White Rose Forest in Yorkshire Honored as England’s Premier Community Forest

The White Rose Forest, a community forest in Yorkshire, has been recognized as England’s top performer in 2024, following the planting of nearly 2,000 acres (809 hectares) of new woodland and trees across parts of the region over the past year. Personnel at the White Rose Forest collaborate with landowners, local councils, and various communities to identify optimal locations for tree planting in North and West Yorkshire, then plan, secure funding for, and execute these planting initiatives. The England’s Community Forests (ECF) conference bestowed upon it the title of England’s Community Forest of the Year, acknowledging its “leading role in woodland creation.” The ECF currently oversees a network of 15 community forests throughout the nation. According to the organization, the 2023-24 planting season marked a “record breaker across the ECF network.” During this period, approximately 4,940 acres (2,000 hectares) of new woodland and hedgerows were established, with the White Rose Forest team contributing over 1,977 acres (800 hectares) to this total. Guy Thompson, the director of the White Rose Forest, stated: “It’s testament to the dedication and hard work of our team and partners that we have been able to support more landowners and woodland creation projects than ever before over the last year.“All our work aims to protect and improve our natural environment and local communities across North and West Yorkshire.”