EXTRA FUNDING FOR WOODLANDS PROTECTION ACROSS ENGLAND
Action to get more trees in the ground, create more jobs and improve access to nature across the country was stepped up with a recent new £6 million ‘Trees Call to Action Fund’.
Grants of £250,000 to £500,000 will be awarded to projects across England, at least three of which will be for new regional partnerships set up to create woodlands at a large scale and improve people’s access to nature, following the Forest for Cornwall and Great Northumberland Forest partnerships.
The fund will competitively allocated funding to up to 24 regional or national projects managed by partnerships of environmental charities, not-for-profit organisations, local authorities and protected landscape bodies.
Funding will be targeted at regions, activities and costs which are not supported by other government funding for trees, aiming to increase community understanding of and access to trees and woodlands, and boost efforts to increase woodland cover in areas that need it most.
To increase the capacity and skills of the sector, the fund will also support projects to engage people with trees, create new jobs and develop skills and knowledge, for example, this could be by developing training and placement programmes for new foresters and woodland managers.
Forestry Minister LordGoldsmith said: “There has never been a more important time for trees and tree planting especially in light of COP26. This new Fund will help fund regional and national partnerships of charities, local authorities and others to turn ambitions into actions, to engage communities and landowners in tree planting, and to develop skillsto help deliver our England Trees Action Plan.”
