What they do...
Their vision is a UK rich in native woods and trees, for people and wildlife.
Trees and woods filter our air, cool our cities, purify our water and enrich our soil. Yet the damage done to them has now reached catastrophic levels, and our plant and animal species are declining at an alarming rate.
Woodland Trust are the country’s largest woodland conservation charity with over 500,000 members and supporters and more than 1,000 sites, covering over 26,000 hectares, all over the UK.They are standing up for woods and trees. They protect and campaign, plant trees, and restore ancient woodland for the benefit of wildlife and people.
To realise Woodland Trusts vision we need to rekindle people’s love for woods and trees and show them the benefits trees can bring to our lives and communities.
Why trees need us
Just 13% of the UK is covered with trees. That’s low compared to the average European country that has 37%.
Since the 1930s, more than half the UK's ancient woodland we had has been destroyed. This rich, complex habitat dates back to medieval times and once swept in vast swathes across our countryside; today it covers just 2% of the UK. And we stand to lose even more as airports, roads and railways expand, houses are built and diseases attack.
The effects are devastating: 60% of our animal and plant species have declined in the past 50 years. Many are now endangered; some face extinction.
Over the years, they've identified woods under threat and fought to save them, campaigning alongside local communities or raising funds to buy them ourselves. Woodland Trust also acquired land ripe with potential and created beautiful new woodland close to people’s homes.
Woodlands Trust now own more than 1,000 wildlife-rich native woods across the UK. Many are ancient woods and Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
Northern Ireland
They care for 50 woods, covering 350 hectares, across Northern Ireland. Their woods are always open and free to visit.
Their work is in partnership with individuals and groups throughout Northern Ireland from farmers and landowners to schools and community groups.
They are also giving landowners a helping hand to create flourishing new woodland and children a chance to get to grips with nature and continue to lobby local politicians and decision-makers with the aim of securing a brighter future for our trees, woods and the wildlife that depend upon them.
Did you know?
Historically, woods have had a poor deal in Ireland, with woodland clearance beginning as far back as the Neolithic period, around 6,000 years ago.
Today, Northern Ireland ranks badly as one of the least wooded regions in Europe with just 8% woodland cover, compared with the European average of 46%. In addition, almost 60% of our woodland is in the form of recent conifer plantations.
Ancient woodland – that’s our last remaining link with the original wild wood established after the Ice Age – is a particularly scarce resource. This precious habitat makes up just 0.04% of the Northern Ireland landscape.