eAlert: 8 February 2023
Published 8 February 2023
Applies to England
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1. Local Authority Treescapes Fund and Urban Tree Challenge Fund reopen
Find out how to apply.
The Urban Tree Challenge Fund (round 5) and Local Authorities Treescapes Fund (round 3) have reopened for applications which will see hundreds of thousands of trees planted in communities across England. Over £14m will be available for local authorities and community groups to access funds for new tree planting projects. The funds will level up access to nature across the country, planting trees in socially deprived urban areas with low canopy cover, increasing wellbeing and biodiversity across the country.
Local Authority Treescapes Fund
The Local Authority Treescapes Fund (LATF) will see local authorities drive an increase in non-woodland tree planting across our landscapes. Now entering its third round of funding, LATF will for the first time welcome individual applications from Borough, District and City Councils, as well as County Councils, Unitary and Metropolitan Boroughs. Previously, these local authorities needed to form groups with each other or County Councils in order to apply.
Urban Tree Challenge Fund
The Urban Tree Challenge Fund (UTCF) levels up access to nature across the country, planting trees in socially deprived urban areas with low canopy cover, in proximity to healthcare and educational facilities. The fund is open to anyone with management control of the land. UTCF has also introduced important changes and will now provide 80% funding of standard costs for planting large trees and their establishment costs for 3 years following planting, compared to funding 50% of standard costs in previous rounds. Funding for trial pits is also available for the first time.
There are several key differences between the Local Authority Treescapes Fund and the Urban Tree Challenge Fund. You can read our blog: What you need to know before applying for the Local Authority Treescapes Fund and the Urban Tree Challenge Fund which outlines these differences and offers guidance on how to apply for both funds.
Applications for both funds are now open and will remain open year round. The Forestry Commission strongly encourage applications during the spring/early summer so successful applicants can start their planting later this year, and funding will be allocated to successful applicants on a first-come-first-serve basis. For more information and to apply, visit GOV.UK:
2. Improvements made to the Tree Health Pilot scheme
Find out what improvements have been made.
This week Defra have updated the Tree Health Pilot to improve the support available to farmers and land managers dealing with tree pest and disease issues. Read more in their blog: Improvements made to the Tree Health Pilot following a successful first year.
The innovative Pilot, running between 2021 and 2024, provides land managers with grants, guidance and advice to reduce the impacts of tree pests and diseases and build the resilience of England’s trees, woodlands and forests ahead of the roll-out of a future nationwide Tree Health Scheme. The Pilot is currently available in London, the South East, the North West and the West Midlands.
Following a successful first year, in which more than 80 expressions of interest were received, Defra has worked with the Forestry Commission to extensively evaluate user feedback and make several key changes to the scheme.
Key changes are:
- increased payment rates for the Tree Health Pilot in line with rises for Countryside Stewardship
- simplified forms will mean swifter action to reduce the spread of tree pests and diseases and quicker access to payments
- introduced new biosecurity advice package for grant holders covers training and assistance with creating bespoke biosecurity management plan
Read this helpful blog post about the announcement for more detail and learn how the new payments process works and the maximum cap is calculated, please visit the Tree Health Pilot guidance page on GOV.UK.
If you think you might be eligible, get in touch now! Check your eligibility and apply on GOV.UK
3. It’s National Apprenticeship week!
Follow our Twitter takeover.
On Friday 10 February, Forestry Apprentice Tom will be taking over our Twitter channel as part of National Apprenticeship Week. Follow us over on Twitter @Forestrycomm to see what he gets up to…
We are very proud of our Development Woodland Officer programme, which is open for its second year of applications! Find out more and apply before 26 February on GOV.UK: Apply for a Forestry Apprenticeship
4. Free practical forestry training courses made available
New Forestry Training Fund.
Funding for courses teaching skills like chainsaw maintenance, coppicing, woodland management, and marketing and selling timber, is now available.
The Forestry Training Fund is for people considering a change of career or those who are seeking to build and diversify their skills in forestry. The UK forestry and primary wood processing sectors support 32,000 jobs and contribute £2 billion to the economy every year, whilst secondary wood processing businesses support a further 60,000 jobs.
The government has committed to increasing tree-planting across the UK to 30,000 hectares a year by the end of the Parliament to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
The short, practical training courses will be paid for a by £700,000 allocation from the £750m Nature for Climate Fund and will help grow the forestry sector so that we have enough people with the right skills to plan, plant and manage new woodlands.
