A new coastal community forest will be created in Cumbria to help bring people closer to nature, Defra, England’s Community Forest and Cumbria County Council announced today as National Tree Week begins, under plans to level up communities across the UK.

Up to 150 hectares (or around 210 football pitches) of trees, woodlands and forests will be planted, with the equivalent of one tree planted for every resident in Copeland, Barrow and Allerdale over the next five years. Ultimately, the aim is to create a minimum of 5,000 hectares of new woodland along a 56 mile stretch of the western coast of Cumbria over the next 25 years – that’s the size of almost 7,000 football pitches.

The project has received a £220,000 boost from Defra’s Nature for Climate Fund to kickstart planting in the next year. By growing trees where they are most needed, corridors of woodlands will be created along the west coast of Cumbria from Barrow to Carlisle which will better connect 65 miles of coastal communities to nature, helping people to enjoy the benefits of being out close to trees and woodlands.

The proposed area of Cumbria where the forest will be planted has high levels of economic and social deprivation and only 9.9% woodland cover – 3% below the national average, and so the new forest will contribute towards the government’s mission to level up across the country by improving living standards and wellbeing, increasing access to nature and providing job opportunities in new woodland creation through planting, establishing and managing trees in rural and urban settings.

The Government is committed to trebling tree planting rates by the end of this Parliament. The England Trees Action Plan, published earlier this year, sets out plans to deliver unprecedented rates of tree planting, helping to create diverse treescapes across the country which will benefit wildlife, the environment and people’s wellbeing. This is the third new Community Forest to be created this year, along with Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest and the North East Community Forest, fulfilling a key commitment set out in the England Trees Action Plan to build at least three new Community Forests where they are needed most, benefitting communities in and around towns and cities. This will help us to meet our net zero emissions target by 2050 – by 2025, England’s Community Forests will contribute over 6,700ha of woodland in total.

Lord Goldsmith, Forestry Minister, said:

This announcement further expands and strengthens England’s network of Community Forests. All across the country, we are growing more trees and woodland than ever before, including in and around some of England’s most deprived communities.

Forests are vital for the future of our planet and this exciting new project will contribute towards our commitment to treble tree planting rates by the end of this Parliament.

Sir William Worsley, Forestry Commission Chair, said:

The incredible value of trees has never been clearer, and it is my personal passion to make sure as many people as possible get to experience their benefits. This initiative will offer local opportunities for people to enjoy nature from their doorstep, providing people of all ages and abilities with fresh air and spaces to breathe.

I look forward to working with all partners involved and will ensure that, through careful planning and expert management, the trees of Cumbria and elsewhere can continue to thrive as they grow.

The new community forest will cover the districts of Barrow, Allerdale, Copeland and South Lakeland, and will be delivered by Cumbria County Council, in partnership with organisations including the Forestry Commission, Cumbria Woodlands and the National Trust.

Paul Nolan, Chair of England’s Community Forests, said:

I’m extremely pleased today to welcome Cumbria Coastal Community Forest into our thriving network of Community Forests, which reach right across the country and collectively form the largest environmental regeneration initiative in England.

Cumbria Coastal Community Forest will create corridors of connected, wildlife-rich woodland, and will ensure coastal communities from Barrow to Carlisle have better access to nature, allowing them to enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits of being out in nature. The work of this new Community Forest will also play a crucial role in tackling the local impacts of climate change, and will support the Community Forests’ collective mission to increase tree planting across the country in the next 5 years, as a key part of the government’s journey towards net zero.

England’s Community Forests look forward to working closely with all partners involved in the new Cumbria Coastal Community Forest, to help realise both local and national ambitions for environmental and social transformation through community-centred forestry.

Since the strategic England Trees Action Plan was published, more flexible grants have been introduced to offer better financial incentives for planting trees where they are most needed. This includes grants offered through England’s Community Forests’ £12 million Trees for Climate programme, funded through Defra’s Nature for Climate Fund. Further details of the Trees for Climate grants are here.

