Woodland Trust facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Woodland Trust

Formation	1972
Legal status	Non-profit company and registered charity
Purpose	Woodland conservation
Location	Kempton Way, Grantham, Lincolnshire, England, NG31 6LL
Region served	UK
Membership	300,000
Chief Executive	Darren Moorcroft
Main organ	Board of Trustees
Budget	£82.5 million

The Woodland Trust is the biggest charity in the United Kingdom that works to protect woodlands. It focuses on creating new woods, keeping old ones safe, and bringing back native woodlands. Since 1972, this charity has planted more than 50 million trees!

The Woodland Trust has three main goals. First, they want to protect ancient woodlands because these are rare and special places that cannot be replaced. Second, they work to fix ancient woodlands that have been damaged. Third, they plant native trees and create new woods to help both people and wildlife.

The Woodland Trust owns and looks after over 1,000 sites. These sites cover more than 247 square kilometers (95 square miles). About one-third of this land is ancient woodland. The charity makes sure that people can visit and enjoy their woods.

The Story of the Woodland Trust

A sign for the Woodland Trust in Ireland Wood, West Yorkshire.

The Woodland Trust started in 1972 in Devon, England. It was founded by Kenneth Watkins, a farmer who had retired.

The first piece of land the Trust bought was part of the Avon Valley Woods in Devon. By 1977, they owned 22 woods in six different areas. In 1978, the charity moved its main office to Grantham in Lincolnshire. They also announced plans to work all across the UK. In 1984, Balmacaan Wood, next to Loch Ness, became their first wood in Scotland.

From 2005 to 2008, the Woodland Trust worked with the BBC on their Springwatch TV show. They also helped with the BBC's Breathing Places events, which took place in woods. The Trust still works with Springwatch and Autumnwatch. In 2015, they were part of the Big Spring Watch. This project encouraged viewers to record signs of nature, like when flowers bloom. This is part of the Trust's Nature's Calendar project.

Woodland Trust Locations

As of 2016, the Woodland Trust had over 80 woods in Scotland. These woods cover about 85 square kilometers (21,000 acres).

In Wales, the Trust bought Coed Lletywalter in Snowdonia National Park in 1980. This area is about 38 hectares (94 acres). By 2016, the Trust had more than 100 woods in Wales.

Work began in Northern Ireland in 1996. The charity received money to create over 50 community woods. This project was called "Woods on Your Doorstep."

Where the Main Office Is

The Woodland Trust's first employee and director was John James. The charity had a small office in Grantham, Lincolnshire. The current chief executive is Darren Moorcroft.

A new, eco-friendly main office was finished in 2010. It cost £5.1 million to build. The building was designed to use natural light and keep warm or cool naturally. This design helps save energy. The timber structure also saved a lot of carbon compared to a concrete building.

How the Woodland Trust Works

The Woodland Trust's main office is in Grantham, Lincolnshire. They also have smaller offices in other parts of the UK. About 300 people work at the Grantham headquarters. Clive Anderson has been the charity's president since 2003. In 2016, Barbara Young, Baroness Young of Old Scone became the Chair of the charity.

How They Get Money

The Woodland Trust gets money from many different places. This includes fees from its members, gifts left in wills, and donations from people. They also get support from companies, grants, and other charities. Sometimes, they receive money from lottery funds and landfill tax.

What the Woodland Trust Does

The Woodland Trust uses its knowledge to help others protect woodlands. This includes working with the government, other landowners, and similar organizations. They also campaign to stop harmful building projects from destroying ancient woodland. The Trust runs projects like the Nature Detectives youth program. This program helps schools learn about how seasons affect woodlands. They also have the Ancient Tree Hunt campaign.

Protecting Woodlands

The Trust looks after more than 1,000 woods and groups of woods. These cover over 190 square kilometers (73 square miles). Nearly 350 of these sites contain ancient woodland. About 70% of this is "semi-natural ancient woodland." This means the land has had trees on it since at least the year 1600. The Trust also manages over 110 Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Currently, more than 600 ancient woods in the UK are at risk.

Creating New Woodlands

The Trust has also created many new woodlands. They have planted over 32 square kilometers (12 square miles) of new woods. This includes 250 new community woods in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Their biggest projects include the 41.7 square kilometer (16.1 square mile) Glen Finglas Estate in the Trossachs, Scotland. Another big project is the Heartwood Forest near St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. This forest will cover about 3.47 square kilometers (1.34 square miles). The Trust owns 20 sites in the National Forest. They also have twelve sites in Community Forests in England.

The Woodland Trust also gives free trees to communities and schools. This helps them create new woodlands.

Projects They Have Finished

Millennium Woods

The "Woods on Your Doorstep" project created 250 "Millennium woods." These woods celebrated the year 2000.

Trafalgar Woods

As part of the "Tree For All" campaign, new woods were planted to mark 200 years since the Battle of Trafalgar in 2005. One important wood was Victory Wood in Kent.

Jubilee Woods

Oxmoor Copse in Surrey.

The Trust ran the Jubilee Woods project. The goal was to plant 6 million trees and create 60 special "Diamond" woods across the UK. This was part of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012. The biggest of these woods is the Flagship Diamond Wood in the National Forest in Leicestershire. The Trust owns and manages this wood, and it will have 300,000 trees.

First World War Centenary Woods

Starting in 2014, a project honored the First World War. It involved planting trees and setting up new woodlands across the UK. The planned sites were Langley Vale Wood (England), Dreghorn Woods (Scotland), Coed Ffos Las (Wales), and Brackfield Wood (Northern Ireland).

As part of this project, the Woodland Trust worked with the National Football Museum. They created "team groves" to remember all the professional football players who were in the First World War. Supporters could dedicate trees at the English Centenary Wood, Langley Vale.

Ongoing Projects

Nature's Calendar

This is a "citizen science" project. It asks people to record signs of the seasons where they live. This helps show how climate change is affecting UK wildlife. Thousands of volunteers send in their observations. This provides important information about how wildlife is reacting to a changing climate.

The Trust's records go back to 1736. This makes it the longest written record of its kind. It is a powerful tool for studying climate change. Research scientists find it very valuable.

Ancient Tree Inventory

The Ancient Tree Inventory is a project run by the Woodland Trust. They work with The Tree Register and the Ancient Tree Forum. The goal is to record ancient, veteran, and important trees in the United Kingdom. As of 2022, people have recorded over 180,000 trees on the project's website. The website also has a map of these trees.

Woods Owned by the Trust

Woodland near South Ockendon in Essex.

Lineover Wood SSSI in Gloucestershire Cotswolds.

Here are some of the woods the Trust owns and looks after:

England

Scotland

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

Wales

• Coed Felinrhyd & Llennyrch
• Coed Ffos Las

Northern Ireland

• Brackfield Wood
• Monkstown Wood

Related Topics

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