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Local charity has just 2 weeks left to raise over £25,000 to realise the South West’s largest new woodland in a generation

By Advertising Feature  Friday Mar 1, 2024

Tree cover in the West of England is just 7.8 per cent, far lower than the UK’s average of around 13 per ent. In fact, the UK is the second least wooded country in Europe after Ireland. Europe’s average tree cover is far higher at 44 per cent.

One local charity is hoping to help change that. Avon Needs Trees, a registered charity, is in its final two weeks of an ambitious crowdfunding campaign to raise £100,000 to help buy the land and establish the Lower Chew Forest.

Set to be larger than Leigh Woods, the Lower Chew Forest will be the South West’s biggest new woodland in a generation, with plans to plant an astonishing 100,000 trees, alongside new wetlands, miles of new hedgerows and species-rich grassland.

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Since the beginning of February, with the support of over 700 donors, the charity has raised over £75,000. But they have just two weeks left to raise the final £25,000. This funding is essential to help secure the purchase of the 420 acre site where the new woodland will be located.

 

Volunteers are encouraged to help plant the trees – photo: Niamh Harrington

As Dave Wood, Avon Needs Trees CEO explains, “We are absolutely blown away by the generosity and support we have received for the Lower Chew Forest. This new woodland is bigger than anything we have done before and has so much potential for improving biodiversity, fighting climate change and even helping to reduce local flooding.”

Government analysis by the Environment Agency shows this new woodland, along with leaky dams and wetland habitat, would help reduce downstream flooding in local villages, Keynsham, and Bristol.

Support for the project is evident from the comments that donors are leaving on the crowdfunding platform. One supporter wrote: “Creating a new woodland is a special and lasting gift to this area, and I am delighted that my family and I can make a small contribution to hopefully make it a reality.”

As Dave Wood puts it, the Lower Chew Forest will be “for the people and by the people.” If realised, the new woodland will provide new opportunities for local communities to access nature, alongside training and green skills opportunities. At its existing woodlands, the charity currently welcomes local school groups, hosts free forest schools, and runs a woodland skills course which supports people who may otherwise face barriers to enter the green economy.

Wick Farm is where Lower Chew Forest will be location – photo: Avon Needs Trees

Avon Needs Trees are offering supporters exciting opportunities to link their donations to 3x3m blocks of land which will be identifiable using the popular mapping tool, ‘what3words’. The crowdfunder has now been extended by one week to March 14. This is just in time for the land purchase scheduled completion date.

 

Main photo: Daisy Brasington

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