This announcement forms part of the Government’s wider action to recover and restore nature, as part of the 25 Year Environment Plan and commitments to reach net zero by 2050.

The competition, run by the UK Space Agency, is open to primary school children aged between 4 and 11 years old, and will help inspire the next generation to consider a career in space.

Next year, the UK is set to become the first country in Europe to host small satellite launches, as set out in the National Space Strategy. Satellites help us monitor climate change and improve connectivity, so having the capability to launch them from the UK will benefit people and businesses across the country.

This new competition will draw on the creativity and enthusiasm of children from across the UK to design a logo to commemorate the first launches.

Logo designs should reflect how data from small satellites can help inform solutions to climate change as well as generate a source of pride in the UK’s space ambitions. Around half of the different types of data needed to accurately monitor the Earth’s climate are currently collected from space.  

Logo Lift Off competition

Science Minister George Freeman said:

2022 will be a historic year for the UK space and satellite industry, with the exciting prospect of the first small satellites launching from British soil.

The continued strength of our growing space industry depends on finding and attracting future talent, and this competition is a great way for children to learn about the importance of satellites and to showcase their creativity.

The UK Space Agency competition will run until March 2022 to ensure teachers, parents and children have sufficient time to get involved.

The overall winning design displayed on the rocket that launches into space and finalists may even have the opportunity to attend the first satellite launch from the UK.

Ian Annett, Deputy CEO, UK Space Agency said:

Next year, small satellites will launch from UK spaceports for the very first time, helping to support our world-leading Earth observation capabilities and create high-skilled jobs across the country.

This competition offers young people the chance to learn more about this exciting activity and hopefully inspire them to be the next generation of space talent and be part of the UK’s thriving space sector.

Satellites are used routinely to monitor the polar ice caps and changing sea levels, measure the temperature of the oceans and deserts, and even to count endangered animals such as whales and walrus. The UK is playing an important role in three new missions to measure carbon emissions from space (MicroCarb), improve climate data (TRUTHS) and monitor the health of forests (Biomass).

Older students (16+) and adults can enter a separate competition to design a satellite that could be used to help inform solutions to climate change.

Hundreds of thousands of trees will be planted in communities across England thanks to funding through the Nature for Climate Fund, announced by Defra and the Forestry Commission as National Tree Week launched today (Saturday 27 November).

Over £12 million will be allocated to the successful applicants to four funds supporting tree planting efforts for future generations.

260,000 trees will be planted outside of woodlands as part of the Local Authority Treescapes Fund with 139 local authorities awarded a share of the now £4.4 million pot across 42 projects. Projects will support a variety of ways to get trees in the ground, from natural regeneration and traditional planting to community engagement.

Local residents, schools and environmental groups will come together to plant trees in shared spaces, with training provided to support community groups. These initiatives will restore trees to non-wooded areas such as riverbanks, along hedgerows, beside roads and footpaths, and within vacant community spaces – areas where treescapes are often highly degraded due to neglect, disease or historical decline.

Urban forests make our towns and cities safer, healthier and more pleasant places to be, helping boost people’s wellbeing as well as contributing towards efforts to tackle climate change. 46 projects in England planting almost 25,000 trees will be supported through the third round of the Urban Tree Challenge Fund, building upon the 134,000 trees already planted through this fund in deprived urban areas.

Also announced today, the Woods into Management Forestry Innovation Funds will distribute almost £700,000 to 17 projects restoring biodiversity in vulnerable natural habitats, helping woodlands adapt to a changing climate and aiding their recovery from the impacts of pests and diseases.

Projects will develop new business models and supply chains for ash timber, helping to restore woodlands damaged by ash dieback. Projects will also improve access to woodlands to allow for active management where previously not possible, whilst engaging with forestry businesses and conservation organisations on woodland management.

