Forest Plan / Evidence / Evidence of Tree & Woodland Benefits
Evidence of Tree & Woodland Benefits
The scope of tree and woodland benefits is vast. Over the last 30+ years England’s Community Forests (ECF) have demonstrated benefits for people, nature and climate through multi-purpose woodlands and treescapes.
In this section we identify key evidence relating to the benefits of trees and woodlands, drawn from academic and professional research, specialist publications, government materials, and publications from the ECF network. We link the evidence to the range of opportunities that Cumbria Community Forest (CCF) can provide in our local context.
In Table 5 below, we summarise the anticipated benefits of CCF. Benefits are grouped into 9 categories for ease of reference. However, some benefits fall into several categories. The benefits are described in further detail below this table.
Table 5: Summary of tree and Woodland Benefits – Cumbria Community Forest
Climate & Carbon
Sequestering and storing carbon. Contributing to UK net zero commitment and planetary health and livability.
Wildlife, Ecosystems & Soils
Improving wildlife habitats, increasing biodiversity, restoring depleted ecosystems and soils.
Products & Jobs
Tree products and forest industries. Sustainable rural economy, farm diversification, tourism, green jobs.
Learning, Training & Skills
Lifelong learning opportunities in woodlands. Developing community forest workforce.
Access to Greenspace
Bringing woodland and trees to communities. Reducing inequities of access to nature-rich places.
Health & Wellbeing
Air quality. Outdoor exercise. Mental health, connection with nature. Green social prescribing.
Transformative Inclusivity
Addressing inequities, with benefits for all.
Culture & Heritage
Woods as social and cultural places. Connecting to woodland heritage and lost treescapes.
Overall, some key reference documents we have drawn from are:
Climate & Carbon
Rapid reduction in the rate of global warming by achieving net zero carbon emissions is essential for planetary health and liveability [24]. The UK Government was the first national government to declare an environment and climate emergency, in 2019 [25] and has a legally binding target to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 [26].
Carbon sequestration and storage in trees and woodland soils are key to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions. Trees lock up (sequester) carbon from the atmosphere and deliver carbon into the soil where, with sustainable management, it is stored long-term. Even when material from a tree decays or is burnt, it can release no more carbon than it stored in its lifetime. So, woodland establishment in most locations delivers a net gain in carbon stored – except for places where there is higher carbon storage potential in the existing ecosystem, e.g. in deep peatland [27].
In England, tree/woodland cover is approximately 10% (2021 data [28]), much lower than 31% average worldwide and 39% average in the EU (2015 data [29]). The UK government has set a target to increase tree cover to 16.5% of England’s land area by 2050 [30] and set out the England Trees Action Plan 2021-2024 (Defra, 2021). Within the Cumbria Community Forest boundary, tree/woodland cover is currently 12.9%. Since 2020, over one-third of all new government-funded trees in England have been planted via England’s Community Forests [31], funded by Trees for Climate.
Trees established in suitable locations also help to mitigate effects of climate change:
In rural Cumbria, on-farm trees and hedgerows can benefit livestock by providing shelter from extreme weather, whilst upland planting helps to stabilise slopes, absorb rainfall and slow the flow of water across the landscape.
Urban areas of Cumbria benefit from flood alleviation, and trees in towns and cities provide urban cooling benefits, mitigating heatwave conditions.
Wildlife, Ecosystems & Soils
Trees are ‘foundation species’ in woodland ecosystems. They provide structure to the habitat and shape the diversity and abundance of other species in the woodland. They also dominate ecosystem processes such as nutrient and energy flows [32]
‘Foundation species define a system and are inseparable from it’
(Ellison, 2019)
Trees influence the woodland ecosystem by contributing large amounts of organic matter (fallen leaves, branches, fruit, etc.) to the soil, which adds nutrients, as well as carbon, to the soil [33].
Trees and woodlands are habitats for an enormous range of living organisms including fungi, lichen, ferns, beetles, birds and mammals. In Cumbria, they may be home to iconic wildlife such as the endangered red squirrel [34], osprey, various owl and bat species, and in some instances even pine marten [35] or beaver [36]. Woodland and hedgerows provide habitat corridors, supporting species’ movement across the landscape. The Government’s England Trees Action Plan 2021-2024 emphasises the importance of woodland creation to link existing habitats and support Nature Recovery Networks.
