Woodland Trust#Function

File:Ireland Wood welcome sign.jpg, West Yorkshire]]

The charity was founded in Devon, England in 1972 by retired farmer and agricultural machinery dealer Kenneth Watkins.{{cite news|title=Kenneth Watkins - Obituary|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:LTIB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F924A970D212CD8&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0FE8B94B8C8CAAB1|access-date=26 August 2014|work=The Times|date=22 November 1996|page=25}}{{subscription or library|via=NewsBank}}

The Trust's first purchase was part of the Avon Valley Woods, near Kingsbridge, Devon.{{cite web |title=Avon Valley Woods |url=https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/woods/avon-valley-woods/ |website=Woodland Trust |access-date=31 October 2019}} By 1977 it had 22 woods in six counties. In 1978 it relocated to Grantham in Lincolnshire and announced an expansion of its activities across the UK. In 1984, Balmacaan Wood next to Loch Ness became the Trust's first Scottish acquisition."New Woods", Newsletter 15 (1984), The Woodlands Trust

From 2005 to 2008, the charity co-operated with the BBC for their Springwatch programme and the BBC's Breathing Places{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/breathingplaces/ |title=Breathing Places |publisher=BBC |access-date=26 November 2012}} series of events held at woods. It continues to work with Springwatch and Autumnwatch, most recently in 2015 as part of the Big Spring Watch, which encouraged viewers to record the signs of nature (phenology) through the Trust's Nature's Calendar project.

As of 2024, the Woodland Trust had over 60 woods in Scotland, covering 11,000 hectares.{{cite web |last1=Woodland Trust |title=Where We Work – Scotland |url=http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/about-us/where-we-work/scotland/ |access-date=29 December 2024 |website=woodlandtrust.org.uk}}

In Wales, it acquired the {{convert|94|acre|ha|adj=on}} Coed Lletywalter in Snowdonia National Park in 1980. In 2024 it had over 100 woods covering almost 3,000 hectares in Wales.{{cite web |last1=Woodland Trust |title=Where We Work – Wales |url=http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/about-us/where-we-work/wales/ |access-date=29 December 2024 |website=woodlandtrust.org.uk}}

Work started in Northern Ireland in 1996 when the charity received a grant from the Millennium Commission to set up over 50 community woods in a scheme called Woods on Your Doorstep.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

Its first employee and director, John James, came from Lincolnshire and was living in Nottingham at the time.{{cite web|title=About The Woodland Trust|url=http://www.giving-back.co.uk/the-woodland-trust|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011235144/http://www.giving-back.co.uk/the-woodland-trust|archive-date=11 October 2016|website=Giving Back}} It had a small office in Grantham, Lincolnshire. James was chief executive from 1992 to 1997, and then Michael Townsend from 1997 to 2004, Sue Holden from 2004 to 2014 and Beccy Speight from 2014 to 2019. The current chief executive is Darren Moorcroft.{{cite web | url=https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/about-us/our-people/our-chief-executive/ | title=Our Chief Executive }}

A new eco-friendly headquarters, adjacent to the former offices, was completed in 2010 at a cost of {{GBP|5.1million}}.{{cite web|last=Rattenbury |first=Kester |url=http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/buildings/office/-woodland-trust-hq-grantham-by-feilden-clegg-bradley-studios/8607484.article |title=Woodland Trust HQ, Grantham, by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios | Building study |publisher=Architects Journal |date=28 October 2010 |access-date=26 November 2012}} The building, designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios as architect and Atelier One as structural engineer,{{cite web|url=http://www.klhuk.com/media/9053/bd260310_solutions%20sustainability_'woodland%20trust%20hq'%20vs1.pdf|title=Solutions Sustainability: Newsletter|publisher=Klhuk.com|access-date=26 November 2012}} incorporates light shelves to distribute natural daylight around the 200 workstations, and concrete panels to absorb daytime heat, to provide the thermal mass that the lightweight wooden structure would otherwise lack.{{cite web|url=http://www.maxfordham.com/projects/woodland-trust-hq/ |title=Woodland Trust HQ | Engineering Projects |publisher=Max Fordham |date=26 March 2010 |access-date=26 November 2012}} It is estimated that compared to a concrete framed construction, the timber structure saved the equivalent in carbon production as nine years of the building's operation.

