Nottinghamshire County Council's plan to plant thousands of trees given £1.7m boost

Ambitious plans to plant 250,000 trees across the county have secured £1.7m from the government.

Nottinghanshire County Council's plan aims to see the 250,000 trees planted by 2027.

Greenwood Community Forest will manage the £1.7m grant through the national Trees for Climate programme, funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The council’s environment ambassador, Mike Adams, said: “It is terrific our council has secured this funding worth nearly £2m from the government’s Nature for Climate Fund for our tree-planting campaign across Greenwood Community Forest.

“Our target to plant 250,000 trees across the next five years is ambitious, but we’ve had a flying start, and I’m looking forward to getting many more trees into the ground over the next year.

“These trees will bring many rewards for local communities, including improving people’s health and wellbeing, providing a store carbon, and helping mitigate climate change.”

The council is currently examining sites within the Greenwood Community for planting over the next year after securing the funding from the government.

It is hoped that approximately 90 hectares of natural woodland will be planted over the 2022-23 planting season, starting in November 2022 and ending in March 2023.

Landowners and farmers within Greenwood Community Forest can help the campaign by offering their land for planting ­— the council can provide grants that cover up to 100% of tree planting costs and 15 years of maintenance costs.

Tom Smith, Greenwood Community Forest champion, said: “We’re urging any individual or organisation with land suitable for tree planting within the forest and interested in getting involved in the next phase of planting to get in touch with our team.

“Our planting efforts so far have been great success stories, with thousands of trees efficiently planted at sites including the ex-Rufford Colliery in Rainworth, Bestwood Country Park and Vicar Water Country Park.

“Landowners and managers with green space available for this exciting project will be helping create well-designed and diverse woodlands, more resilient to climate change and natural hazards such as wildfire and storms. "

If you are an individual or organisation with land suitable for tree planting in the next phase and are interested in getting involved, please contact us at 0115 9932 600 or greenwood@nottscc.gov.uk for further information.