Campaigns news

Legal challenge saves ancient woods

6 January 2026

Coombe Valley Woods is a beautiful ancient woodland and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Monmouthshire, Wales. But along with several ancient woods nearby, it was threatened by a 2023 application for two intensive poultry units on a nearby farm which would cause a dangerous increase in nitrogen pollution.

The council approved the application but didn’t conduct appropriate assessments or consider the nitrogen pollution impact. We submitted a successful legal challenge against the approval and in January 2025, the approval was overturned.

This effectively meant the original decision hadn't happened and the application was set to go through the approvals process again late last year. But the decision makers were largely uninformed about the previous legal challenge. We swiftly emailed the planning committee with further context, stating our preparedness to undertake another legal challenge if the unchanged application was approved. Thankfully, it was refused, but a second application has since been made. We'll be keeping a close eye on developments and fighting to keep these ancient woods safe.

That’s a wrap: 2025 for woods and trees

24 December 2025

Thank you for all your support in this busy year for woods and trees. Here are some of the highlights:

• a £7.6 million boost to the Scottish Forestry Grant scheme, plus £5 million for temperate rainforest restoration in Scotland.
• the launch of the Nature Emergency Scorecard, asking councils to declare and act on a nature emergency to help reverse wildlife decline. 
• our Forgotten Forests campaign calling for restoration of our most damaged ancient woodlands – we’re already seeing promising progress.
• the unexpected loss of the Whitewebbs Oak and the need for increased protection that it signified.
• our tireless campaigning to improve the Planning and Infrastructure Bill which threatens to undermine vital nature protections.
• the beloved veteran Betty Beech tree was saved from development, alongside a vital London Plane in Southwark and the ancient Darwin Oak in Shropshire.
• determined local campaigns, objection letters and advocacy work saved the irreplaceable woodlands of Chaddesden in Derby, Loch Lomond in Scotland, Tullynagardy in County Down and more.

Our warmest winter wishes and deepest thanks for all you’ve done. See you for more success in 2026.

Get your free trees for 2026

16 December 2025

Last month, we delivered 726,840 free trees to schools and community groups across the country. Notably, 20% of them went to neighbourhoods that need trees most, where tree cover - also known as tree equity - is among the lowest in the UK. Lucky groups included: 

• Keeping it Wild youth group, Selston, Nottingham planted 120 free trees in Woodthorpe Meadow, an inner-city nature reserve. Used by the local community, it’s a vital haven for urban wildlife in a neighbourhood where trees are sparce. 
• The Ashley School Academy Trust, Lowestoft, Suffolk. Another high priority neighbourhood needing more trees, the school planted 165 to provide a screen from the busy road and encourage nature to flourish. 
• St Michael and All Angels Growing a Faith group, Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees planted 105 free trees to provide more food for volunteers and the local community in an area with only 9% tree canopy cover.   

Wish you’d put free trees on your Christmas list? Our next deliveries will arrive Feb-March 2026. Applications close on 5 January so find out more and apply today.

Sign the heritage trees petition

4 December 2025 

The UK has trees as old as Stonehenge. Those trees and the monument are all irreplaceable, essential elements of our history, culture and landscape. But Stonehenge has legal protection - our oldest trees don't.

The Important Trees Petition is the essential next step in our Living Legends campaign, aiming to secure legal protection for our oldest and most special trees. Hosted on the official Government website, the Government must provide a formal response now it's reached 10,000 signatures, but higher numbers will add more weight to the call and show decision makers how important our trees are.

After signing, watch out for an email to verify your response and make sure it's counted. Already signed? Please spread the word and share the petition with people you know! 

Flying the flag for nature

27 November 2025

Created with the brilliant art of local children, we recently presented Lincolnshire’s decision makers with a one-of-a-kind reminder of the importance of nature. 

Ahead of the election of the first-ever Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire in May, we seized the opportunity to champion nature. Our campaigners ran a craft session in Lincoln, inviting children to paint their favourite local habitats, plants and animals which were transformed into a wonderfully wild version of the Lincolnshire county flag. This activity ran alongside a cross-organisational call for candidates to commit to the county's natural world. 

This month, we presented the nature flag to Deputy Mayor Ingrid Sheard during a visit to our Londonthorpe Woods. This fantastic flag will serve as a powerful symbol of the importance of local nature to local people, inspiring nature-positive decision-making going forward. Thank you to all our supporters who help us fly the flag for nature! 

