A new community woodland in Nottinghamshire, which is home to thousands of trees, has been showcased in a national report.
More than 87,000 trees have been planted at the Thorney Abbey site, near Southwell, through the Defra-funded Trees for Climate programme and delivered via the Greenwood Community Forest initiative, hosted by Nottinghamshire County Council’s conservation team.
The wooded area has been created on 48-hectare land purchased by Greenwood in 2024, with trees planted using contractors, community volunteers and a delegation of agricultural students from Nottingham Trent University’s Brackenhurst Campus.
Now a report published by England’s Community Forests, which has delivered the Trees for Climate programme in partnership with the National Trust, Woodland Trust, and Community Forest Trust, includes a case study detailing the work which has taken place at Thorney Abbey.
The Trees for Climate Programme Year 5 Impact Report (2024/25) reads: “The vast scale of the project should capture over 9,500 tonnes of carbon per annum.
“With sponsorship from the Woodland Trust and the assistance of local contractors, a mixture of native broadleaves and conifers will provide habitat for brown hare, deer, badgers, birds, butterflies, and aquatic species, as well as public access, economic and learning opportunities and carbon sequestration in this previously hidden landscape in the heart of Nottinghamshire.”
Councillor James Gamble, Nottinghamshire County Council’s Greenwood Community Champion, says he is proud of the work which has been undertaken at Thorney Abbey.
He said: “It is fantastic that the efforts of our conservation team, working alongside key partners, to create the new woodland at Thorney Abbey has been showcased in a national report.
“Since becoming Greenwood Community Champion earlier this year, I am delighted to have seen for myself the tireless work which is taking place to deliver and manage woodland creation schemes across the county – and it is great to see how thousands of new trees are growing and developing at sites like this and at Monarch Wood, near Brinsley, and Debdale Hill Wood at Little Carlton.
“Woodland creation schemes bring a wide range of benefits, such as environmental, social and economic, to local communities and make a difference to the lives of residents and those of generations to come.”
The Greenwood Community Forest, which is one of 15 community forests across the country, has gone from strength to strength since 2020 – with more than 757,000 trees planted on 578 hectares countywide.
