Why, when and by whom was the Trust established?
The Trust was first established by Kenneth Watkin OBE in 1972.
Kenneth was concerned about rapidly disappearing broadleaved woodland, particularly small woods, spinneys and copses, much of which had been felled for timber during the war. In 1972, he set up the Woodland Trust, with the help of his three friends, Harry Hurrell, Stanley Edgcumbe and Oliver Rosetti.
Wedd’s Copse and Bedlime Wood, in the Avon Valley were the first sites the Trust acquired in October 1972.
By August 1973, the Trust's landholding in the Avon Valley totalled around 40 hectares (100 acres). In the meantime, Ken and his wife Mary steadily built up the Trust’s membership from their home. By 1977, the Trust owned 22 woods within six different counties, and membership numbered around 300 people, and in 1978, the Trust announced its intention to expand UK-wide.
Today, the Woodland Trust has over 250 employees and cares for more than 1,000 woods, covering 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres). Find out more...