Trees are habitats for:
fungi
lichen
ferns
beetles
birds
mammals
Coastal temperate rainforest, also known as Atlantic rainforest or Celtic rainforest, is a habitat which (without human land uses) would naturally occur across much of the west coast of the British Isles [37]. This type of rainforest is characterised by high rainfall and mild temperatures from proximity to the ocean and prevailing south-westerly winds. It is highly biodiverse and globally rare [38]. Rich and deep soils develop in healthy temperate rainforest. Britain’s rainforests are heavily depleted: now at under 1% of our land area, they once covered approximately 20%. Some examples in Cumbria include the Borrowdale Rainforest National Nature Reserve [39], certain woodlands in the Rusland valley [40] and Ullswater valley [41], and the forthcoming restoration of over 600 acres of Skiddaw Forest [42].
Trees are important in many other ecosystems [43]. For example, trees in riparian (riverbank) ecosystems provide habitat, soil stability and shade for aquatic wildlife. Hedgerows support biodiversity, provide shelter and enrich the diet of grazing livestock. The Forestry Commission highlights that even outside large woodlands, trees and hedges can make a big impact on soil health [44]. Importantly, human management of a woodland greatly influences the biodiversity it can support [45].
Further information:
Products & Jobs
Sustainably managed woodlands can provide a long-term supply of tree products including timber, fuel and food. In Cumbria, existing forest industries include public and privately-owned woodland managed for timber and fuel; sawmills, timber merchants and haulage companies; makers of timber products, wood furniture and wood crafts; papermills; and small commercial orchards.
Examples of tree products suited to production in Cumbria include:
Timber (softwood and hardwood)
Fuel (firewood, charcoal and biomass fuel)
Fruit (especially apples, damsons) [46]
Woodland creation in England and sustainable woodland management on the scale demanded by UK government targets provides significant opportunity and need for job creation [47]. In Cumbria, this will require a larger workforce engaged in growing, planting and managing more trees, more jobs in the conservation management of woodlands, and in harvesting and processing forest products.
There are opportunities for farm diversification and sustainable farming with agroforestry which can increase the profitability [48] and resilience [49] of farm businesses and support the rural economy.
The scale of current economic activity associated with woodland recreation in Cumbria is exemplified by Forestry England’s Whinlatter and Grizedale Forest Parks, which serve local people and attract visitors. Cumbria Community Forest will extend and diversify woodland recreation opportunities in the county, with associated economic benefits. Jobs in delivering health and educational programmes and facilitating access will also be associated with Cumbria Community Forest.
The bespoke, place-based approach of Cumbria Community Forest could provide opportunities to bring woodland jobs to areas of Cumbria where unemployment is higher [50] .
Recognising Cumbria’s net migration of young adults [51], Raise: CCF will support apprenticeships and jobs with training (see below, and Action Plan), encouraging Cumbria’s young adults to stay in the county.
Learning, Training & Skills
Forest contexts can provide lifelong learning opportunities ranging from ‘forest school’ and outdoor adventure learning, to traditional skills, work-related learning, forestry professional training and self-led learning.
Defra, in the England Trees Action Plan, identifies the need to develop skills in the forestry workforce in England [52].
Locally, training is required to address skills gaps in forestry, as recommended by the Land-Based and Allied Sectors report [53] for Cumbria’s Local Skills Improvement Plan. The report identifies a local need for training in agroforestry, woodland planning, and other wide-ranging uses of forests and woodlands. It also identifies the need for training which doesn’t involve machinery, suitable for people at 16 years old or community groups. These gaps present opportunities for Cumbria Community Forest to work with partners to improve relevant skills in the county.
The Raise team have entered discussions or worked more closely with a range of organisations involved in developing the forestry workforce, including Forestry Commission, Confor, Cumbria Woodlands and University of Cumbria. Raise will continue to positively influence the provision of forestry training and jobs within the county through CCF.
Cumbria’s Land and Nature Skills Service (LANSS) connects people with work-related learning and training, including in forestry and woodlands. LANSS also works with training providers and employers to shape learning and training provision to local needs in and near Cumbria.
