Q - I would like to leave my 20 acres of mature wood to the Woodland Trust – is this something the Trust would want?
- In the past, the Trust has welcomed all gifts of existing mature woodland, or land for planting.
However, we can now only accept sites by exception to ensure that we are solely committed to fully viable sites which fall within our management and financial resources.
- Currently we are targeting our resources towards protecting substantial blocks of ancient woodland under threat, together with new woodland creation, in order to link and buffer existing ancient woodland core areas.
- If you are considering the generous step of leaving the Trust an area of land or woodland in your will, please contact us and we will send you a copy of our booklet: Will your gift save a wood?
- It explains how you can ensure that your wishes are taken into account and that we have the resources necessary to give the land the attention it deserves. The next stage would then be for a regional staff member to visit the site to carry out an assessment.
- If your gift of land is one that unfortunately we are not able to accept, there is another service offered by the Woodland Trust. Called Conservation Land Trust, it helps provide alternative solutions for woodland and related habitats where land owners are concerned about future responsibility for their land. For more details of the scheme please visit www.clt.org.uk or call 01476 581100.
Q - I would like the woodland I am leaving to the Trust to be open to the public – is this possible?
- We would only accept your generous offer if we could comply with your wishes.
- Please bear in mind that despite the fact that the vast majority of our woods are open to the public, in some cases it may not be practical. For example – the maintenance of the wood may be prohibitively expensive for public access, or there maybe rare species which require protection.
- As circumstances may change over the years, we do ask that land or property is left to us to deal with in whatever way the Woodland Trust feels is appropriate at the time. For general information about leaving gifts of land to the Woodland Trust please contact the legacy team.
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