The Woodland Trust's head office is in Grantham, south Lincolnshire, and there are regional offices across the UK.{{cite web|last1=Woodland Trust|title=Our Locations|url=http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/jobs/our-locations/|website=woodlandtrust.org.uk|access-date=10 October 2016}} It employs around 300 people at its Grantham headquarters. Its current president is Clive Anderson, since 2003. In 2016 Barbara Young, Baroness Young of Old Scone became the charity's chair.

The Woodland Trust receives funding from a wide range of sources including membership, legacies, donations and appeals, corporate supporters, grants and charitable trusts including lottery funding, other organisations and landfill tax.{{cite web|last1=Woodland Trust|title=How We Are Funded - Annual Reviews|url=http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/about-us/how-we-are-run/how-we-are-funded/|website=woodlandtrust.org.uk|access-date=10 October 2016}}

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 from destructive development. Its projects also include the Nature Detectives youth programme, a project for schools learning about the seasonal effect on woodlands – phenology – and the Ancient Tree Hunt campaign.

It looks after more than 1,000 woods{{cite web|last1=Woodland Trust|title=How We Are Run|url=http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/about-us/how-we-are-run/|website=woodlandtrust.org.uk|access-date=11 October 2016}} and groups of woods covering {{convert|190|km2}}. 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. There are currently over 600 ancient woods under threat across the UK.

The trust has also created new woodlands: over {{convert|32|km2|abbr=on}} have been created, including 250 new community woods in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Its largest current projects include the {{convert|41.7|km2|abbr=on}} Glen Finglas Estate in the Trossachs, Scotland and the Heartwood Forest near St Albans, Hertfordshire, England, which will cover approximately {{convert|347|ha|abbr=on}}. It owns 20 sites covering {{convert|4.3|km2|abbr=on}} in the National Forest and has twelve sites in Community Forests in England.

The Woodland Trust also provides free trees to communities or places of education in order to facilitate the creation of new woodland.{{cite web|title=Grantham charity offer schools the chance to 'green-up' with free trees|url=https://www.granthamjournal.co.uk/news/grantham-charity-offer-schools-the-chance-to-green-up-with-free-trees-1-7619571/|website=Grantham Journal|date=9 October 2016 |access-date=14 April 2022}}{{cite web|last1=Bateman|first1=Stephanie|title=Plant free trees in Sheffield with help from the Woodland Trust|url=http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/plant-free-trees-in-sheffield-with-help-from-the-woodland-trust-1-8015908|website=The Star|date=15 July 2016 |access-date=11 October 2016}}

The Woodland Trust's Woods on Your Doorstep project created 250 "Millennium woods" to celebrate the millennium.{{cite web|author=Powell Ettinger |url=http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/millennium-woods.html#cr |title=Wildlife Extra News - Ten years on and 250 Millennium woods transform Britain's landscape |publisher=Wildlifeextra.com |date=13 September 2010 |access-date=5 April 2014}}

As part of the trust's 'Tree For All' campaign, new woods were planted to mark the 2005 anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar,{{Cite web|date=2005|title=The Trafalgar Project|url=http://www.treeforall.org.uk/trafalgar/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051116173248/http://www.treeforall.org.uk/trafalgar/|archive-date=16 November 2005|website=Tree For All|publisher=Woodland Trust}} notably Victory Wood in Kent.{{Cite web|title=Victory Wood|url=https://explorekent.org/activities/victory-wood/|access-date=2021-05-15|website=Explore Kent|language=en}}