In support of education and outdoor learning, the Raise team have been working with local schools, academies and University of Cumbria to date. There are many opportunities to diversity our educational engagement and expand the benefits of Cumbria Community Forest by linking with education and outdoor learning providers including local authorities, academy trusts, outdoor centres and alternative education settings, organisations such as Cumbria Development Education Centre and Cumbria People and Nature Network members.
Further information:
Flood Alleviation
Cumbria is significantly affected by flood events, which impact residents, businesses and farmland, by flooding buildings and destroying infrastructure, eroding soil, reducing tourism potential, and more. Planting trees in suitable places, in rural and urban areas, can support water management in river catchments. Trees provide natural flood management (NFM) services by intercepting rain, taking up water, reducing surface water run-off, and slowing the flow of water, all of which can reduce the likelihood and amount of flooding downstream [54].
The right trees in the right place can…
Intercept rain
Absorb water
Reduce run-off
Slow the flow
…reducing chance and level of flooding downstream
In 2017, Defra, the Environment Agency, the Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales published an Evidence Directory summarising the effectiveness of NFM measures and the wider ecosystem services they provide. This will be updated with evidence gathered from a large NFM pilot programme led by the Environment Agency between 2017 to 2021, which included 60 projects and 85 partner organisations.
In September 2023, the Environment Agency and Defra announced £25 million funding to improve flood resilience through a new NFM programme which currently funds 34 projects across England, including several in Cumbria. Other projects in the county aim to address flood risk by deploying NFM measures, including Cumbria innovative flood resilience (CiFR) and the Resilient Glenderamackin Landscape Recovery Project.
Further information:
Access to Greenspace
England’s Community Forests (ECF) bring woodland and trees to communities. Most of the new woodlands planted by the ECF network have full or partial public access [55]. ECF contribute to green infrastructure (GI), in both urban and rural environments. GI can include a wide range of treescapes such as street trees, woodlands, and active travel routes incorporating trees [56].
Opportunity mapping for Cumbria Community Forest helps to prioritise tree planting in places people can access. It incorporates a bespoke measure which highlights areas for potential woodland creation that are 15 minutes' walk from settlements. This supports the delivery of the Government commitment to everyone in the UK living within 15 minutes of green or blue space as set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan (2023).
There is inequitable access to nature-rich greenspace in England. For instance, Ramblers (2020) evidenced that people in low-income households and people of minoritised ethnicity [W] are disadvantaged in terms of access to quality neighbourhood greenspace. Defra's commissioned Landscapes Review (2018) highlighted privileged engagement with National Parks for certain population groups. Natural England’s People and Nature Survey for England (2020) data showed that inequitable access to greenspace worsened during the covid pandemic for people living in the most deprived areas of England, and for those with low income and with lower levels of education.
In rural Cumbria, communities do not necessarily have access to nearby nature-rich greenspace. Much of the countryside consists of privately-owned farmland, crossed by limited public rights of way. Rural communities are poorly served by public transport infrastructure. The open-access areas and famous Cumbrian fells are out of reach to many, due in part to cost, distance and travel options.
Barriers to accessing nature-rich greenspace also include culture, representation, lack of information and equipment such as outdoor footwear, insufficient supports for young people, insufficient disability access and support for people experiencing ill health [57].
England’s Community Forests offer opportunities to deliver improved access to quality greenspace: well-managed woodland and treescapes, shaped by communities and responding to local need.
Inclusive access is key to the guiding principles for creating Cumbria Community Forest.
[W] We choose this wording with reference to the Law Society website (https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/ethnic-minority-lawyers/a-guide-to-race-and-ethnicity-terminology-and-language), recognising this is a developing and contested area of language.
Health & Wellbeing
Accessible woodlands can provide physical exercise opportunities such as walking, running, cycling, mountain biking and outdoor play. Green infrastructure, including accessible treescapes where people live and work, benefits health by increasing opportunities for active lifestyles and outdoor recreation and improving air quality [58].
Contact with nature can benefit mental health. Defra’s Woodland Access Implementation Plan (2023) reports that mental health benefits of UK woodlands are worth an estimated £185 million per year. A recent large-scale green social prescribing trial in England found activities in nature, including woodland, resulted in statistically significant improvements to participants’ feelings that life is worthwhile, along with reduced anxiety [59].