In addition, the Tree Production Innovation Fund will make over £1 million available to 16 innovative projects striving to increase and diversify our domestic tree production. Those selected include collaborations from researchers, nurseries, seed suppliers and industry, such as the Future Trees Trust, the University of Oxford and Maelor Forest Nurseries.

These projects will explore a range of novel production methods including the establishment of clonal seed orchards for oak, use of AI in advanced propagation systems and DNA finger-printing technologies for the genetic tracing of Forest Reproductive Materials (FRM), respectively.

Forestry Minister, Lord Goldsmith, said:

This targeted package of funding will help us to build back greener and regenerate natural spaces across the country for the benefit of all.

Trees are at the heart of our ambitious environmental programme, as we work to deliver on the promises we made at COP26 and treble tree planting rates by the end of this Parliament. But at the local level, trees and woodlands are the lifeblood of communities, essential to supporting wellbeing, reducing pollution and improving people’s quality of life.

Forestry Commission Chair, Sir William Worsley said:

These inspiring initiatives will help to stem the tide of biodiversity loss and promote resilient tree growth and management across the UK, whilst helping to futureproof our natural world amidst a changing climate.

Today’s funding allocation also comes alongside the launch of a third national community forest which will be created in Cumbria, marking the fulfilment of the Government’s commitment in the England Trees Action Plan to create three new community forests, and helping to deliver on the Government’s commitment to treble tree planting rates by the end of this Parliament.

The new forest planted will comprise of up to 150 hectares (or around 210 football pitches) of trees, woodlands and forests created along the west coast of Cumbria from Barrow to Carlisle which will better connect 65 miles of coastal communities to nature.

Defra and the Forestry Commission have a variety of flexible grants which offer strong financial incentives for planting trees where they are most needed. The grants cover different areas – from support to plan new woodlands, making urban areas greener, developing carbon markets, and to increase domestic planting stock – and are targeted at different audiences – including farmers and landowners, communities, eNGOs, local authorities, and individuals.

A summary of all Defra and Forestry Commission grants and support available for tree planting can be found here.

• The England Trees Action Plan committed to treble tree planting rates in England by the end of this Parliament, supported by an intended £500m from the Nature for Climate Fund. In the recently launched Net Zero Strategy (Oct 21), the Government has also announced that it will boost the Nature for Climate Fund with a further £124 million of new money, ensuring total spend of more than £750 million by 2025 on peat restoration, woodland creation and management – above and beyond what was promised in the manifesto. This will enable more opportunities for farmers and landowners to support growing trees and woodland creation.

Case study: Local Authority Treescapes Fund

• Blackburn and Darwen Borough Council, working with Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle, and Rossendale Borough Councils, plan to plant 39,400 trees across 135 sites, thanks to almost £160,000 in funding from the Local Authority Treescapes Fund. This is supported via match funding from Ribble Rivers Trust who are offering training to tree planting volunteers, and a financial contribution to help with tree costs.
• This will combat historic and ongoing losses of trees due to issues including pests and diseases.
• The project will include areas of traditional planting as well natural colonisation, whilst engaging with local schools, environment and community groups close to where the trees will be planted.
• In line with the aims of the scheme, this project will help to combat air pollution, bolster flood protections, and connect fragmented habitats.

Case studies: Urban Tree Challenge Fund

• Durham County Council will plant approximately 800 street trees over two years, as well as cover the first three years of their care, thanks to their latest bid to the UTCF. They have been successful in gaining over £334,000 of total funding over four years from the fund.
• Many of the planting sites are in neighbourhoods located in the top 10% of deprived areas nationally – others are within the top 10-30% most deprived.
• In addition, the Green Eastbourne project will plant 1000 trees across the town, specifically in areas of low canopy cover and deprivation. Local community volunteers will be involved in the planting and maintenance of the trees. The project team are creating a tree health and maintenance app for all monitoring and to record the success of the new planting.

Speaking on behalf on the UK, USA and Australia, H. E. Richard Sadleir, Resident Representative of Australia to the IAEA said: