Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest

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Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest is working with communities, residents and landowners to plant trees for the benefit of people, nature, and place.

Proudly part of Englands Community Forest Network, funded through DEFRA's trees for climate.

Another week, another seed collection session for the Community Tree Nursery volunteers. This week the volunteers were ...
24/08/2026

Another week, another seed collection session for the Community Tree Nursery volunteers.

This week the volunteers were out collecting a medley of tree seed varieties including:

🌱 Elder
🌱 Hazel
🌱 Blackthorn
🌱 Hawthorn

It has been interesting comparing the quantity of seed available this year compared to the previous mast year and which species are able to produce fruit through this long drought period.

The volunteers noted a lack of cherry plums compared to the vast amounts they picked last year, which goes to show how challenging growing from your own seed can be when you are trying to produce stable numbers of trees. 🍒

💚 Thank you to our wonderful Community Tree Nursery volunteers for their hard work and dedication to picking tree seeds!

Sloe and behold... one of the most exiting times of year for a Community Tree Nursery is upon us - seed collection seaso...
17/08/2026

Sloe and behold... one of the most exiting times of year for a Community Tree Nursery is upon us - seed collection season!

From late summer until the end of the year, a large majority of tree seeds are ripening and our volunteers are out and about collecting and processing the seeds. This is where the lifecycle begins for the next generation of trees grown in the nursery and is a relaxing and enjoyable activity to take part in.

Most fruits are ripening early this year and some of the species our volunteers managed to collect include:

🍃 Blackthorn fruits (sloes)
🍃 Hornbeam bracts
🍃 Hazel nuts
🍃 Elder berries

They then settled in under the shade of the trees in the nursery to sloe-ly but surely sort and process the seeds they had just collected. 🫐

Wild and Well is back! Get your tickets now...Join us at our nature festival for a day filled with fun, wellness and wil...
14/08/2026

Wild and Well is back! Get your tickets now...

Join us at our nature festival for a day filled with fun, wellness and wildness. Our family friendly event offers something for everyone, including:
🐷 Meet and Feed our animals
🎭Story Telling
🌷 Nature Walks
🦫 Beaver Tours
🍔 Food and Drink
🎸 Live Music
🎨 Arts and Craft
and more...

Get your tickets now! (50% off if you walk, cycle, or use public transport, use discount 'GREENTRAVEL')
https://WildandWell2026.eventbrite.co.uk

Chris Parks Photo

14/08/2026

Did you know the Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest has been planting trees in schools across Plymouth since 2021?

🌱 More than 70,000 trees have now been planted across Plymouth as part of the Community Forest, including 9,000+ trees across 22 schools and nurseries.

From microforests and standard trees to fruit trees and hedgerows, these projects are helping schools:
☀️ Provide shade and prepare for hotter summers
🦋 Support biodiversity and nature
💚 Improve children’s wellbeing
💧 Strengthen flood resilience and surface water management
🌿 Increase access to nature and greener spaces

Schools including Elburton Primary School, Devonport High School, Leigham Primary School and Mount Wise Primary School have benefited, with projects prioritised in areas where tree equity is relatively low.

Much of this work has been delivered in partnership with Societree CIC through Project 96 — the ambition to plant a microforest in, or on behalf of, every primary school in Plymouth.

Join our team! We’re hiring!Are you passionate about nature, trees and creating positive change for communities? Plymout...
12/08/2026

Join our team! We’re hiring!

Are you passionate about nature, trees and creating positive change for communities?

Plymouth City Council and partners are looking for an ambitious Natural Environment Officer (Trees & Communities) to join the Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest Team.

This is a fantastic opportunity to:
🌱 Support tree planting and woodland creation across Plymouth, South Devon and Dartmoor
🌳 Help deliver innovative nature-based projects
🤝 Work with communities and partners to improve access to nature
🌍 Support climate resilience, health and wellbeing
🏡 Help shape one of the UK’s most ambitious community forest initiatives

If you have experience delivering environmental projects with a focus on trees, woodland or forestry, we’d love to hear from you!

