodiversity in forests than anywhere else and wood is a renewable resource. One of our former students is managing one of the biggest new native woodlands for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, another is heading flood control prevention on the North York Moors. Others are in production and education or with local authorities in tree care and safety."  Ros Large, 32, a former student at Cumbria, switched careers from stage management to forestry and is now a community recreatio