Cumbria has severe health inequalities within the county – life expectancy differs by almost 20 years between its wards, and obesity rates are higher than the national average [60]. Cumbria Community Forest creates opportunities for public health benefits by establishing trees and woodlands where most needed, such as areas of high deprivation and/or worse air quality.
Trees and woodland support wellbeing in many ways.
Spending two hours a week or more ‘in nature’ is associated with higher self-reported wellbeing [61].
Nature connectedness – an individual’s sense that they are part of nature – is positively linked with wellbeing in multiple studies [62].
Connection with nature can be developed or enhanced through a variety of practical ‘pathways’ described by Lumber, Richardson and Sheffield (2017): contact, beauty, meaning, emotion and compassion. Engaging with nature via these pathways supports people to form and strengthen their positive connection with nature. Accessible, nature-rich woodlands are places where people can connect with nature, for example while walking, playing, or taking part in engagement activities such as arts, birdwatching, conservation tasks, or ‘forest bathing’ [63].
In Cumbria, many organisations facilitate opportunities for community engagement with nature through organised programmes, drop-in activities and self-led activities. Some examples include: gardening at community gardens; conservation volunteering at nature reserves; traditional craft courses; land-based art installations and performances; heritage events; interactive trails; outdoor learning for children; and green wellbeing activities for people with dementia and their carers, or people recovering from addiction.
Further information:
Transformative Inclusivity
Many factors are linked with inequitable access to nature, evidenced through extensive national research such as Natural England and Defra’s People and Nature Surveys for England along with local research and practice [64]. These factors include low household income, high neighbourhood deprivation, low level of education, minoritised ethnicity [X], age (older adults, young people), long-term illness, disability, urban residency and unemployment. People may encounter intersectional [Y] disadvantages, e.g. in access to nature, if they belong to more than one under-served group.
Relevant sociodemographic data for Cumbria is available at the Cumbria Intelligence Observatory website. As the data is mapped to locations, an indication of areas of the county where people are more likely to experience various intersectional disadvantages could be inferred.
Various sources point to neurodivergence as an indicator of intersectional disadvantage in society. These include a much higher prevalence of unemployment and of suicide, and less access to educational provision and care, among autistic people.
The Government’s National Strategy for Autism (2021) notes the major inequities in health, care, education and employment experienced by autistic people. “Only 22% of autistic people aged 16 to 64 are in employment, in contrast to 52% of disabled people, and 81% of non-disabled people.” The National Autistic Society (2024) reports on research evidence showing that autistic people have a shorter life expectancy on average than non-autistic people, with the difference ranging from 6 years shorter for autistic people without a learning disability, to 15 years shorter for autistic women with a learning disability. Research in the UK has shown that people with autism are ‘significantly over-represented in those who die by suicide’ (Cassidy et al., 2022).
In Cumbria, community nature engagement practice which supports under-served groups is already undertaken by a wide range of organisations, including environmental charities, mental health organisations, schools, community groups, arts-led organisations, NGOs and public bodies. Some of these engagement activities focus on woodlands and trees, including traditional woodland skills, woodland walks, growing saplings and planting trees. Reported benefits include: improved mental health and wellbeing, confidence, skills and knowledge, social connection, connecting with place, healthy lifestyle, changed environmental attitude, and satisfaction of contributing through volunteering. There is qualitative evidence of transformative benefits for marginalised groups such as: people recovering from addiction; people living with dementia and their carers; families with young children living in deprived neighbourhoods; and prisoners (Lemmey, 2021).
In Northumberland, there is emerging evidence and case studies of transformative benefits of woodland educational programmes for young people who are neurodivergent. Stomping Grounds North East delivers specialist alternative educational provision [65] based in a woodland, for young people who are experiencing barriers to mainstream education, a majority of whom are neurodivergent, including autistic young people and young people with ADHD. Stomping Grounds also supports young people experiencing long term mental ill-health and those with experience of care. Case studies are detailed in the impact reports.
We propose that by delivering inclusive woodland programmes in Cumbria, with a focus on centring the experiences of neurodivergent people who experience intersectional disadvantage in society, Cumbria Community Forest will deliver transformative benefits for disadvantaged groups and under-served communities, and wider positive impact for all.
We are calling this approach and ambition ‘transformative inclusivity’.
[X] Please see footnote ‘W’ in previous section for notes on the terminology we use.
