£2 million raised to help charity buy Devonshire site
Lead PR Manager
The Woodland Trust has successfully secured the funds to buy and begin to transform the Devonshire site, close to Lympstone, into a wooded wildlife haven that will be free for people to enjoy.
Money came pouring in after the charity launched the fundraising campaign just weeks ago – kick-started by a generous £750,000 grant from Biffa Award, a partnership with Lloyds Banking Group and support from The John Swire 1989 Charitable Trust.
The Woodland Trust, which was formed in Devon, is this year celebrating its 50th anniversary so the purchase of this site is a fitting celebration. While the charity has raised enough to buy the 54-hectare site, it still needs to raise £275,000 to manage the transformation of this site into a resilient and thriving wooded landscape.
The site is close to other nature reserves that are important habitats for rare and declining birds and other wildlife and has the potential to make a significant contribution to the health of the wider landscape.
Woodland Trust Devon site manager Paul Allen said:
"The site is a remarkable opportunity to contribute to nature recovery in Devon, creating, through tree planting and natural regeneration, a vibrant mosaic of woodland and wood pasture together with open grassland spaces. Its existing hedgerows, veteran trees, streams, copse and wooded valley provide a good basis for this unique woodland creation project.
The proximity of it to nature reserves including the Pebblebed Heaths and the Exe Estuary, adds to its significance. It will improve the ecological connectivity and resilience of the landscape, as we face the twin threats of the climate and nature crises."
The Trust has pledged to end the use of plastic tree shelters, and this flagship woodland creation project will use a range of techniques to introduce native trees and shrubs, suited the characteristics of the local and wider area.
It will showcase the multiple benefits of trees and woods for climate adaptation, nature recovery and resilience, natural flood management and carbon capture.
Mr Allen added:
"With access for local people to a new green space a central part of the project and their involvement key to its success, this project will contribute to health and well-being at a time when this is sorely needed.
The support from the public has been invaluable to this project. We couldn’t have got to this point without them, and we’d like to express our heartfelt thanks for their support us to secure this land for wildlife and people.”
Rachel Maidment, Biffa Award grants manager, said:
"It is a privilege to have been able to play a part in securing the future of this land for years to come. We awarded the Woodland Trust £750,000 towards the purchase, which is the maximum grant possible through the Biffa Award Partnership Grants Scheme, as part of the Landfill Communities Fund. The funding has secured the site in perpetuity and it will become an amazing woodland filled with a rich matrix of habitats that will tackle climate change and provide the opportunity for people to explore green space and enjoy wildlife."
Over the coming months the charity will start consulting with neighbours and local people on plans to bring the vision into fruition, with the first trees being planted in the autumn.
The Woodland Trust was created in 1972 when a group of friends sat round a table in a Devon home to discuss saving a local wood.
It quickly led to its first woodland purchase, Avon Woods in the county, and from there the charity’s presence and influence has grown– it now cares for 1,000 woods across the UK and is the largest woodland conservation charity in the country.
The charity has now planted more than 50 million trees, protects and cares for more than 1,000 woodland havens for wildlife and people, and has saved 1,172 woods from development.
Go to: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/support-us/give/appeals/devon-appeal/
Notes to editors
For more details on this release contact Andy Bond in the Woodland Trust press office on 07725480434 or email andybond@woodlandtrust.org.uk.
About the Woodland Trust
The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the UK. It has over 500,000 supporters. It wants to see a UK rich in native woods and trees for people and wildlife.
The Trust has three key aims:
- protect ancient woodland which is rare, unique and irreplaceable
- restoration of damaged ancient woodland, bringing precious pieces of our natural history back to life
- plant native trees and woods with the aim of creating resilient landscapes for people and wildlife.
Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,000 sites in its care covering approximately 29,000 hectares. Access to its woods is free so everyone can benefit from woods and trees.