Why is our work important?
Research has shown how trees provide a wide range of benefits to people, nature, climate, and environment – with woodlands often found to be more beneficial for health than other types of greenspaces.
Amongst the many benefits of trees and woodlands, they:
People
- Improve mental health, reducing stress levels and promoting wellbeing.
- Act as a barrier to the visual and noise impacts of the built environment, with the complexity and diversity of woodland promoting fascination and distraction from mental discomfort.
- Benefit physical health, with lower incidences of mortality, respiratory problems and health costs arising from air pollution in areas with a high proportion of woodland.
- Lower incidences of obesity and heart failure in areas with a high proportion of woodland, which was not the case for other types of greenspaces.
- Reduce harmful exposure to ultraviolet rays and heat-related illnesses.
- Positively impact on levels of physical activity in urban areas, particularly for active travel and children’s play.
- Benefit children’s cognitive and emotional learning through forest schools, with trees promoting a range of play-based behaviours.
- Bring more character, attract more visits and drive higher customer expenditure in shopping areas.
- Generally increase property values where street trees are present.
- Provide a range of cultural and aesthetic values, including archaeological and heritage features and inspiring artists.
- Support livestock welfare through agroforestry by providing shelter.
Nature, climate and environment
- Support nature, with mature woodland and woodland remnants on farms shown to be particularly important for biodiversity.
- Benefit pollinators and natural predators in arable farms.
- Benefit aquatic biodiversity by reducing river temperatures.
- Lower the risks of surface water flooding and runoff in urban and rural areas, helping to prevent flooding and improve water quality.
- Improve soil health by reducing soil erosion and compaction.
- Sequester substantial amounts of carbon in biomass and soils, and in urban trees.
- Reduce urban air pollution by absorbing gases, capturing particulates and altering ambient airflow.
- Mitigate the urban heat island effect.
- Reduce energy consumption for heating and cooling buildings by providing shade, reducing wind exposure, and through the cooling effects of water evaporation.




Community Forest Case Studies

Ravenshall School
White Rose Forest.
Trees for Climate, Year 4.
Planting edible hedgerows and trees at a special school in Dewsbury.

Eastham Country Park
The Mersey Forest.
Trees for Climate, Year 4.
Community work together to introduce more trees to popular country park.

Shaw Forest Park
Great Western Community Forest
Trees for Climate, Year 4.
Partnership working to increase community woodland at Shaw Forest Park in Swindon.

Bodmin Park
Forest of Mercia.
Trees for Climate, Year 4.
Two days on planting in Bodmin Park

Flitwick Nature Park
Forest of Marston Vale.
Trees for Climate, Year 4.
A new community space for people and nature.

Court Farm
Forest of Avon.
Trees for Climate, Year 4.
9.4ha site situated in Somerset, part of the Forest of Avon.

Union Close
City of Trees.
Trees for Climate, Year 4.
City of Trees worked with social housing provider, Onward Homes, to plant woodlands at three of their sites in Greater Manchester.

Coxmoor Golf Club
Greenwood Community Forest.
Trees for Climate, Year 4.
Increasing woodland and healthy wood pasture habitat with volunteers.

Highfield House
Humber Forest.
Trees for Climate, Year 4.
Creating a haven for wildlife on neighbouring land.

Lower Knole Farm / Co-forest
Forest of Avon.
Trees for Climate, Year 2.
Creating the first ‘flagship’ forest with Co-forest in Almondsbury, Bristol.

Newcastle Airport
North East Community Forest.
Trees for Climate, Year 2.
More than 8,000 native trees and shrubs planted in partnership with Newcastle International Airport.

Pavers Foundation Forest
White Rose Forest.
Trees for Climate, Year 2.
1170 native trees were planted and a wildflower meadow and wetland area created by local volunteers on this 1.2 hectare site near York.