What is the Future Woodlands Fund?

The Future Woodlands Fund is a pilot scheme aimed at encouraging the establishment of new native woodland and the restoration of ‘ghost woodlands’ – degraded former native woodlands of high ecological value.  

We have three guiding principles for this fund:  

• Climate change – mitigation and adaptation  
• Wildlife – ecosystem protection, enhancement and resilience  
• People – partnership working and collaborations that deliver social benefits 

The fund is a pilot scheme seeking to reduce barriers to native woodland creation through provision of free advice and financial incentives. We offer simplicity and certainty for land managers, working alongside the Scottish Government Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS) and the Woodland Carbon Code (WCC).  
 

What does the Future Woodlands Fund provide?  

Working with The UK Woodland Carbon Code and Scottish Government’s Forestry Grant Scheme, the fund covers the cost of site assessments and Woodland Carbon Code validation, alongside payments of up to £3,500 per hectare over 20 years or carbon ownership. It also gives free access to a Professional Forestry Agent to draw up the Forestry Grant Scheme application and Woodland Carbon Code documents.

• Annual payments, for woodland creation schemes of 5-100 hectares
  The scheme’s original annual payments option has been increased to £175 per hectare per annum over 20 years (equivalent to £3,500 per hectare).

• Carbon ownership, for woodland creation schemes of 3-100 hectares
  With this option, land managers retain the carbon sequestered by their new woodland as an asset. This allows them to make choices about how they manage their carbon in a developing market and changing regulatory environment.  

• Upfront area payments, for small woodland creation schemes of 3-5 hectares
  This option offers financial certainty for land managers, with upfront area payments of up to £3,500 per hectare paid in two stages.  

• Ghost woodlands, for schemes of at least 3 hectares
  An opportunity to restore ‘ghost’ or derelict woodlands of high ecological value. This option gives land managers ownership of the carbon sequestered by natural regeneration of the woodland. 

Who can apply?  

The FWF is designed to make it as simple as possible for anyone in Scotland thinking of creating native woodlands. Any land manager who has a potential scheme that meets all of the essential criteria and one or more supplementary criteria can apply.   

How does the application process work?

Once we receive your online application, we will carry out an initial desk-based assessment and score your application based on our criteria. There will be a selection round at the end of each month and those applications which best meet the criteria will be moved onto the programme. We will then visit the site to confirm suitability, discuss landowner/manager objectives, and explain the Future Woodlands Fund in more detail.

Deadlines 

The Fund will be open until November 2023. But be quick, as we’re expecting high demand for these limited funds. Applications can be made at any time and will then be assessed against scoring criteria on a monthly basis. 

Where does the funding come from?

The Future Woodlands Fund has been made possible thanks to £2m of support from energy company, bp, who have supported the regeneration of native woodlands in Scotland for more than 20 years. bp has a long-established partnership with Future Woodlands Scotland, which delivered over 5,000 hectares of new native woodland in Scotland through the Scottish Forest Alliance from 2000-2011.

Apply today

Check if you meet the funding criteria and then complete the application form, giving as much detail as you can.