

Research projects we are funding
We have awarded conservation research grant funding to research projects that address issues facing the conservation of the UK’s native woods and trees.
Our conservation work is underpinned by scientific research and evidence. We are constantly looking for effective, credible solutions to deal with the challenges facing woods and trees in the UK.
Whether it’s to understand the impact of climate change or support a campaign to save ancient woodland, all our actions are evidence-led.
We synthesise and gather evidence, collaborate on a diversity of research projects and involve communities through citizen science. This enables us to develop effective conservation techniques and promote evidence-based conservation activity, while ensuring we engage people and inspire support.
Our conservation programme collaborates on a wide range of research and evidence aligned with our strategy to protect, restore and create native woods and trees.
Through this programme, we’re helping to:
By collaborating with us, you can benefit from our extensive research assets including Woodland Trust sites, datasets, expert knowledge and funding. We also support effective communication and knowledge exchange, to enhance the impact of our research and evidence.
From 3D modelling of ancient trees to documenting 50 years of change in Britain’s woodlands, our research has helped address evidence gaps and guide conservation efforts. Explore examples of our projects below.
We have awarded conservation research grant funding to research projects that address issues facing the conservation of the UK’s native woods and trees.
Our evidence is analysed in-house to provide credible guidance and contribute to our position statements. We communicate our evidence through internally and externally published reports and reviews to benefit people and nature.
We submit Woodland Trust authored or funded evidence content to Applied Ecology Resources, an open-access resource from the British Ecological Society. This is part of our commitment to promoting evidence-based policy and practice, with the aim of making science and research transparent, accessible and discoverable.
We harness the efforts of dedicated volunteers to gather data on woods, trees and wildlife across the UK. This information helps us protect ancient trees, assess the impacts of climate change on wildlife and monitor tree health.
We work closely with other organisations to encourage collaboration and support conservation decision making. Together, we help bring crucial research to fruition.
Our valuable portfolio of sites and datasets are available for research and biological recording, to further the scientific understanding of conservation. Contact us to find out more about what might be available to you.
Contact our team for more information about our conservation research programme or using our sites and data for research. Please note, the research grant call is currently closed.
We are an ‘Evidence Champion’, as accredited by Conservation Evidence in association with the University of Cambridge. Conservation Evidence is a resource designed to support conservation decision making. It summarises the documented evidence for the effectiveness of conservation actions. We are committed to putting evidence at the heart of our activities and as part of our Evidence Champion pledge.