Discover the past, protect the future

19 November 2025

In support of our Forgotten Forests campaign and in celebration of his brilliant new book, author Jonathan Mullard takes us on a walk through time in an ancient woodland. This fascinating 4-minute read explores the 12,000-year history of the UK’s wooded landscapes and reveals the pivotal role you can play in protecting their future. 

Written for history enthusiasts, tree-lovers, and avid campaigners alike, the blog highlights the realties our own site of Wentwood to bring our Forgotten Forests campaign into focus. Why is restoration needed? What might it look like? And how can you make a difference?

Thank you for boosting APPG attendance 

10 November 2025 

The 10-year anniversary meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Woods and Trees on 21 October was well attended thanks to your support.

The group is a space for like-minded parliamentarians to gather and further efforts to support the UK’s wooded habitats. This meeting included discussions on establishing trees in new towns and the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. 

The turnout was good for an APPG, with representatives from the offices of six MPs and two peers. Notably, two thirds had been encouraged to attend by our supporters, so thank you for helping ensure we start our next decade of APPG work with strong support. Read the meeting minutes.

Planning and Infrastructure Bill still a problem

3 November 2025  

The Government is currently proposing big changes to the planning system in England through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. This bill aims to speed up decision-making on planning but currently weakens vital nature protections.  

Following ongoing campaigns across the environmental sector, the government introduced some amendments and promised a ministerial statement in assurance of key nature protections. But we’re still waiting for this statement, and the bill still undermines what little protection our natural world has. The Government’s own Office for Environmental Protection said even after the amendments the Government proposes, the bill would in some respects still lower environmental protections. 

Changes under the new bill are not an abstract threat; they give developers permission to destroy the places we love and the nature we depend on. We need people like you to email your MP today, demanding assurances that the bill will maintain vital environmental safeguards. Thank you.   

Help us celebrate a decade of action

10 October 2025

With your help, we’ve spent a decade championing woodland habitats in parliament for the health of people and nature. Send a quick email now to help secure the next decade of success.  

Since 2015, we've hosted the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Woods and Trees, a group for like-minded MPs and Lords to focus on protecting, restoring and expanding the UK’s wooded habitats. On  21 October, we’re holding a celebratory 10-year anniversary meeting and we need your help to encourage MPs to attend.

Your emails work – thanks to you, the group has gained members from every political party. Such widespread support has been vital to achieving significant milestones, like improving the 2021 Environment Act and the 2023 Levelling Up & Regeneration Act, to give ancient woodland and ancient and veteran trees greater protection from development threats. Discover what else the group has achieved and send your email today.   

Wild Summit success

2 October 2025

Last month, over 1,200 people met in Bristol for the UK’s first Wild Summit, a proactive conference gathering expertise and inspiration from across the country and uniting efforts to stop biodiversity loss by 2030.

This sell-out event brought together leading nature organisations, green businesses and decision makers for a day of talks, workshops, networking and planning. Together, we challenged Government to hasten reform of everything from planning and water to finance and farming for the benefit of nature. Positives from the day included a keynote speech from Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Mary Creagh, announcing new measures to fully consider wildlife before permitting emergency use of banned pesticides.

Winnet Musikavanhu, speaker and member of our Youth Council, said: “The event was phenomenal. So many people were involved, from researchers to landowners. The talks were so informative and engaging, beating the same drum of hope and collective responsibility.”

Feeling inspired? Take action where you live with our resources to help you campaign in your community.

Tell us about trees in trouble

5 September 2025

This week, our specialist woods under threat team worked to protect Forty Acre Wood in Ashford after several supporters notified them of the danger it faced. Is there a case near you they should know about?

Ashford Borough Council has received a planning application for a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) next to Forty Acre Wood, an ancient woodland in Kent. These systems form part of the UK’s transition to green energy. But if placed too close to ecologically sensitive habitats, they risk doing irreparable damage and directly undermining efforts to secure a sustainable future.

Our team submitted an official objection to the plans, ensuring decision makers are aware of these issues. But they can only object to threats they know about.

If you know of any trees threatened by a planning application, felling, vandalism or something else, fill in our form to let us know. We're only a small team so must prioritise cases involving ancient or veteran trees, ancient woodland, or areas of lower-than-average tree cover (known as 'low tree equity'), but if you're not sure, please send us the details and we'll get back to you.

