Working with farmers

England’s Community Forests work with a vast and varied range of landowners, partners, and others to increase the nation’s tree cover. This includes supporting hundreds of farmers across the country to successfully plan and plant trees in ways that improve and enhance their farming businesses.

Our Local Woodland Creation Officers, who have years of experience and expertise, build close relationships with farmers to understand their unique needs and requirements, and to ensure that tree planting works for them, as well as benefitting the local environment.

While we encourage farmers to plant trees on land that is less productive or not in use, we also support farmers to plant in ways that improve the productive use of their land.

Examples of the kind of enhancements that tree planing can bring to a farming business might include: the provision of shade and shelter for livestock; planting along waterways to reduce flood risk; or creating new areas of mixed woodland to enhance biodiversity.

Find out more in our video case studies below: