10 highlights of 2019

1. We continued to grow the Forest with 180 acres of new land acquired at sites in Ullenhall, Gorcott Hill and near Tanworth in Arden. We are succeeding in building a three year land bank to secure the future of the Forest.
2. Young Foresters, our monthly volunteering and adventure group for young people aged 12-18, was launched and had a successful first year. As one of our supporters exclaimed: “Awesome group! You have kept my 13 year old and 3 of his mates engaged and keen to go every month since you started! Not always an easy task with teenagers!”
3. Our amazing army of volunteers spent an incredible 5,864 hours helping us with all aspects of creating and managing the Forest, including tree planting, wildlife surveying and assisting with our education programmes.
4. Brown hairstreak butterfly eggs were discovered in three separate areas of the Forest.
5. 2019 saw our most varied and full events programme yet which encouraged more people than ever to visit the Forest. New events led by members of our expert team proved popular, as well as returning favourites including the Garden of Heroes and Villains.
6. Children spent a total of 12,979 hours in the Forest, learning outside the classroom and connecting with nature.
7. We proudly became one of the first organisations in the country to welcome a new Forestry Apprentice. Creating and nurturing this huge Forest requires a knowledgeable and passionate team, so we continue to invest in our forestry staff and in the foresters of the future.
8. We commenced a new recruitment process to encourage new trustees to join our Board, bringing their expertise to our ambitious charity to help us achieve our vision of creating and protecting a 30,000 acre native broadleaf woodland.
9. We fulfilled our pledge to involve young people in planting 1000 trees during the Year of Green Action 2019. Read the full article.
10. Our first accessible walk in the Forest was created and will be open to the public this month. This trail will enable people who might find woodland visits difficult to benefit from time spent in the Forest.

The Forest so far

We have planted 1.8 million trees and the Forest covers a mosaic of habitats across 6,000 acres. In addition to 4,000 acres of woodland creation, we also manage 550 acres of beautiful established and ancient woodland.

Thanks to your support we are creating tomorrow’s great native woodland, and we can’t wait to see what we can achieve with your help in 2020.

Help us grow the Forest in 2020

Protecting and investing in our natural environment has never been more important. With your support we can achieve even more this year. Find out how you can support the Forest.