Tree Health and Resilient Woodlands
We are very pleased to invite you to an event on Tree Health and Resilient Woodlands in the South West on Wednesday 23 March at Exeter racecourse. The event runs from 9.30 – 3.30 and is free to attend. This will be a great chance to find out more about current pests and diseases and how to tackle them. Please see the agenda attached. Bookings should be made on Eventbrite using this link:
Book my FREE place
We would encourage you to sign up for the national Tree Heath News, if you don’t already get their updates. You will receive an email every couple of months with the latest information about Tree Health.
Download the timetable
Countryside Stewardship
The application window for Woodland Improvement (multi-annual grant) will be opening again in March. We are planning an event at Junction 24 near Bridgewater on Tuesday 22 March to give you more information on how it will work this year. Bookings for this event will open soon. In the meantime, have a look at our new Countryside Stewardship Funding for Woodlands leaflet which we hope will be helpful for people to work out whether the scheme will suit them and what steps they need to take. You can also look at Gov.UK for the most up to date information.
Woodland Creation
Funding for woodland creation will be available from Monday 16 February for farmers and other land managers to plant and protect young trees. If you want to apply for a capital grant of up to £6,800 per hectare to create woodland you will need to submit an initial application to Natural England before 31 March 2016. Further details about how to apply will be made available on Gov.UK in due course. You will also be able to find out more by joining one of webinars for applicants. To take part, please register online now:
We encourage potential applicants to speak to their local Woodland Officer and start planning now on the basis that this grant will be similar to that offered last year.
Some further information is contained in the latest national Forestry Commission e-alert. Another is expected this week, with more information on woodland improvement so we would encourage you to sign up to receive these directly. You can do this by clicking the link at the bottom of the national e-alert.
Facilitation Fund
The window for Facilitation Fund bids under Stewardship is open 18 January to 18 March 2016. This is for groups of landowners working together to deliver Stewardship objectives over a landscape scale. If you are interested in this but don’t know who to contact to find out if a bid is being put forward in your area, please do get in touch with us.
Smart Energy Marketplace
Registration for Smart Energy Marketplace 2016 is now open and the Forestry Commission has secured 20% discount on exhibition tickets (more on costs). Smart Energy Marketplace is all about showcasing the smart, decentralised energy system of the future. Alongside an exhibition of the latest smart energy technology and generation the event will feature a high level conference and range of seminars examining the development of storage, opportunities to supply energy locally, new business models for renewable energy and heat networks. Quote the discount code "ForestryCommission" if you wish to book a ticket at: http://regensw.eventhq.co.uk/smart-energy-marketplace-2016
Change of staff
Tracy Fry has taken over the temporary Area Admin Officer role from Cherie Lovegrove, who has left for a job closer to home. Tracy has been working in the admin hub since July and moved to Devon last year from Kent.