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As part of National Tree Week, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has announced £200,000 of funding for its newest community forest in Cumbria, England.
This welcome extra funding over four years will contribute to the huge £1.1 million already received from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) for the Cumbria Coastal Community Forest Project, with the community forest set to start planting this winter.
England’s new Community Forest in Cumbria is being led by Cumbria County Council, Cumbria Woodlands and The National Trust, in close partnership with other local councils including Barrow Borough Council, Copeland Borough Council and Allerdale Borough Council. It is also being supported by a range of other organisations, including Art Jean, The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Britain’s Energy Coast.
Thousands of trees will be planted on Cumbria’s west coast to create up to 150 hectares of new woodland, the equivalent of one tree planted for every resident in Copeland, Barrow and Allerdale over the next five years.
NDA Chief Executive David Peaty said:
It is our mission to safely clean up the UK’s initial nuclear sites, and we have a legal and ethical responsibility to do so sustainably, while caring for our communities and the environment.
The Cumbria Coastal Community Forest will provide a lasting legacy that benefits the people of Cumbria, its wildlife and the environment.
We invest around £15 million every year to enable lasting, positive and significant social and economic change in our communities, investing in projects like this that will benefit future generations for years to come.
Currently, the community forest area has only 9.9% woodland cover which is 3% less than the national average. The initiative will bring people closer to nature, enhance biodiversity, provide resilience to climate change and provide green job opportunities through establishment, establishment and management of woodland.
James Cobbold, Forest Director, said:
The NDA’s support is huge news for the Cumbria Coastal Community Forest, particularly at such an early stage of the programme.
By creating new woodlands in partnership with communities, Community Forests offer a powerful way to build relationships with local people, organizations and businesses to drive sustainable change along Cumbria’s coast.
NDA understands the importance of community forests is critical to its long-term success and we look forward to working with them.
Trees help provide clean air, improve soil quality and provide resilience to help mitigate the effects of climate change such as floods and droughts. There will be opportunities for nature restoration, carbon sequestration, biodiversity enhancement and environmental resilience.
Councilor Celia Tibble, Cumbria County Council Cabinet Member for the Environment and Chair of the Forests Board, added:
I am delighted that Cumbria’s Coastal Community Forest has been allocated additional funding by the NDA. The Forest is an exciting project that will provide direct and tangible benefits to the people living in these communities through the development of new tree plantations and woodland formations. It will not only provide decarbonisation opportunities but enhance the county’s natural capital, making Cumbria a more attractive place to live and work.
The funding allows flexible options for woodland creation and planting, which will be a mix of community woodland, community gardens, field trees, private woodland, street trees, urban woodland, forested habitat corridors and hedgerows.
Cumbria Woodlands is interested in hearing from landowners, community groups and anyone with land that could be considered for woodland creation. Planting options are flexible, can be done on a small scale and can be complimentary to existing land uses, be it farmland, community spaces or within school grounds.
Cumbria Coastal Community Forest can offer free advice on how to get the best from trees. For more information visit the Cumbria Woodlands website.
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