👉 Natural Environment Officer – Plymouth & South Devon Community Forest

Find out more and apply:
https://ce1085li.webitrent.com/ce1085li_webrecruitment/wrd/run/etrec179gf.open?WVID=04695502K8&LANG=USA

Forest Rising summer 2026 🌳☀️It has begun! We have 9 more Forest Risers joining us this summer for our annual summer pro...
10/08/2026

Forest Rising summer 2026 🌳☀️

It has begun! We have 9 more Forest Risers joining us this summer for our annual summer programme. So far they have collected over 2000 Rowan tree seeds to grow in the Community Tree Nursary and learnt about UKs different tree species.

This programme is designed by the Forest Rising Youth Forum, to empower young people to take action, learn and make decisions about nature. Forest Rising is an important part of the Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest, supporting us to design and deliver tree schemes in the city every year and engage with young people.

29/07/2026

We're celebrating some fantastic news for England's Community Forests!

The UK Government has confirmed funding for the next phase of the national Trees for Climate programme, enabling the England's Community Forest network to continue creating greener, healthier places for people and nature through to 2030.

Since 2020, the programme has helped plant more than 10 million trees across England Community Forests, restoring nature, reducing flood risk, capturing carbon, improving access to green spaces and supporting healthier communities.

To mark this incredible milestone, our 10 millionth celebration tree was planted by Plymouth community champion Suzanne Sparrow as she celebrated her 101st birthday — a fitting tribute to a lifetime of community service and a hopeful investment in future generations.

Read more about it here: https://englandscommunityforests.org.uk/major-new-partnership-unveiled-as-national-trees-for-climate-programme-begins-next-chapter/

Last Thursday the Community Tree Nursery volunteers were out and about, teaming up with Swarthmore Allotment plot holder...
28/07/2026

Last Thursday the Community Tree Nursery volunteers were out and about, teaming up with Swarthmore Allotment plot holders to care for a PSDCF hedgerow planted by Green Communities.

The hedge had become overgrown with grasses and brambles so the group worked hard to clear back unwanted growth and apply woodchip mulch to the hedge to ensure it can continue to grow and provide benefits for the allotment site and plot holders for years to come.

⁉️ Did you know that using mulch can help increase water retention of the soil? Mulch reduces evaporation and increases the organic matter levels in the soil, increasing its water holding abilities!

Applying mulch is an important part of caring for young trees and ensuring they can survive prolonged periods of dry weather. ☀️💦

Great work CTN volunteers and Swarthmore plot holders 🌱

This recognition belongs to our communities, partners, volunteers and everyone who has helped shape Plymouth and South D...
27/07/2026

This recognition belongs to our communities, partners, volunteers and everyone who has helped shape Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest. 🌳💚

We're delighted to share that we've been recognised as England's Community Forest of the Year 2026, and were also honoured to receive the Community Engagement Catalyst Award for our work alongside Zebra Collective, Open University and Green Communities at the Mount Wise Neighbourhood centre in Devonport, supporting community-led design and planting in an area identified as a priority for investment.

These awards are a testament to the power of collaboration and what can be achieved together, bring trees to more places and people across South Devon.

Over the last year, together we've:
🌿 Delivered 235+ hectares of new woodland and green infrastructure across Plymouth and South Devon
🌿 Worked with farms and partners across the South Devon National Landscape to improve water quality and build resilience to climate change
🌿 Continued to prioritise neighbourhoods with low tree equity, helping communities create greener, healthier places to live
🌿 Grown our Forest Rising programme, sharing our community engagement model with other Community Forests to replicate it locally
🌿 Contributed to the Nature Towns and Cities programme, helping shape innovative approaches for trees, woodlands and nature recovery

Our Community Engagement Catalyst Award recognised the incredible work in Devonport, where local residents, young people, community groups and partner organisations came together to transform a neighbourhood space through co-design, planting and a community-led 24-hour makeover. The result wasn't just a greener space – it was stronger community ownership, new skills and lasting relationships.

📖 Read the Devonport case study: https://greencommunitiesplymouth.com/knowledge-hub/resources/mount-wise-neighbourhood-celebration-case-study

Thank you to every resident, volunteer, partner organisation, landowner and supporter who has been part of this journey. These awards are yours as much as they are ours, and we can't wait to see what we achieve together next.

22/07/2026

Over £260m is set to create 9,323ha new woodland across England in the next four years.

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