Plan to plant thousands of trees across Nottinghamshire including Mansfield given £1.7 million boost

Over the last year, the council has planted 60 hectares of new woodland across seven sites within Greenwood Community Forest, including Sherwood Forest and green spaces in Mansfield, Eastwood, Nottingham and Attenborough.

The largest planting site was the ex-Rufford Colliery site in Rainworth, where 16 hectares of woodland have been planted to help reduce flood risk, provide more places for nature to thrive and produce sustainable timber.

Coun Mike Adams, Nottinghamshire County Council’s environment ambassador, said: “It is terrific our council has secured this funding worth nearly £2m from the government’s Nature for Climate Fund for our tree-planting campaign across Greenwood Community Forest.

“Our target to plant 250,000 trees across the next five years is ambitious, but we’ve had a flying start, and I’m looking forward to getting many more trees into the ground over the next year.

“These trees will bring many rewards for local communities, including improving people’s health and wellbeing, providing a store carbon, and helping mitigate climate change.”

Landowners and farmers within Greenwood Community Forest can help the campaign by offering their land for planting - the council can provide grants that cover up to 100 per cent of tree planting costs and 15 years of maintenance costs.

Coun Tom Smith, Greenwood Community Forest Champion, said: “We’re urging any individual or organisation with land suitable for tree planting within the forest and interested in getting involved in the next phase of planting to get in touch with our team.

“Our planting efforts so far have been great success stories, with thousands of trees efficiently planted at sites including the ex-Rufford Colliery in Rainworth, Bestwood Country Park and Vicar Water Country Park.

“Landowners and managers with green space available for this exciting project will be helping create well-designed and diverse woodlands, more resilient to climate change and natural hazards such as wildfire and storms."

If you are an individual or organisation with land suitable for tree planting in the next phase and are interested in getting involved, call the council on 0115 9932 600 or email [email protected].