File:Oxmoorcopse.jpg

The Trust ran the Jubilee Woods project, which aimed to plant 6 million trees and create 60 commemorative 'Diamond' woods across the UK as part of Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012.{{cite web|url=http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/en/jubilee-woods/Pages/home.aspx |title=Celebrate Queen Elizabeth's historic Diamond Jubilee during 2012 with the Woodland Trust |publisher=Woodlandtrust.org.uk |access-date=7 August 2012}} The largest of these, owned and managed by the Trust itself, is the Flagship Diamond Wood within the National Forest in Leicestershire, which will be planted with 300,000 trees.{{cite news |title=Princess Royal unveils Diamond Jubilee Wood plaque |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leicestershire-18281284 |access-date=23 October 2020 |work=BBC News |date=1 June 2012}}

Beginning in 2014, a project commemorating the First World War involved tree planting and the establishment of new woodland sites across the UK. The planned sites were Langley Vale Wood (England), Dreghorn Woods (Scotland), Coed Ffos Las (Wales), and Brackfield Wood (Northern Ireland).{{cite web|last1=Woodland Trust|title=First World War Centenary Woods|url=http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/support-us/support-an-appeal/centenary-woods/|website=woodlandtrust.org.uk|access-date=10 October 2016}}

As part of the project, the Woodland Trust entered a partnership with the National Football Museum to create team groves to commemorate all the professional football players involved in the First World War, giving supporters the chance to dedicate trees at the English Centenary Wood, Langley Vale in Epsom.{{cite web|last1=Woodland Trust|title=For Club and Country – Remembering the Greater Game|url=https://www.forclubandcountry.org.uk/|website=forclubandcountry.org.uk|access-date=10 October 2016}}

This citizen science project encourages members of the public to record the signs of the seasons near to them in order to show and assess the impact of climate change on the UK's wildlife.{{cite web|last1=Woodland Trust|title=The Nature's Calendar Survey|url=http://www.naturescalendar.org.uk/|website=naturescalendar.org.uk|access-date=10 October 2016}} Thousands of volunteers send in their sightings, providing evidence about how wildlife is responding to the changing climate.

The Trust's records date back to 1736, making it the longest written biological record of its kind.{{cite web|last1=Garforth|first1=Judith|title=Nature's Calendar: How your records are used|url=https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blogs/woodland-trust/2016/06/natures-calendar-data-uses/|website=woodlandtrust.org.uk|access-date=11 October 2016}} It has become a powerful tool in assessing the impact of climate change and is valued by research scientists.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}

The Ancient Tree Inventory is a project run by the Woodland Trust in partnership with the Tree Register and the Ancient Tree Forum, which aims to record ancient, veteran and notable trees in the United Kingdom. {{As of|2022}}, over 180,000 trees have been recorded by members of the public on the project's website, which provides a map of the trees.{{cite web |title=Ancient Tree Inventory |url=https://ati.woodlandtrust.org.uk/ |access-date=2 March 2022 |website=Woodland Trust}}

File:Thames Chase at Belhus - geograph.org.uk - 35419.jpg, Essex]]

File:Lineover Woods - geograph.org.uk - 43919.jpg SSSI, Gloucestershire]]

Woods that the trust owns and looks after include:

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• Denge Wood, Kent
• Dick Buck's Burrows, Cromer, Norfolk{{cite web|title=Dick Buck's Burrows woodland|url=http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/woodfile/278/management-plan.pdf?cb=c05a467e03844281aa1be381ea89d309|publisher=The Woodland trust|access-date=23 August 2014}}
• Five Ponds Copse, Cheshire
• Folke Wood, Dorset
• Friezland Wood, Kent
• Furzehill Wood, Dorset
• Garratts Wood, Somerset{{cite web|title=Garratts Wood, a Woodland Trust Wood|url=http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/en/our-woods/Pages/wood-details.aspx?wood=4251|publisher=Woodland Trust|access-date=2 August 2012}}
• Great Wood, Felbrigg Estate, Norfolk{{cite web|title=Great Wood – Felbrigg Estate|url=http://visitwoods.org.uk/en/visit-woods/Pages/wood-details.aspx?wood=26610&site=Felbrigg-Estate---Great-Wood#.U_gwLsWwLYg|work=Details of Great Wood – Felbrigg|publisher=The Woodland Trust|access-date=23 August 2014}}
• Hack Fall Wood, North Yorkshire{{cite web |title=Hackfall Woods |url=https://www.visitharrogate.co.uk/things-to-do/hackfall-woods-p1219791 |website=visitharrogate.co.uk |publisher=Visit Harrogate |access-date=6 January 2020}}
• Heartwood Forest, Hertfordshire
• Joyden's Wood, Kent
• Lineover Wood SSSI, Gloucestershire{{cite web|url=http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/Special/sssi/sssi_details.cfm?sssi_id=1002850 |title=Natural England - SSSIs : SSSI information |publisher=Sssi.naturalengland.org.uk |date=1 November 2012 |access-date=26 November 2012}}
• Oldmoor Wood, Nottinghamshire
• Oxmoor Copse, Surrey
• Philipshill Wood, Buckinghamshire
• Pretty Corner Wood, Sheringham, Norfolk{{cite web|title=Pretty Corner Wood|url=http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/mediafile/100047973/pretty-corner-site-leaflet.pdf|work=Information Leaflet about the woodland|publisher=Woodland Trust, North Norfolk Council|access-date=23 August 2014}}
• Skipton Wood, North Yorkshire
• Tarn Wadling, Cumbria{{cite web |url=https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/woods/tarn-wadling/ |title=

Tarn Wadling: High Hesket Armathwaite |accessdate=8 January 2023 |publisher=Woodland Trust}}

• Uffmoor Wood, Worcestershire
• Warren Wood, Norfolk{{cite web|title=Warren Wood – Cromer|url=http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/wood/24819/warren-wood/|work=Details of Warren Wood near Cromer, Norfolk|publisher=The Woodland Trust|access-date=23 August 2014}}
• Whittaker Wood, Greater Manchester
• Whittlewood Forest, Northamptonshire
• Weybourne Wood, Weybourne, Norfolk{{cite web|title=Weybourne Wood|url=http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/wood/10757/weybourne-wood/|work=Details of Weybourne Wood near Weybourne Norfolk|publisher=The Woodland Trust|access-date=23 August 2014}}
• West Runton, West Runton, Norfolk{{cite web|title=West Runton Wood|url= http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/wood/26855/west-runton/|work=Details of West Runton Wood|publisher=The Woodland Trust|access-date=23 August 2014}}
• Wychwood, Oxfordshire

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• Backmuir Wood, Angus
• Glen Finglas Estate, the Trossachs

• Coed Felinrhyd & Llennyrch{{cite web|last1=Devine|first1=Darren|title=The spectacular Welsh rainforest bought for £1m for the nation thanks to a major bequest|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/spectacular-welsh-rainforest-bought-1m-10664019|website=Wales Online|date=30 December 2015|access-date=11 October 2016}}
• Coed Ffos Las{{cite web|title=Coed Ffos Las|url=http://gov.wales/topics/environmentcountryside/forestry/plantatree/visitplantsite/coed-ffos-las/?lang=en|website=gov.wales|access-date=11 October 2016}}

• Brackfield Wood{{cite web|title=Brackfield Wood, Northern Ireland|url=https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/support-us/support-an-appeal/centenary-woods/northern-ireland/|website=woodlandtrust.org.uk|access-date=11 October 2016}}
• Monkstown Wood{{cite web|title=Monkstown Wood|url=https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/wood/5258/monkstown-wood/|website=woodlandtrust.org.uk|access-date=11 October 2016}}

• Forestry in the United Kingdom
• Forestry Commission
• The Big Tree Plant
• The Tree Council
• The Tree Register

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Woodland Trust}}

• {{Official website}}
• {{EW charity|294344|The Woodland Trust}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Nature conservation organisations based in the United Kingdom

Category:Environmental charities based in the United Kingdom

Category:Forests and woodlands of England

Category:Organisations based in Lincolnshire

Category:Environmental organizations established in 1972

Category:1972 establishments in the United Kingdom

Category:South Kesteven District