Fund to help plant a million trees

A £2m fund to help create and restore native woodlands across the country has been opened up for land managers in Scotland.

The Future Woodlands Fund (FWF), managed by the charity Future Woodlands Scotland (FWS), aims to plant one million trees across Scotland during an initial three-year pilot phase starting in 2021 and sequester an estimated 235,000 tonnes of carbon by 2080.

In addition to supporting natural climate solutions, the charity also aims to enhance biodiversity, boost the rural economy and provide wider access to woodlands for communities.

Tim Hall, chair of FWS said: “This new fund will encourage landowners to establish new native woodland and restore ‘ghost’ or degraded former native woodlands that have high ecological potential.

“The FWF is intended to help land managers overcome financial and cultural barriers to deliver nature-based solutions to climate change and social benefits across Scotland.”

Any land manager in Scotland can apply to the fund provided their proposed project had a minimum size of three hectares and a maximum of 100.

Working alongside the established Scottish government’s Forestry Grant Scheme the FWF will cover the costs of an application, offer landowners area payments of £100/ha per annum for 20 years and provide advice on potential bridging loans for project implementation.

All the projects will be registered and validated in the UK Woodland Carbon Code by FWS at no cost to the land manager - however the carbon credits will be retained by charity.