Creating A Wildlife Haven - Woodlands

I think we can all probably agree that woodlands are havens for wildlife, from the smallest insects to birds and mammals, creating a woodland is a fantastic way to help the local fauna and flora. A single large native oak tree supports hundreds of species, now imagine what you can create with 100’s of trees… But, how do you go about it? What trees do you need? How much land should you have as a minimum? How expensive is it going to be? Is there funding available to help meet the costs?

Land Requirements & Types of Trees

Everyone can plant trees, of course, and this is something that we would thoroughly encourage. From schools and urban spaces to gardens and farms there is always a need for more wildlife and plating trees is a fantastic way to do encourage that. Before you begin planting we would suggest seeking advice from a local land manager who will advise you of the best type of trees for the space, soil and habitat you are trying to create. For example, we suggest planting native fruit or nut species to create food sources for wildlife in urban environments.

The UK only has 13% woodland coverage in comparison to the average of 37% coverage for other countries across Europe.  James is currently working in partnership with The Woodland Trust to help increase the levels of medium (250+ trees) and large (500+ trees) scale woodlands across the Cotswolds and Oxfordshire. These types of larger scale projects require a minimum 1.25 acres of land to plant effectively.

Cost implications & Funding

There are currently several ways in which James Gillies Consultancy in partnership with The Woodland Trust can help with the cost of creating a woodland. We have detailed the three most popular options below…

For more information please see the links below, alternatively email james@james-gillies.com and we will be happy to discuss the details of any grant funding that may be suitable for your project.

James is proud to work in partnership with The Woodland Trust and is happy to consult on any woodland creation project. We also can help with creating woodlands in conjunction with wildflower meadows, wetlands and farming projects.

Links To Grant Providers

www.gov.uk/government/collections/countryside-stewardship-get-paid-for-environmental-land-management#higher-tier

www.forestry.gov.uk/england-grants

www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant-trees