Over 500 hectares will be planted with trees across England’s ten Community Forests, from Yorkshire to Somerset, backed by £12.1 million of investment, the government announced today (6 December).
This will also build the pipeline of projects for community planting in future years.
The new programme – Trees for Climate – will see trees planted in community forests across the country over the next five months. When mature, the trees will eventually store over 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, playing an important role in the meeting the government’s net zero emissions by 2050 target.
The project will also reduce flood risk, increase sustainable UK grown timber, provide more places for nature and biodiversity to thrive, and increase people’s access to and enjoyment of woodland. The funding will also create new jobs and secure existing ones within the forestry and environmental sector, helping to boost local economies as part of a green recovery.
The core Greenwood Community Forest area covers 161 square miles of west Nottinghamshire, from Mansfield in the north to Nottingham in the south and from Eastwood in the west to Farnsfield in the east.
It overlaps historic Sherwood Forest in the north-east and curves round to Attenborough in the south-west. Over 1 million people live within 5 miles of Greenwood Community Forest.
The programme is being delivered by a collaboration of ten Community Forest organisations, supported by the national charity The Community Forest Trust.
The following Community Forests will carry out the planting:
• The Forest of Marston Vale, Bedfordshire
• Great Western Community Forest, covering the North Wessex Downs to the River Thames
• The Greenwood Community Forest, west Nottinghamshire
• The Mersey Forest, which covers Merseyside and North Cheshire
• City of Trees, Greater Manchester
• Forest of Avon Trust, which covers Bristol and Avon
• HEYwoods, which covers Kingston upon Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire
• Thames Chase Trust, which covers East London and South West Essex
• White Rose Forest, which covers Leeds city region and North and West Yorkshire
• Forest of Mercia, which covers Staffordshire and the West Midlands