[Y] ‘Intersectionality’ is a framework which helps to understand and articulate how multiple forms of inequity faced by a person can compound to create obstacles and disadvantage.
Culture & Heritage
The community forests movement and others have demonstrated that woodlands can be social places, community hubs, and places for artistic inspiration. Natural England (2024) asserts that ‘GI [green infrastructure] can create the opportunity to strengthen a communities’ [sic] connection with its surroundings regardless of background or experience’ [66]. Stoltz and Schaffer’s (2018) research in Sweden finds that edible forest gardens in urban areas can improve social cohesion alongside multiple other benefits.
In Cumbria, the Forestry Commission’s popular Grizedale Forest, has long hosted sculptures [67] and formerly a theatre. Arts-led activities and other engagement activities can develop a forest culture, the beginnings of which we have seen in our Arts-Led Engagement Pilot Programme.
Worldwide, human history is intertangled with trees [68]. Locally, trees and woodlands enable some Cumbrian residents and visitors to connect with the county’s woodland heritage and maintain traditions which bring us closer to the land and the natural world.
Cumbria’s woodland industrial heritage includes extensive coppiced woodlands managed for timber to supply bobbins for the textile industry in Lancashire and beyond, from late 18th to early 20th century.
The traditional practice of coppicing, and production of fencing, gates, baskets, charcoal and artisan crafts from coppiced wood [69], is still shared through museums, heritage projects [70], organised voluntary activities [71], community interest companies, cooperatives and community groups [72].
Orchard groups and apple days across the county celebrate Cumbria’s fruit-growing history (particularly of apples and damsons) and heritage varieties [73].
Traditional woodland craft practices:
coppicing
fencing
gates
baskets
charcoal
A variety of organisations, such as Rivers Trusts, Cumbria Wildlife Trust and the National Trust offer opportunities to understand Cumbria’s lost or damaged treescapes and engage members of the public in re-imagining and restoring these. Several local initiatives work with farmers, landowners and local communities to restore landscapes, including treescapes such as hedgerows, wood pasture and wet woodland [74] to enhance landscape character.
There are opportunities for Raise to reach many more people, to connect with landscape and heritage through the creation and management of Cumbria Community Forest.
Climate & Carbon
[24] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2023) Climate Change 2023 Synthesis Report: Headline Statements. Available at: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/resources/spm-headline-statements/; Stockholm Resilience Centre (2023) Planetary Boundaries. Available at: https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/planetary-boundaries.html#
[25] The Conversation (2019) UK becomes first country to declare a ‘climate emergency’. Available at: https://theconversation.com/uk-becomes-first-country-to-declare-a-climate-emergency-116428
[26] Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (2019) UK becomes first major economy to pass net zero emissions law. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-becomes-first-major-economy-to-pass-net-zero-emissions-law
[27] UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (no date) Peatland Factsheet. Available at: https://www.ceh.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Peatland%20factsheet.pdf
[28] UK Government (2021) The England Trees Action Plan 2021-2024. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60a3ddd1d3bf7f2886e2a05d/england-trees-action-plan.pdf
[29] Forest Research (2019) 2019 – Forest cover: international comparisons. Available at: https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/statistics/forestry-statistics/forestry-statistics-2019/international-forestry-8/forest-cover-international-comparisons-4/
[30] Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2023) Environmental Improvement Plan. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64a6d9c1c531eb000c64fffa/environmental-improvement-plan-2023.pdf
[31] England’s Community Forests (2024) Trees for Climate Impact Report Year 4, 2023-2024. Available at: https://englandscommunityforests.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/ecf-tfc-impactreport-year4-202324.pdf
Wildlife, Ecosystems & Soil
[32] Ellison (2019) Foundation species, non-trophic interactions, and the value of being common. IScience, vol. 13, pp. 254-268. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2019.02.020
[33] Forestry Commission (2024) The benefits of woodland creation: Woods for Nature. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-benefits-of-woodland-creation-woods-for-nature/the-benefits-of-woodland-creation-woods-for-nature#the-importance-of-woodland-soils
