Tree planting offers opportunities to diversify, generate extra income, increase farm productivity, and enhance your land – while complementing food production.
Grants can help you with the cost of planting and managing trees. Planting the right tree in the right place and for the right reason helps to improve the resilience of England's Treescape and reduce the impact of pests and disease.
The Forestry Commission, England’s Community Forests and other regional woodland creation partners are all specialists who can help you to decide which grant is right for you. Grants are available for a variety of reasons for woodland creation, maintenance, management and tree health.
Here is a brief overview so you can see at-a-glance which you would like to explore in more detail. This is a starting point and further information can be found at the links provided.
- Jobs in Forestry (Funded)
- Jobs in Forestry (Local Authorities only)
- Nurseries and Tree Seed Supply
- Regional Delivery Partners offering planning, woodland creation and management of woodlands
- Urban Tree Planting
- Urban Tree Planting (Local Authorities only)
- Woodland Creation
- Woodland Creation (Planning)
- Woodland Management
Jobs in Forestry (Funded)
Development Woodland Officer apprenticeship programme
Development Woodland Officer apprenticeship programme that offers an exciting career pathway into the forestry sector. Jointly led by the Forestry Commission, the University of Cumbria and the Institute of Chartered Foresters, the programme marks the first time that a degree-level forestry apprenticeship has been offered in the UK.
Jobs in Forestry (Local Authorities only)
Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund (WCAF)
A fund for Upper Tier Local Authorities only – providing revenue support for the additional staff / consultants required to accelerate plans for tree and woodland planting
Nurseries and Tree Seed Supply
Tree Production Innovation Fund (TPIF)
Innovation fund supporting nurseries to increase and diversify domestic tree supply. This fund will help the development and adoption of new technologies and ways of working that will enhance the quantity, quality and diversity of tree planting stock available for planting in England.
Tree Production Capital Grant (TPCG)
The Tree Production Capital Grant (TPCG) provides funding to help tree nurseries and suppliers invest in projects which improve, expand, automate or mechanise their operations. This will help improve not only the quantity but also the quality, diversity, and biosecurity of supply.
The Seed Sourcing Grant (SSG) provides support for activities that enhance the quality, quantity, and diversity of tree seed sources in England. With the Governments renewed commitment to net zero targets this grant will help to ensure the availability of planting stock to meet these targets.
Regional Delivery Partners offering planning, woodland creation and management of woodlands
Community Forests (made up of 13 individual forests)
England’s Community Forests are experts in woodland creation and offer free advice to landowners of all kinds, supporting you to create new woodland on your land. There are 13 Community Forests in England, with experienced Woodland Creation Officers dedicated to working with you from your first enquiry right through to delivery, and long-term management of your woodland. Find out more about the support on offer for landowners.
The Northern Forest stretches from Liverpool and Chester to Hull, through Manchester, Salford, Bradford, Leeds and Sheffield, as well as including Lancashire, much of North Yorkshire and parts of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. Northern Forest offers a great range of support and funding options for farmers and landowners within its boundary.
Located close to Birmingham and spanning parts of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire. The National Forest offers a range of support and funding options to help create and manage forests and woodlands in the Birmingham area.
Covering Northumberland, the Northumberland Forest team can support with advice and funding options for farmers and landowners located in Northumberland.
Woodlands for Water Partnership (advice)
As a charity focused on delivering solutions, it is critical to our success that we have the best possible engagement with the farmers, land managers, and riparian owners who are directly connected to the rivers that we aim to protect and the catchments that surround them.
Forest for Cornwall aims to support and empower the people of Cornwall to tackle the climate and ecological emergency. We want to achieve this by helping our residents, businesses and communities to plant the right trees, in the right place for the right purpose. This includes everything from planting woodlands to individual trees in gardens across Cornwall.
Urban Tree Planting
Urban Tree Challenge Fund (UTCF)
The UTCF provides capital funding to plant and establish large 'standard' trees in urban and peri-urban areas. The fund will provide three years of establishment payments following planting of the trees.
Urban Tree Planting (Local Authorities only)
Local Authority Treescape Fund (LATF)
The LATF provides funding for the establishment of trees in non-woodland settings. These may include parks, riparian zones, copses and shelterbelts, as well as green lanes, small linear woodlands alongside roads and footpaths, and vacant and disused community spaces.
Woodland Creation
England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO)
The EWCO is a flagship new grant scheme for farmers and landowners to encourage investment in woodland creation. These woodlands will help to mitigate climate change, deliver nature recovery and provide wider environmental and social benefits.
The HS2WF provides funding for woodland creation and restoration of plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS). Your land will need to be within a 25-mile zone of phase one of the HS2 route from London to the West Midlands.
Forestry England Woodland Partnership (Leasehold Model)
The Forestry England Woodland Partnership is a leasehold scheme creating new woodlands across England in partnership with private and public landowners. If you’re a new or established landowner, a farmer, a public body or a land agent acting on behalf of landowners, with a minimum of 50 hectares of land suitable for woodland creation, this scheme offers an opportunity to diversify your business and bring significant environmental and community benefits.
Woodland Creation (Planning)
Woodland Creation Planning Grant (WCPG)
The WCPG provides funding to prepare a Woodland Creation Design Plan which is UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) compliant. Landowners, land managers and public bodies can apply to the FC to support the planning of woodland creation.
Woodland Management
The WCC is the UK's voluntary carbon standard for woodland creation projects. If you are a landowner and can demonstrate that you meet this standard, you can sell the carbon sequestered in your woodland in the form of Woodland Carbon Units.
Woodland Carbon Guarantee (WCaG)
The WCaG is an incentive scheme to help accelerate woodland planting rates across England to mitigate for the effects of climate change. These new woodlands will permanently remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.
Woodland Management Plan (WMP) - Part of Countryside Stewardship
The WMP is a one-off payment to create a 10 year Woodland Management Plan which is UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) compliant. You have two years from the agreement start date to write your plan and secure approval from the FC. Once your plan is approved you can claim the grant payment. You must make your claim within two years and three months of the agreement start date.
Woodland Tree Health - Part of Countryside Stewardship
There are two elements within this grant:
- Restoration provides support for restocking woodland after felling due to a tree health issue.
- Improvement provides support for the removal of diseased trees and infected rhododendron.
Woodland Improvement (WD2 and Capital Items) - Part of Countryside Stewardship
This grant is to improve the biodiversity of woodland and/or make it more resilient to climate change. Applications for Woodland Improvement are made under the Higher Tier, using the Woodland Improvement option (WD2) and/or capital items, including Woodland Infrastructure (FY2).
Woods into Management Forestry Innovation Funds (WIMFIF)
Through the WiM Forestry Innovation Funds, grant funding has been made available to stimulate the development and testing of new ideas that can help improve the ecological condition of woodlands, and their resilience to climate change, via increased demand for wood and increased levels of woodland management.