On Friday 8th May, Alan Raw, Julia Sansome and I travelled to the National Forest headquarters in Swadlincote, Derbyshire to meet up with their Head of Land Management and Estate (and ASP member), Stuart Dainton. Together we discussed the extraordinary work the National Forest has undertaken in the past 30 years and looked into possible future ventures between ASP and the National Forest.
The National Forest is an incredible success story. It has successfully transformed a 200-square-mile post-industrial landscape, increasing forest cover from 6% to over 25% in a single generation. This monumental effort has yielded incredible environmental, social, and economic benefits across the region.
Key Achievements include:
- 10 Million Trees: The forest celebrated the milestone of planting 10 million trees, restoring areas previously scarred by coal mining and clay extraction.
- Habitat & Carbon Recovery: Over 8,000 hectares of diverse habitats (including woodlands, meadows, and wetlands) have been created, locking away carbon equivalent to thousands of cars.
- Public Access & Recreation: 80% of the new sites are open to the public, featuring over 320km of promoted walks and major local hubs like the popular Rosliston Forestry Centre.
- Economic & Community Boost: The forest’s growth has supported over 5,000 tourism-related jobs annually, facilitating rural business diversification and outdoor education in 90% of primary schools.
The 10 millionth tree – planted this April by BBC’s John Craven who planted one of the first trees, 30 years ago
Stuart was generous enough to give us a tour of part of this wonderful site – with a view to ASP potentially holding a gathering there in November (watch this space!) and an exciting joint project that is being explored for 2027. (Again – more about that soon).
Bear in mind that 30 years ago this landscape was completely barren due to industrialisation. To find out more about his extraordinary project and the wonderful people involved, do visit their website at https://www.nationalforest.org/
Additionally, you can watch this clip from ITV when they visited as part of the 30th year celebrations https://www.itv.com/watch/news/national-forest-at-30-how-derelict-land-transformed-the-heart-of-england/6nvplxw
Theresa Sansome, Chair, ASP