[34] People’s Trust for Endangered Species (2025) Red squirrel. Available at: https://ptes.org/get-informed/facts-figures/red-squirrel/
[35] BBC News (2022) First Grizedale Forest pine marten in 10 years caught on camera. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-63083450
[36] Cumbria Wildlife Trust (no date) Cumbria Beaver Group. Available at: https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/beavers
[37] Lost Rainforests of Britain (2022) New maps reveal Britain’s lost rainforests. Available at: https://lostrainforestsofbritain.org/2022/10/21/new-maps-reveal-britains-lost-rainforests/; Cumbria Wildlife Trust (no date) Temperate rainforest. Available at: https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/habitats/woodland/temperate-rainforest
[38] Woodland Trust (no date) Temperate Rainforest in the UK. Available at: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/habitats/temperate-rainforest/
[39] National Trust (no date) Borrowdale National Nature Reserve. Available at: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/lake-district/borrowdale-and-derwent-water/borrowdale-nnr
[40] Rusland Horizons (2024) Fighting for Rusland's Rare Temperate Rainforest (2021 - 2025). Available at: https://www.ruslandhorizons.org/project/fighting-for-ruslands-rare-atlantic-woodlands.aspx
[41] Windle, A. (2021) Friends of the Ullswater Way - Ullswater's Rainforests. Available at: https://www.ullswaterheritage.org/heritage-knowledge-bank/landscape-contents/habitats-and-wildlife/ullswaters-rainforests
[42] Cumbria Wildlife Trust (no date) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) | Skiddaw Forest. Available at: https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/faqs/skiddaw-forest
[43] Forestry Commission (2024) The benefits of woodland creation: Woods for Nature. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-benefits-of-woodland-creation-woods-for-nature/the-benefits-of-woodland-creation-woods-for-nature#the-importance-of-woodland-soils
[44] Forestry Commission (2024) The benefits of woodland creation: Woods for Nature. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-benefits-of-woodland-creation-woods-for-nature/the-benefits-of-woodland-creation-woods-for-nature#the-importance-of-woodland-soils
[45] Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2021) England Trees Action Plan. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/england-trees-action-plan-2021-to-2024
Products & Jobs
[46] North Cumbria Orchard Group (2025) Home - North Cumbria Orchard Group. Available at: https://ncorchards.co.uk/main/; Westmorland Damson Association (no date) Westmorland Damson Association. Available at: https://www.lythdamsons.org.uk/; South Lakeland Orchard Group (2020) South Lakeland Orchard Group | North West Apples. Available at: https://www.slorchards.com/
[47] Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2021) England Trees Action Plan. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/england-trees-action-plan-2021-to-2024
[48] Forestry Commission (2024) It’s time to branch out: how woodland creation benefits your farm. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/its-time-to-branch-out-how-woodland-creation-benefits-your-farm
[49] Regenerate Outcomes (2023) An introduction to agroforestry: How trees and hedgerows can build farm resilience. Available at: https://www.regenerateoutcomes.co.uk/insights/an-introduction-to-agroforestry-how-trees-and-hedgerows-can-build-farm-resilience
[50] Cumbria Intelligence Observatory (2024) Economy & Employment – Maps (Key Statistics). Available at: https://www.cumbriaobservatory.org.uk/economy-employment/map/
[51] Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (2020) The Futures Framework. Available at: https://www.thecumbrialep.co.uk/modules/downloads/download.php?file_name=1936
Learning, Training & Skills
[52] Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2021) England Trees Action Plan. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/england-trees-action-plan-2021-to-2024
[53] Cumbria Chamber of Commerce and Environmentors (2024) LSIP Land-Based and Allied Sectors Stage 2. Available at: https://www.cumbriachamber.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Land-Based-Allied-Sectors.pdf
Flood alleviation
[54] Woodland Trust (no date) Can trees and woods help reduce flooding?, Available at: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/flooding/
Access to Greenspace
[55] England’s Community Forests (2024) Trees for Climate Impact Report Year 4, 2023-2024. Available at: https://englandscommunityforests.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/ecf-tfc-impactreport-year4-202324.pdf
[56] Natural England (2024) What is Green Infrastructure? Available at: https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/GreenInfrastructure/WhatIsGreenInfrastructure.aspx
