Woodland Trust
Encyclopedia
The Woodland Trust is a conservation charity in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 concerned with the protection and sympathetic management of native woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...

 heritage
Natural heritage
Natural heritage is the legacy of natural objects and intangible attributes encompassing the countryside and natural environment, including flora and fauna, scientifically known as biodiversity, and geology and landforms ....

.

History

It was founded in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 in 1972 by retired farmer Kenneth Watkins OBE (6 December 1909 - 13 November 1996). By 1977 it had twenty two woods in six counties. In 1978 it announced that it would be a UK-wide charity, and moved to Grantham in Lincolnshire. It has supported the National Tree Week scheme, which is in late November and ran by The Tree Council
The Tree Council (UK)
The Tree Council was founded in 1974 in the United Kingdom, and became a registered charity in 1978. Its primary objective is to act as an umbrella organisation for local groups involved in the planting, care and conservation of trees throughout the United Kingdom, and followed the successful...

.

From 2005-8 it co-operated with the BBC for their Springwatch programme and the BBC's Breathing Places series of events held at woods.

Nations
  • It acquired Balmacaan Wood next to Loch Ness
    Loch Ness
    Loch Ness is a large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately southwest of Inverness. Its surface is above sea level. Loch Ness is best known for the alleged sightings of the cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster, also known affectionately as "Nessie"...

     in 1984. It now has over 80 woods in Scotland, covering 8,500 hectares.
  • In Wales, it acquired the 94 acres (380,404.8 m²) Coed Lletywalter in Snowdonia National Park in 1980. It now has over 100 woods in Wales.
  • It started in Northern Ireland in 1996 when it received a grant from the Millenium Commission to set up over 50 community woods. The scheme was called Woods on Your Doorstep.

Headquarters

Its first employee and Director, John James, came from Lincolnshire and was living in Nottingham at the time. It had a small office on Westgate. John James was Chief Executive from 1992-7, and then Michael Townsend from 1997-2004.

A new eco-friendly headquarters is to be built adjacent to the current headquarters and will open in 2010. The new headquarters have been designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios is a British architectural design firm, established in 1978, with offices in London and Bath, United Kingdom. The studio won the Stirling Prize in 2008, and is known for use of solar design and sustainable design....

.

Structure

It is now based at Kempton Way on Dysart Road in Grantham
Grantham
Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...

 in South Kesteven
South Kesteven
South Kesteven is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England, forming part of the traditional Kesteven division of the county. It covers Grantham, Stamford, Bourne and Market Deeping.-History:...

, south Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...

, moving there in 2010. It employs around 300 people at its Grantham headquarters. Since 2005, the Chief Executive has been Cambridge-educated
Newnham College, Cambridge
Newnham College is a women-only constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1871 by Henry Sidgwick, and was the second Cambridge college to admit women after Girton College...

 Sue Holden. Its current president is Clive Anderson
Clive Anderson
Clive Anderson is a British former barrister, best known for being a comedy writer as well as a radio and television presenter in the United Kingdom...

 since 2003.

Function

The Woodland Trust uses its experience and authority in conservation to influence others who are in a position to improve the future of native woodland. This includes government, other landowners and like-minded organisations. It also campaigns to protect and save ancient woodland
Ancient woodland
Ancient woodland is a term used in the United Kingdom to refer specifically to woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England and Wales . Before those dates, planting of new woodland was uncommon, so a wood present in 1600 was likely to have developed naturally...

 from destructive development. Its projects also include the Nature Detectives
Nature Detectives
Nature Detectives is an online phenology research and education project for 4-18 year-olds in the UK. It is run by the Woodland Trust, as part of the UK Phenology Network....

 youth programme, a project for schools learning about the seasonal effect on woodlands - phenology
Phenology
Phenology is the study of periodic plant and animal life cycle events and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate...

 - and the Ancient Tree Hunt
Ancient Tree Hunt (UK)
The Ancient Tree Hunt is a campaign by the Woodland Trust. It seeks to catalogue all veteran trees in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. To date over 50,000 trees have been recorded; by 2011 it is projected to have grown to at least 100,000. It is hoped that it will allow a better...

 campaign.

It publishes books.

Woodland protection

It looks after more than 1,100 woods and groups of woods covering 190 square kilometres (73.4 sq mi). Nearly 350 of its sites contain ancient woodland of which 70 per cent is semi-natural ancient woodland – land which has been under tree cover since at least 1600. It also manages over 110 Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

Woodland creation

It has also created new woodlands: over 32 km² (12.4 sq mi) have been created, including 250 new community woods in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Its largest current projects include the 41.7 km² (16.1 sq mi) Glen Finglas Estate
Glen Finglas Estate
The Glen Finglas Estate is a property in the Trossachs, Scotland managed by The Woodland Trust. The estate extends for over 10,000 acres , most of which was once covered in woodland. The closest towns are Aberfoyle and Callander.- External links :...

 in the Trossachs
Trossachs
The Trossachs itself is a small woodland glen in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It lies between Ben A'an to the north and Ben Venue to the south, with Loch Katrine to the west and Loch Achray to the east. However, the name is used generally to refer to the wider area of wooded glens and...

, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 and the Heartwood Forest
Heartwood Forest
Heartwood Forest is a planned Forest in Hertfordshire, England.The plans were set out in 2008 by The Woodland Trust to create the largest new forest of native tree species of approximately 347+ Ha in size, and is expected to take around 12 years.The site, near Sandridge, St Albans in the...

 near St Albans
St Albans
St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...

, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, which will cover approximately 347 ha (857.5 acre). It owns 20 sites covering 4.3 km² (1.7 sq mi) in the National Forest
National Forest, England
The National Forest is one of England’s most ambitious environmental projects. Across parts of Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire, are being transformed, blending ancient woodland with new planting to create a new national forest...

 and has twelve sites in Community Forests in England
Community Forests in England
England's twelve community forests are afforestation-based regeneration projects which were established in the early 1990s. Each of them is a partnership between the Forestry Commission and the Countryside Agency, which are agencies of the British government, and the relevant local councils.Most of...

.

England

  • Denge Wood
    Denge Wood
    Denge Wood is a wood located 8 miles southwest of Canterbury in Kent, England. The wood is owned by the Forestry Commission and the Woodland Trust. Part of the wood is also privately owned...

     - Kent
    Kent
    Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

  • Dolebury Warren
    Dolebury Warren
    Dolebury Warren is a 90.6 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the village of Churchill in North Somerset, notified in 1952...

     - North Somerset
    North Somerset
    North Somerset is a unitary authority in England. Its area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset but it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters is in the town hall in Weston-super-Mare....

  • Folke Wood
    Folke Wood
    Folke Wood is a wood near Folke in Dorset, England. It was planted by the Woodland Trust in 1985. It consists of native broadleaved trees as well as apple and ash trees. The apple trees are the remains of an orchard which existed in the 19th century....

     - Dorset
    Dorset
    Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...

  • Heartwood Forest
    Heartwood Forest
    Heartwood Forest is a planned Forest in Hertfordshire, England.The plans were set out in 2008 by The Woodland Trust to create the largest new forest of native tree species of approximately 347+ Ha in size, and is expected to take around 12 years.The site, near Sandridge, St Albans in the...

     - Hertfordshire
    Hertfordshire
    Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

  • Joydens Wood
    Joydens Wood
    Joyden's Wood is one of over 1,000 woodlands in the UK looked after by the Woodland Trust. The first records of a wood on this site go back to 1600 AD making it an Ancient Woodland site.-Location:...

     - Kent
  • Oxmoor Copse
    Oxmoor Copse
    Oxmoor Copse is just south of the village of Abinger Hammer and to the west of the village of Abinger Common, in Surrey. It is 1.23 hectares and is in an AONB lying within the Surrey Hills. The previous owners gave the copse to the Woodland Trust as a gift....

     - Surrey
    Surrey
    Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

  • Paradise Wood
    Paradise Wood
    Paradise Wood is a research woodland being established by the Earth Trust between the villages of Little Wittenham and Long Wittenham in Oxfordshire England.Planning for the wood started in 1992 and tree planting began in 1993...

     - Oxfordshire
    Oxfordshire
    Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

  • Skipton Woods
    Skipton Woods
    Skipton Wood is a wood following the valley of Eller Beck to the north of Skipton behind Skipton Castle...

     - North Yorkshire
    North Yorkshire
    North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

  • Staffhurst Wood
    Staffhurst Wood
    -External links:*...

     - Surrey
  • Uffmoor Wood
    Uffmoor Wood
    Uffmoor Wood is a semi-natural woodland in Worcestershire, in theEnglish Midlands. It is one of over a thousand woods cared for by the Woodland Trust. The wood has an area of 84.84 hectares , and . Sitting at the foot of the Clent Hills and about 3 km southwest of Halesowen, Uffmoor Wood is a...

     - Worcestershire
    Worcestershire
    Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...

  • Wychwood
    Wychwood
    The Wychwood, or Wychwood Forest, is an area now covering a small part of rural Oxfordshire. In past centuries the forest covered a much larger area, since cleared in favour of agriculture, villages and towns. However, the forest's area has fluctuated...

     - Oxfordshire

See also

  • Friends of the Earth
    Friends of the Earth
    Friends of the Earth International is an international network of environmental organizations in 76 countries.FOEI is assisted by a small secretariat which provides support for the network and its agreed major campaigns...

  • Plantlife
    Plantlife
    Plantlife is a wild plant conservation charity. As of 2007, its membership was 10,500 and it owned 23 nature reserves around the UK.-History:It was founded in 1989 with its first President being Professor David Bellamy. By 1999 it had 22 nature reserves....

  • The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
    Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
    Bird Notes and News was first published in April 1903.The title changed to 'Bird Notes' in 1947. In the 1950s, there were four copies per year . Each volume covered two years, spread over three calendar years...

  • Forestry in the United Kingdom
    Forestry in the United Kingdom
    Forestry is the management of trees and forests for environmental or economic gain. The United KingdomThe United Kingdom is a political unit , the British Isles is a geographical unit , and Great Britain is the name of the largest of those islands...

  • Forestry Commission
    Forestry Commission
    The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment....

  • The Big Tree Plant
    The Big Tree Plant
    Launched in December 2010, The Big Tree Plant is a Government-sponsored campaign in England to promote the planting of one million trees in neighbourhoods where people live and work...

  • The Tree Council
    The Tree Council (UK)
    The Tree Council was founded in 1974 in the United Kingdom, and became a registered charity in 1978. Its primary objective is to act as an umbrella organisation for local groups involved in the planting, care and conservation of trees throughout the United Kingdom, and followed the successful...

  • The Tree Register
    The Tree Register
    The Tree Register, or more fully, the Tree Register of the British Isles , is a registered charity collating and updating a database of notable trees throughout Britain and Ireland...

  • Trees of Britain and Ireland
    Trees of Britain and Ireland
    Many lists of Trees of Britain and Ireland have been written. There are a number of issues surrounding the inclusion of a species in such a list...

  • Hands off our Forest
    Hands off our Forest
    Hands off our Forest is a campaign group formed in 2010 to fight the UK Government's proposed sale of publicly owned land in the Forest of Dean. 'Hands off our Forest' describe themselves as a broad alliance of groups and individuals....


External links


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