Latest woodland and natural heritage news

08 March 2013 - Vote for your favourite spring flower

Will your favourite be the winner? We'll let you know the results in April

01 March 2013 - The photography competition is back

Ancient woods are the jewel in our woodland crown. They are our richest sites for wildlife and create some of our most stunning woodland.

Photography tips and tricks

27 February 2013 - Ancient woodland treasures

Ancient woods are the jewel in our woodland crown. They are our richest sites for wildlife and create some of our most stunning woodland.

Download our ancient woodland feature sheet

05 December 2012 - Nature's gift vouchers

What do you give the person who has everything? You could print and share our fab gift vouchers for friends and family.

Download your free nature's gift vouchers

30 November 2012 - Winter crafts

Feeling festive? Whether you like to bake, make or just relax we've got some great winter craft ideas for you to try.

20 November 2012 - Woodland cycle routes

With the help of Sustrans, we've put together a list of top woodland cycle routes with downloadable maps to take with you

14 November 2012 - Bag yourself a copy of Why Willows Weep

Enter our prize draw to win one of 50 copies of Why Willows Weep, a collection of short stories including contributions from Tracy Chevalier and William Fiennes

29 October 2012 - Government bans ash tree imports

The Government has banned the import and movement of ash trees in an attempt to stop the spread of Chalara ash dieback which has already been found in UK woodland. Read more on the Woodland Trust website.

Download signs and symptoms of Chalara ash dieback

Download the guidelines on helping stop the spread of tree disease

18 October 2012 - Woodland walks

We've put together a list of great woodland walks around the UK with a downloadable map to take with you.

25 September 2012 - Ash Dieback could become the new Dutch Elm disease

The Woodland Trust is calling on governments across the UK to put in place an immediate and compulsory ban on imported ash trees. Read why on their website.

21 September 2012 - Wood if we could

We’re proud to introduce “Wood if We Could” a new guide produced in collaboration with Dementia Adventure about using woods and green space for those with Dementia.

31st August 2012 - And the winners are....

The VisitWoods Photo Competition winners and runners up have been chosen from over 6000 entries. See the winning pictures here

26th July 2012 - Help stop the spread of pests and diseases

There are a few simple things we can all do to help stop the spread of pests and diseases in our woods.

Download the guidelines

23rd July 2012 - Win a balloon flight worth £398

Your chance to view the woods from above. Our prize draw runs until 7th September and gives you a chance of winning a fabulous champagne flight for two with Virgin Balloon Flights.

17th July 2012 - Environment minister praises VisitWoods

Read Richard Benyon's article praising VisitWoods as an inspiring partnership "encouraging people to use green space to say healthy and discover wildlife."

The Environment Minister's article coincides with 'Securing the Value of Nature', celebrating the 1 year anniversary of the publication of the Natural Environment White Paper.

Read the case study from Defra

4th July 2012 - Final Independent Panel report

As you may have seen, the Independent Panel published its final report about the future of forestry and the public forest estate in England today. VisitWoods is very encouraged to learn that the report makes a number of key recommendations which support a call for a new woodland culture where trees are seen as good for people, good for nature and good for wildlife. The Chairman’s foreword recognises the significance of woods and forests, “Our forests and woods are nature’s playground for the adventurous, museum for the curious, hospital for the stressed, cathedral for the spiritual, and a livelihood for the entrepreneur.”

Of particular interest to VisitWoods is the fact that the report highlights that woods are good for people “In our report, we call on Government and other woodland owners to give as many people as possible ready access to trees and woodlands for health and well-being benefits – this means planting more trees and woodlands closer to people and incentivising more access to existing woodlands.” The recent work VisitWoods has been pioneering with organisations such as Dementia Adventure and Nature and Autism demonstrates the vital importance that trees and woodlands have in improving health and well-being.

Read the full report

1st July - Photo competition now closed

The photo competition has now closed and we have begun shortlisting. We will be showcasing some of the fabulous entries on the site very soon. Thanks to everyone who has taken part.

18th June 2012 - Winning bluebell painting artisits announced

Congratulations to all the winners of the painters-online bluebell painting competition.

15th June 2012 - Help us discover those undiscovered woods

We're trying to find out more about the woods on our site that don't have any photos or comments. Could you become a woodland explorer and help us out?

8th June 2012 - Carry on camping

If you're planning a short break or your summer holiday, why not try camping near woodland.

17th May 2012 - Hit the trail

Like art and nature? How about visiting a wood which has a sculpture trail. Here are some of our top tips.

16th April 2012 - Help save Scotland's red squirrels

Once a common sight across mainland Britain, today red squirrels are sadly absent from most of England and Scotland’s central belt. Find out how you can help.

13th April 2012 - Win tickets to a Forestry Commission Live Music event

VistWoods have got two pairs of tickets up for grabs. Enter the draw quick if you'd like to see Alfie Boe or Will Young at a Live Music event this year.

6th April 2012 - National Spring Clean 2012

Why not give your favourite woods a spring clean this year by signing up to Keep Scotland Beautiful!

2nd April 2012 - Bluebells are early

The cold snap from February hasn’t stopped the bluebells from blooming two weeks earlier than last year. You can find out more about bluebell spotting and bluebell woods here

29th March 2012 - National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) changes

If you are wondering whether the government’s new national planning policy for England means any changes for woods, here’s our take on the matter. Access to the countryside and woods in particular is unaffected – best to watch the report of the Independent Panel on Forestry for recommendations around this when it is published later in the summer.

But protection afforded by planning policy for ancient woods remains pretty much as it was under the old policy, a presumption against development in and around them “except where the need for and benefit of the development clearly outweighs the value of the woodland. “ For the Woodland Trust, this is disappointing but not surprising given the push for growth. They had argued hard to remove this loophole which allows ancient woods to be damaged or destroyed in certain circumstances – this is no hypothetical concern; there are more than 200 cases of ancient woods under threat in England from development at present and in the past 10 years they have been involved in over 600 cases.

While Greg Clark, the planning minister says the policy recognises the intrinsic value of the countryside, requires net improvements to the environment and supports healthy living, there is no requirement for developments to incorporate new green spaces into their design from the outset. In short the new policy doesn’t go far enough in terms of protecting ancient woods once and for all or promoting the value of new woods and trees as a critical element of good design.

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