[57] Lemmey, T. (2021) Connecting with nature in 2020: who did, who didn’t and why it matters. A review of recent evidence from the Uk and insights from community nature engagement practitioners in Cumbria. Masters dissertation, University of Cumbria. Available at: https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/6147/
Health & Wellbeing
[58] Natural England (2024) Green Infrastructure. Why GI should be provided - the benefits. Available at: https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/GreenInfrastructure/Principles/WhyPrinciples.aspx
[59] Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) (2024) Preventing and Tackling Mental Ill Health through Green Social Prescribing Project Evaluation - BE0191. Available at: https://randd.defra.gov.uk/ProjectDetails?ProjectId=20772
[60] Cumbria Community Foundation (2017) Cumbria Revealed. Available at: https://www.cumbriafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Cumbria-Revealed-Final-web-version.pdf
[61] White, M. et al (2019) Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-44097-3
[62] For example: Capaldi, C.A., Dopko, R.L., and Zelenski, J.M. (2014) The relationship between nature connectedness and happiness: a meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology. 5: 1–28. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00976/full; Natural England (2020). MENE summary report on nature connectedness. Available at: https://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/file/5909933893877760
[63] Siah, C.J.R., Goh, Y.S., Lee, J., Poon, S.N., Ow Yong, J.Q.Y. & Tam, W.-S. (2023) The effects of forest bathing on psychological well-being: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 32, 1038–1054. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.13131
Transformative inclusivity
[64] Lemmey, T. (2021) Connecting with nature in 2020: who did, who didn’t and why it matters. A review of recent evidence from the Uk and insights from community nature engagement practitioners in Cumbria. Masters dissertation, University of Cumbria. Available at: https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/6147/
[65] Stomping Grounds North East (2025) Alternative Provision - Stomping Grounds North East, Available at: https://www.stomping-grounds.org/what-we-offer/alternative-provision/
Culture & Heritage
[66] Natural England (2024) Green Infrastructure. Why GI should be provided - the benefits. Available at: https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/GreenInfrastructure/Principles/WhyPrinciples.aspx
[67] Grizedale Sculpture (no date) Home — Grizedale Sculpture, Available at: https://www.grizedalesculpture.org/home
[68] Ennos, R. (2022). The Wood Age: How Wood Shaped the Whole of Human History. HarperCollins.
[69] Coppice Association North West (no date) Products and Services, Available at: https://coppicenorthwest.org.uk/products-and-services/
[70] Such as: English Heritage (no date) Stott Park Bobbin Mill, Available at: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stott-park-bobbin-mill/; Rusland Horizons (no date) Working Valleys, Available at: https://www.ruslandhorizons.org/the-area/working-valleys.aspx;
[71] Such as: Cumbria CVS (no date) Conservation Volunteer, Available at: https://volunteering.cumbriacvs.org.uk/volunteers/opportunity/10212186; National Trust (2025) Community coppicing days, Available at: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/lake-district/borrowdale-and-derwent-water/events/a58e11da-9dff-4aaa-af43-05fe1e2b9e97; Cumbria WildlifeTrust (no date) Get involved in practical conservation work on a Conservation Day, Available at: https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/volunteering-opportunities/get-involved-practical-conservation-work-conservation-day
[72] Such as: Woodmatters (no date) Greenwood courses and Bushcraft in the Lake District, Available at: https://www.woodmatters.org.uk/; The Coppice Co-op (no date) About Us, Available at: https://www.coppicecoop.co.uk/about-us; Cumbria Woodlands (no date) Charcoal Making at Haverthwaite Heights | News, Available at: https://www.cumbriawoodlands.co.uk/news-media/news/2022/12/charcoal-making-at-haverthwaite-heights/
[73] Westmorland Damson Association (no date) The Westmorland Damson, Available at: https://www.lythdamsons.org.uk/thedamson.html; South Lakeland Orchard Group (2020) South Lakeland Orchard Group | North West Apples, Available at: https://www.slorchards.com/; North Cumbria Orchard Group (2025) Home - North Cumbria Orchard Group, Available at: https://ncorchards.co.uk/main/
[74] Ullswater Catchment Management CIC (2025) Habitat Creation, Available at: https://www.ucmcic.com/projects/habitat-creation/; West Lakeland CIC (2025) Welcome to West Lakeland CIC, Available at: https://www.westlakelandcic.co.uk/; Upper Duddon Landscape Recovery (2023) Upper Duddon Landscape Recovery, Available at: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/f0bd04c230a6453c87605110cfcb0f1d