25 April 2006
Welsh woodland groups to get the chance to cash in on £10,000 windfall
Grants available to community groups in Wales for the first time
As the tree-planting season nears a close, the Woodland Trust (Coed Cadw) has unveiled a new round of grants with a £10,000 award scheme for community woodland groups. And while these grants have previously been available in England only, they are now available to Welsh groups as well.
During the past 18 months, the Woodland Trust distributed nearly £100,000 of small grants to scores of woodland projects in England. These grants were limited to English groups as the project was funded by DEFRA (1). But now this funding has come to an end, the Trust is continuing the grant scheme making use of its own resources, and is it thus free to make the grants available to Welsh as well as English groups.
Cash awards of between £500 and £1,000 per project are available to help pay for anything from tools, training and resources, to schemes and activities to promote groups’ work. This year’s round of applications will be open until the end of July.
Woodland Trust project manager Paul Bunton says: “The grant scheme has proved really successful in England. It’s great that we now have the chance to extend it to Welsh groups as well. Funding is there for voluntary groups throughout Wales and England to help improve and develop their sites.
”Even more important than grants, we can help community woodland groups through the Community Woodland Network and its website www.yourwoods.org.uk This can provide detailed advice and support for these groups, and enable them to share their experience and knowledge together.”
The Woodland Trust knows of many community groups around Wales which are actively involved in looking after local woodland, in some cases making a huge contribution towards improving the quality of their local environment. Twenty-three of them are listed on the Community Woodland Network website (2).
The yourwoods website is on hand to help guide groups through their funding applications. As well as guidance notes and application forms, it also features hints, tips and advice on developing a community woodland. To find out more, please visit www.yourwoods.org.uk
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For media enquiries contact:
Rory Francis (Publicity and Public Affairs Officer for Wales) on 07760 171174
Afallon, Tanygrisiau, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd LL41 3RH
Email roryfrancis@woodland-trust.org.uk
or The Woodland Trust Press Office on 01476 581121, e-mail media@woodland-trust.org.uk
Notes to editors:
1. The Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which has direct responsibility for the countryside and rural affairs in England, but not in Wales.
2. The groups are listed below. There and much more interesting information is available on the Community Woodland Network website at www.yourwoods.org.uk
Group name - County
Fforestwr - Carmarthenshire
Friends of Pobl y Fforest - Brechfa Forest Carmarthenshire
Cil-y-cwm Community Association - Ceredigion
The Coed y Bobol Group - Ceredigion
Hafod Conservation Partnership - Ceredigion
Nanteos Woodland Group - Ceredigion
Old Colwyn Environment Federation - Conwy
Deeside Urban Wildlife Group - Flintshire
The Lower Arael View Tenants & Residents Association - Gwent
Coetir Mynydd - Gwynedd
Ffaldau2000 - Merthyr Tydfil
Friends of Mynydd Dinas - Merthyr Tydfil
Caerwent Community Council - Newport
Friends of Nant Fawr Community Woodlands - Newport
Growing Space - Newport
The Caerphilly Woodland Trust - Newport
Sardis Parks & Gardens - Pembrokeshire
Woodhouse Wood Community Cooperative - Pembrokeshire
Conservation in Action Forest School - Powys
Old Chapel Co-operative - Powys
Yscir Community Council - Powys
Cwmtalwg Woodlands Residents Group- Vale of Glamorgan
Caia Park Environmental Group - Wrexham
Coed Cadw (The Woodland Trust)
The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. It has 250,000 members and supporters. The Trust has four key aims: i) No further loss of ancient woodland; ii) Restoring and improving the biodiversity of woods; iii) Increasing new native woodland; iv) Increasing people’s awareness and enjoyment of woodland.
Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,000 sites in its care covering approximately 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres). These include over 100 sites in Wales, with a total area of 1,580 hectares (3,900 acres). It offers free public access to nearly all of its sites. Further news from the Woodland Trust in Wales can be accessed at: www.coed-cadw.org.uk The Trust adopted a new Welsh language name in 2000: “Coed Cadw”. This is an old Welsh term, used in medieval laws to describe protected or preserved woodland.
