Woodland funding offer for farmers

Scottish farmers are being offered financial support worth up to £3,500 per hectare over 20 years to plant native woodland.

The funding is available through Future Woodlands Scotland – a charity working to create and conserve native woodlands.

The charity’s Future Woodlands Fund, which is backed by £2 million of support from energy company BP, aims to establish one million native trees across Scotland by November next year.

“Interest in native woodland regeneration is increasing but many farmers and land managers still worry about the upfront costs of planting woodlands; providing them with a range of options will mean they can choose what’s best for their business,” said Future Woodlands Scotland chairman Tim Hall.

“This will be good for both farming and wildlife, while helping Scotland meet its biodiversity and climate commitments.

“I urge anyone thinking about creating native woodland to apply today.”

He said the scheme, which first launched last year, offers four types of support – annual payments, upfront area payments for small woodlands, carbon ownership and ghost woodlands.

Funding through the annual payments option offers farmers and land owners up to £3,500 per hectare spread over 20 years, while an upfront area payment is also available for smaller woodlands to help ease cashflow while they are established.

The carbon unit ownership option gives farmers and land managers the option to keep any carbon units arising from their woodland as an investment or to offset their own land-based emissions, while the ghost woodlands option provides support for restoring derelict native woodlands.

The fund will also provide access to a professional forestry agent to draw up a Forestry Grant Scheme application, as well as covering the cost of site assessments and Woodland Carbon Code validation.

More information about the Future Woodlands Fund is available online at www.futurewoodlands.org. uk

SEEKING APPLICATIONS: Future Woodlands Scotland chairman Tim Hall.