The North Pennines AONB Partnership receives £499,100 from the Trees Call to Action Fund

The North Pennines AONB Partnership has been awarded a grant from the £6 million Trees Call to Action Fund, led by Defra, the Forestry Commission and The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The Heart of the Pennines Forest project will be delivered by the North Pennines AONB Partnership, the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, and the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust. The team will work with land managers to increase, and manage, tree cover in the Durham and Cumbria areas of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and the Cumbrian part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It bridges the gap between the existing Great Northumberland National Forest to the north and the Northern Forest initiative to the south. Project partners Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust will establish a community tree nursery and employ four woodland trainees who will gain industry experience. A deer monitoring and control strategy will be developed to address damage caused by browsing. The project is supported by the Woodland Trust and Forestry Commission.

The Trees Call to Action Fund supports projects which protect trees and woodlands, boost forestry skills and jobs, develop woodland creation partnerships, and engage communities with nature. The fund will distribute grants between £250,000-500,000 to be spent over three years, funding 12 projects across England.

Sarah Tooze, Biodiversity Lead at the North Pennines AONB Partnership, said: “This project will focus on the kinds of tree cover which are a good fit for our landscape and work alongside nature friendly farming systems. Small scale woodlands and low-density wood pasture with scrub and scattered canopy trees will improve the landscape for biodiversity and other public goods.”

The other projects funded through this year’s Trees Call to Action Fund include six new Woodland Creation Partnerships across rural and urban areas; two projects to develop the skills and workforce of the trees and forestry sector; and three projects which engage people, by planting an NHS forest, engaging farmers to improve woodland condition, and restoring England’s hedgerows. All projects funded will support progress towards achieving the key objectives of the England Trees Action Plan – the Government’s long-term plans for England’s trees, woodlands and forests.

ENDS

Notes to editors
• The Trees Call to Action Fund is part of the Government’s wider Nature for Climate Fund, announced as part of the 2020 Budget. Grants are available from £250,000 to £500,000 to be spent over three years and will cover capital and revenue costs.
• The England Trees Action Plan committed to treble tree planting rates in England by the end of this Parliament, supported by an intended £500m from the Nature for Climate Fund.
• In the recently launched Net Zero Strategy (Oct 2021), the Government announced that it will boost the Nature for Climate Fund with a further £124 million of new money, ensuring total spend of more than £750 million by 2025 on peat restoration, woodland creation and management – above and beyond what was promised in the manifesto.
• The Trees Call to Action Fund is being delivered by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The Heritage Fund inspires, leads and resources the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in the future. www.heritagefund.org.uk
• For media enquiries relating to Heart of the Pennines Forest project, please contact Sarah Hudspeth, shudspeth@northpenninesaonb.org.uk
• For media queries relating to the Trees Call to Action Fund, please contact newsdesk@defra.gov.uk.