For People
Enriching lives and livelihoods through green spaces and community involvement
- Use research, data, and mapping to identify opportunities and priority areas for tree and woodland planting, for example the tree equity, green space value and accessibility models.
- Work with partners to identify strategic opportunities to create accessible treescapes, focusing on health, well-being, bringing benefits to deprived communities.
- Integrate woodlands and street trees into active travel plans to enhance walking and cycling routes.
Work with landowners and stakeholders to improve public access to existing woodlands and ensure all new woodlands have access. - Provide information on accessible woodland and activities. Ensure that residents have the opportunity and are encouraged to take up physical activity and time spent in nature through are communications and events.
- Work with schools and education providers to integrate trees and woodlands into environmental education, raising awareness of climate change, biodiversity, and health benefits.
- Support schools in improving their outdoor spaces, helping them access grants for tree planting, food growing, harvesting from orchards, and outdoor learning initiatives.
- Encourage hands-on involvement, such as tree planting, growing food, and harvesting from school orchards, to foster a sense of ownership and learning.
- Promote the benefits of Forest Schools, supporting their development within the NECF to enhance outdoor learning and well-being.
- Collaborate with Forest School providers to expand opportunities, link schools with suitable woodlands, and offer training for teachers to lead activities.
- Improve school environments by planting shade trees to protect children from rising temperatures and incorporating trees into sustainable drainage solutions. Prioritise areas where people face the greatest inequalities to bring social benefits.
- Use research, data, and mapping to identify opportunities and priority areas for tree and woodland planting, for example the tree equity, green space value and accessibility models.
- Work with partners to identify strategic opportunities to create accessible treescapes, focusing on health, well-being, bringing benefits to deprived communities.
- Integrate woodlands and street trees into active travel plans to enhance walking and cycling routes.
- Work with landowners and stakeholders to improve public access to existing woodlands and ensure all new woodlands have access.
- Provide information on accessible woodland and activities. Ensure that residents have the opportunity and are encouraged to take up physical activity and time spent in nature through are communications and events.
- Promote and support agroforestry, incorporating trees and hedgerows into farms, enabling food production and income diversification, alongside benefits to livestock, nature, healthier soils, carbon sequestration, cleaner water and reduced flooding.
- Promote sustainable wood fuel harvesting through methods like thinning and coppicing. Manage timber production with selective harvesting and replanting. Supporting local processing facilities, value-added products, and workforce training to strengthen forest industries, improves community livelihoods for economic benefits and ecological benefits.
- Support the planting of more productive woodland; to reduce the outsourcing of timber supplies from other counties, UK is currently dependent upon timber imports around 80% of the wood products consumed in UK are imported.
For Nature
Supporting ecological recovery and helping biodiversity thrive
- Promote healthy soils: Focus on soil health, as well as resilience to climate change, pests, and diseases
- Plant and manage trees and woodlands to enhance river cooling, improve water quality, and support Water Framework Directive objectives, aligning with catchment plans.
- Work with partners, including the Environment Agency, Lead Local Flood Authorities, Tyne Rivers Trust, Wear Rivers Trust and Northumberland Rivers Trust, to integrate tree planting and soft engineering into flood and water management strategies and support catchment restoration projects
- Improving Woodland Health and Management, Enhance the ecological condition of new and existing woodlands through best-practice design and proactive management.
- Include open ground features such as rides, glades, and ponds to support ecological processes and create varied habitats.
- Prioritise the planting of native species considering the provenance of trees and seeds. Preference will be given to locally sourced stock from the UK and Ireland.
- Establish new trees and woodlands to buffer ancient woodlands, long-established woods, ancient trees, noble trees and veteran trees.
- Encourage natural regeneration / colonisation alongside tree planting to promote a resilient and diverse woodland ecosystem.
- Work with Local Nature Recovery Strategies to align with the objectives and principles of the Local Nature Recovery Strategies
- Include open woodland habitat to help maintain priority habitats and species, offering benefits through grassland patches, ponds, and varied structures that enhance biodiversity.
- Connect new and existing woodlands by establishing and improving woodlands, trees, and hedgerows. Strengthening hedgerows will support wildlife movement and adaptation to climate change.
- Include open woodland habitats to support priority species, improve connectivity, and offer ecological through features like grassland patches, ponds, rides, and glades.
For Climate
Strengthening resilience, mitigating climate change and adapting to environmental challenges
- Plant broadleaf and conifer woodlands to maximise carbon sequestration.
- Manage and protect woodlands, including ancient woodlands, to enhance carbon storage and biodiversity.
- Maximise long-term carbon retention by utilising felled or dead trees for timber, carvings, street furniture, or standing deadwood, rather than chipping or firewood.
- Promote woodland creation through initiatives like the Woodland Carbon Code, a voluntary framework for financing carbon benefits.
- Design, plant, and maintain resilient woodlands to withstand climate change impacts such as pests, diseases, and extreme weather.
- Leverage adaptation benefits of tree in agriculture, including shade and shelter for livestock and prolonging grass growth during dry periods.
- Encourage tree planting that supports soil health, water retention, and microclimate regulation.
- Use trees and woodlands to reduce air pollution and improve air quality in urban and rural areas.
- Expand urban forestry and green infrastructure to provide natural cooling, reduce heat stress, and improve thermal comfort in towns and cities.
- Prioritise tree planting in high flood-risk areas using data and evidence
- Promote trees and woodlands in sustainable drainage systems by collaborating with Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFA) who are Sustainable Drainage Approving Bodies
- Integrate trees and woodlands into water-related policies, including Local Plans, Flood Risk Management Strategies, and River Basin Management Plans.
- Work with key partners Environment Agency, Northumbria Water Limited, Local Lead Flood Authorities LLFA River Tyne and River Wear Trust on projects that incorporate trees and woodlands into flood risk management.
- Ensure tree and woodland management follows the UK Forestry Standard, adhering to water-related guidelines.