Purpose

Making places better with trees

Community Forests exist where the need is greatest; through more trees and accessible woodlands, they contribute to healthier, more liveable and more economically rewarding places. Trees are the route to a range of ecosystem services that support communities’ resilience and ability to recover.

Real places and spaces that people can spend time

They have boundaries and spatial plans, so they can work with planning authorities. The Forest boundaries define the areas of need and provides an opportunity to engage a range of local partners. They also provide a means to target resources.

Connecting people and place

They engage people through place making and place being. They improve access to treescapes, which in turn improve people’s health and wellbeing. By connecting with place making they support a sense of purpose and community empowerment. Community Forests also enable people to get involved, and through the simple act of planting and nurturing a tree, they can connect to their environment in a powerful way.

Large-scale mosaics within landscape scale areas

Within the Community Forests boundaries, England’s Community Forests work at many different scales. Projects of all sizes and scope happen within the Community Forest areas and the decision on what is an appropriate scale for the Community Forest will be based on local perception and decision.