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Over £400,000 awarded to create a 60 mile wildlife corridor

Coopers Hill (c) Nathan Millar

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust receives £498,902 for the Severn Treescapes project, which will create a corridor of enhanced tree cover and connect two of England’s largest woodlands.

Our Severn Treescapes project has been awarded a grant from the £6 million Trees Call to Action Fund, led by Defra, the Forestry Commission and The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Severn Treescapes will create a 60 mile corridor of enhanced tree cover to connect two of England’s largest semi-natural woodlands - crossing Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. The corridor will stretch from the Lower Wye Valley and Forest of Dean in the south, to the Wyre Forest in the north. 

This project will build on remaining pockets of ancient woodland to create a climate resilient landscape, all within 30 miles of the homes of around 8 million people.

Woman standing beneath tree looking up

Woman beneath tree (c) Matthew Roberts

The funding will enable us to work with Worcestershire Wildlife Trust and Herefordshire Wildlife Trust to provide a team of on the ground advisors, as well as a series of informative events, best practice visits, community engagement opportunities, grants advice and applications assistance.

The advisors will be on hand to support land managers, farmers and communities to access funding to plant and/or grow and manage woodlands and trees across this landscape. Advice on managing and improving existing woodland and hedgerows will also be available.

The Trees Call to Action Fund supports projects that protect trees and woodlands, boost forestry skills and jobs, develop woodland creation partnerships, and engage communities with nature. The fund will distribute grants between £250,000 - £500,000 to be spent over three years, funding 12 projects across England.

The Severn Treescapes project will demonstrate that increasing woodland connectivity at a regional scale, whether through woodlands, hedgerows, orchards, agroforestry and other tree systems, can work alongside productive agricultural systems. Not only maintaining productivity, but benefiting biodiversity and tackling the impacts of climate change. This project will sow the seeds of improvements for future generations to enjoy.
Dr Juliet Hynes, GWT’s Ecological Evidence Manager

The other projects funded through this year’s Trees Call to Action Fund include six new Woodland Creation Partnerships across rural and urban areas; two projects to develop the skills and workforce of the trees and forestry sector; and three projects that engage people, by planting an NHS forest, engaging farmers to improve woodland condition, and restoring England’s hedgerows. All projects funded will support progress towards achieving the key objectives of the England Trees Action Plan – the Government’s long-term plans for England’s trees, woodlands and forests.

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