Raise Cumbria attends England’s Community Forests’ 2024 Conference

Raise Cumbria attended the England’s Community Forests’ 2024 conference in Bristol last week, hosted by our colleagues at the Forest of Avon Trust.

It was great for the 15 Community Forests across England to get together with national partners including DEFRA, the Community Forest Trust, the Woodland Trust, the National Trust, Trees for Cities and the Forestry Commission. We celebrated all that we’ve achieved over the last year; planting a record 2.4 million trees and creating healthy, inspiring, resilient places for people and nature to live, side by side.

We heard from Richard Chapman, the DEFRA Deputy Director of the Nature for Climate Programme, who spoke about the impact of government-supported tree planting programmes for nature recovery, as well as the wider social, economic and environmental benefits.

We listened to an engaging panel discussion with the National Trust, DEFRA, the Woodland Trust and the Forestry Commission about the power of partnerships, looking towards the future and how we can continue to work together to make an even bigger difference to our planet and our people.

Our Forester Gary Waters co-chaired a workshop on approaches to successful woodland establishment, recognising the changing needs of rural and urban planting, and the importance of planning and long-term commitment to ensure that trees continue to thrive. Gary then joined with our Director, James Cobbold, and our Associate, John Coburn (Wild Museum) to lead a workshop on diversity, highlighting the importance of understanding barriers to access and how we can help to address them.

We had a brilliant day connecting with colleagues and partners, celebrating all that we’ve achieved together and planning for the future. Our team also enjoyed exploring the green spaces of Bristol!

Find out more about England’s Community Forests here.