The Forest Team and Partnership
Partnerships and Stakeholders
The North East Community Forest Team plays a central role in coordinating the forest partnership, bringing together a diverse range of stakeholders including community groups, schools, health organisations, local authorities and landowners to deliver the Forest Plan.
The Team ensures effective communication, alignment of goals and a shared commitment to expanding and sustaining the region’s treescapes. By fostering collaboration and maintaining clear channels of engagement, the Forest Team supports and strengthens the contributions of all partners.
Key responsibilities of the Forest Team include:
- Coordinating Partnership Efforts – Leading the strategic alignment of activities across sectors to ensure cohesive delivery of the Forest Plan.
- Supporting Stakeholder Engagement – Facilitating meaningful involvement from communities, schools and health partners to embed trees and woodlands into everyday life.
- Promoting the Initiative – Raising awareness and visibility of the Forest Plan through outreach, events and communications.
- Leading Funding and Reporting – Driving joint funding bids, managing reporting requirements and ensuring transparency and accountability.
- Providing Technical Expertise – Offering forestry knowledge and delivery support to partners where needed.
Our Forest Partnership is built on a foundation of expertise, experience and shared passion, enabling us to drive meaningful change across the region. Together, we bring:
- A Dedicated and Skilled Team
Professionals with deep knowledge of community forestry and a commitment to creating and delivering impactful projects. - Extensive Sector Knowledge
Expertise in forestry and a strong understanding of the unique characteristics, challenges and opportunities in the North East England landscape. - Strong Collaborative Relationships
Established, effective partnerships built on trust, shared vision and a cooperative spirit. - A Proven Track Record
Experience in successfully delivering landscape-scale projects. - Political Support
High-level backing that helps secure resources and influence policy.
Through this strong network, we are well-positioned to implement the Forest Plan and create a legacy for people, nature and climate. Community involvement, participation and ownership will be central to success, fostering a culture that values trees, woods and hedgerows as vital elements of everyday life.
Local Authorities and Combined Authorities
- We will work with local and combined authorities as key partners in delivering the Forest Plan and embedding tree and woodland priorities into planning (Local Plans), climate strategies and nature recovery frameworks.
- We will support the development of local tree and woodland strategies and advise on integrating trees into transport, infrastructure and regeneration projects.
- We will promote sustainable woodland management and ensure alignment with wider environmental and community goals.
- We will collaborate to ensure woodland creation, access and stewardship are part of long-term place-based planning, coordinated through regional investment plans and policy frameworks.
Local Communities
- We work alongside people to help them to achieve what is needed in their local communities for different reasons. Creating opportunities for communities to contribute and lead and for mutual learning.
- We will seek to provide a range of opportunities, routes and support for people to get involved. These will need to reflect the needs and different modes of engagement of the various communities we work with, considering differing life stages, motivations and interests, time availability, language, financial resources, etc.
- Opportunities to get involved will focus on:
- Five Steps to Wellbeing
Connect, Be Active, Learn, Give, Take Notice. - Five Pathways to Nature Connectedness
Contact, Beauty, Meaning, Emotion, Compassion
- Five Steps to Wellbeing
- We will involve and learn from local communities and groups, including tree and woodland and “friends of” groups, as well as reaching out to people whose voice is seldom heard. This includes young and old people, diverse ethnicities and faiths and intersections of these communities
- Will ensure opportunities for involvement and empowerment of communities in the co-creation, design, establishment and stewardship of trees and woodlands and hedgerows.
Schools and Colleges
- We will support schools to establish and care for the woodlands, trees and hedgerows in their grounds. Even small spaces provide crucial opportunities for play and outdoor learning.
- We will seek to embed woodlands, trees and hedgerows into school culture; both in the curriculum and throughout school life, through spontaneous play and outdoor lessons. Schools also provide an opportunity to grow this culture in their wider communities.
- Provision of lessons outside, including through Forest Schools, trees and woods in school grounds.
Farmers, Landowners and Land Managers
- We advise and support farmers, public and private landowners and land managers to support our visions and objectives by using their land to establish trees and woods and manage existing trees, woods and hedgerows look after on their land.
- We recognise that different landowners and managers have different needs and requirements from schemes and we work alongside them to ensure that these are met.
- We work with farmers to support food security and to help them to incorporate trees into farms and improve their management for the many benefits they can bring. This includes the potential for income diversification, sustaining healthy soils and livestock and climate and flood resilience, alongside increased carbon storage and more abundant wildlife. Approaches are tailored for individual farms and can include hedgerows and hedgerow trees, tree establishment on marginal or lower quality land and agroforestry.
Businesses and the Private Sector
- We will encourage businesses to support our vision and objectives as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) commitments. This includes identifying land opportunities for tree planting and fostering a culture of trees, woodlands and hedgerows within workplace environments.
- We will support businesses to get involved through a range of mechanisms, including private green finance, employee volunteering days, pro bono contributions and other collaborative initiatives.
Universities
- We will collaborate with universities to share data and explore opportunities for joint research projects. This will enable us to continuously innovate, learn, test and refine our approaches to tree establishment and management and foster a culture of trees, woods and habitats.
Charities, Voluntary Groups and Third Sector Organisations
- We will work with charities and community organisations to connect people with nature and deliver projects that promote wellbeing and biodiversity.
- We will support partners in mobilising volunteers, providing education and leading community-led tree planting and habitat restoration.
- We will collaborate through advocacy, grants and joint initiatives to extend the reach of the Forest Plan and create opportunities for skills development and social action.
- We will encourage and enable long-term stewardship of treescapes across the North East, ensuring communities are empowered and involved.