Examples of courses which are covered by the fund include:
- coppicing
- chainsaw maintenance and cross-cutting
- managing your woodland
- planning and planting a new woodland
- marketing and selling timber
- fencing and hedge laying
We are offering 100% funding for eligible courses and expect grants to be in the range of £150-£3,000. Funding will be paid directly to the training provider. Applications for funding to cover training courses can be made multiple times as long as it can be demonstrated that individual courses are developing a person’s career.
Courses will be available until March 2025. Applications are open from today. To apply for funding visit GOV.UK: Forestry Training Fund
If you are a training provider and would like to be added to the register of providers for the Forestry Training Fund, please contact enquiries@ftfund.co.uk
5. Morrisons supermarket supports tree planting
Read our new case study.
Find out how Morrisons supermarket are employing Tree Advisors to support UK farmers and net zero ambitions.
6. Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier application window opens for 2024 agreements
Find out how to apply.
Yesterday (7 February), the RPA and Defra announced that applications are now open for Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier agreements - starting from 1 January 2024. Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier offers multi-year agreements and one-off grants for over 250 different actions farmers and land managers can take to enhance the environment alongside their farming business, from planting and maintaining new hedgerows or woodland through to restoring peatland and moorlands.
For woodland management, farmers and land managers need to have a woodland management plan approved by the Forestry Commission to enter the woodland improvement option. For woodland Higher tier includes the woodland improvement option plus 4 supplements and a range of capital items.
There have been a number of changes to the scheme and those most relevant to woodland include a new capital item for Squirrel traps, a new Higher Tier capital offer and capital agreements for 3 years not 2, plus additional of various Historic Environment and Access options for woodland managers to select.
If farmers and land managers would like more information, they can contact the RPA or speak to a Natural England or Forestry Commission adviser.
Applications for Higher Tier and will remain open until 28 April 2023. You can read more on the announcement on the press release, or read the applicants guide and how to apply on GOV.UK: Higher Tier grants 2023: Countryside Stewardship.
Read more and find out how to apply on GOV.UK: Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier application window opens for 2024 agreements.
7. Sir William Worsley has been reappointed as Chair of the Forestry Commission
Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey today (Monday 6 February 2023) confirmed that Sir William Worsley has been reappointed, by way of Royal Warrant, as Chair of Forestry Commission for a second term. His second term will run for three years from 10 February 2023 to 9 February 2026.
Sir William will continue to lead the work of the Forestry Commission, which has a vital role in delivering ambitious plans for England’s forests and woodlands.
Read more in our press release
8. Landscape Recovery Market engagement webinar
Read to find out more.
Following the success of the first round of Landscape Recovery, last week Defra announced that the second round of Landscape Recovery will open this spring.
Part of the environmental land management schemes, round two of Landscape Recovery will focus on projects of at least 500 hectares targeting net zero, protected sites and habitat creation. This could include landscape scale projects creating and enhancing woodland, peatland, nature reserves and protected sites such as ancient woodlands, wetlands and salt marshes. All projects will also be assessed for the benefits they will deliver for a wider range of objectives such as water quality and social outcomes.
There’s more information available in the Future Farming blog: Landscape Recovery: get ready for the second round, including details about a series of webinars in the coming weeks to provide more information about this exciting opportunity. We encourage all potential applicants to attend.
9. Please re-subscribe to keep receiving the Forestry Commission eAlert
Find out what you need to do.
In the next month we will be updating the way we send out emails.
You will need to renew your subscription through our new sign up form, using the link below so that you’ll continue to get information tailored to your interests from us.
Thank you to those of you that have already re-subscribed – we’ll be sending a separate email reminder about this later in the week.
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10. Visit our stand at the Low Carbon Agricultural Show at the National Agriculture and Exhibition Centre (NAEC), Stoneleigh
We are at the Low Carbon Agricultural Show today – visit our stand 406.
7-8 February 2023, Warwickshire
The Forestry Commission will be exhibiting at Low Carbon Agriculture, the new event showcasing opportunities in low carbon energy, technological advances and Environmental Land Management (ELM), for a profitable and sustainable future in farming. Launching at the National Agriculture and Exhibition Centre (NAEC), Stoneleigh. For more information go to Low Carbon Agriculture Show 2023.