Three Cheers for Chaddesden Wood! 

2 September 2025

In a major victory, an application for 150 houses adjacent to Chaddesden Wood has been rejected specifically to protect the wood and its veteran trees.  

As a Local Nature Reserve and one of only two ancient woodlands in Derby, Chaddesden Wood is an irreplaceable habitat, a keystone of local biodiversity and a precious community space. The woodland is already surrounded by housing on three sides and would have been completely encircled if the new development had gone ahead, with disastrous consequences for the entire ecosystem. 

Our woods under threat team submitted two strong objections to the scheme and we’re thrilled that Derby City Council has refused the application because of the consequences it would have had for the ancient woodland and its veteran trees.  

Our work isn’t over yet though. Decisions made at local level can be appealed for reconsideration, so we’ll keep a careful eye on this case for the next six months.  

Councils making promising progress on nature emergency

27 August 2025

We know nature is in trouble and with your help, we’re working hard to fix it. Last March, we launched the Nature Emergency Scorecard campaign, urging councils to acknowledge and address the worrying fall of wildlife populations across the UK. The initial response has been fantastic.

Many councils have contacted us, including Havant (Hampshire), Darlington (County Durham) and the London Borough of Lambeth, with cross-party support to protect and restore nature.   

So far, 28% of councils have taken the first step and declared a nature emergency. This is an encouraging start, but we still have a long way to go. If you live in England, please urge your council to act. If you live elsewhere in the UK, check out our resources for plenty of other ways to take action in your community.  

Vote for your Tree of the Year 2025

13 August 2025

Every year, our Tree of the Year competition aims to highlight and appreciate how vital trees are for our landscapes and our lives. Our expert panel shortlists 10 of the nation’s best trees, including one chosen from public nominations, and the trees are pitted against one another as people vote for their favourite. The winner will be awarded the prestigious title of Tree of the Year and will be the UK’s entry into the European Tree of the Year competition.  

This year’s theme is ‘rooted in culture’, celebrating the foundational role trees have in so much of our social, artistic, and national culture. Contestants include the 825-year-old oak in Bradgate Park, said to have been cut back in mourning for Lady Jane Grey, the Nine Days Queen who lived there. Antrim's Tree of Peace and Unity, where the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998, is also in the mix, along with Blitz survivor and ash dieback defier, the Argyle Street Ash. Which is your favourite? Read all the fascinating stories and cast your vote before 11:59pm on 19 September. 

Mass Lobby Next Steps: ‘Four Nations in Action’ 

6 August 2025 

On 9 July, over 5,000 people gathered in Westminster in a mass lobby to ask their MPs to ‘Act Now, Change Forever’ for climate, nature, and people. The day was a huge success, building connections, garnering huge media coverage and demonstrating the mainstream support for urgent climate action. Watch the video.

The mass lobby is set to have wide-ranging impacts, with responses already heard from the Prime Minister and Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, and the chance of a new debate in parliament.  

Help us build on this momentum by joining us for ‘Four Nations in Action’, a week of local lobbies this September. Lead by The Climate Coalition, the 13-20 September event will combine lobbies of the Welsh Senedd and of Holyrood in Scotland with MP constituency meetings across the UK to create maximum impact. Find more info and ask your MP to meet you. 

Young ambassadors connect at joint event

31 July 2025

Last month, the youth councils and young ambassadors of six nature organisations met at our Young People’s Forest at Mead for a day of fun and learning. Co-designed by the young people, the event was a chance to celebrate the huge impact they have and collaborate on their future work.  

The day focused on lesson sharing between organisations, featuring a water-based game of ‘capture the flag’, reed bracelet making and more. These joyful activities provided space to build genuine friendships and learn from each other, essential to their vital work as young ambassadors inspiring others to connect with the natural world. As our youth council member Winnet said, "Change can be adaptive, change can be co-operative, change can be inclusive - and that can only happen when we have conversations."  

Previously an open-cast coal mine on the edge of Derbyshire, the Young People’s Forest at Mead is quickly becoming a sprawling mosaic of nature-rich habitats, designed, planted, and inspired by children and young people. Through events like this, Mead helps hundreds of young people make a difference for nature, for their communities and for themselves.  

Planning and Infrastructure Bill update

21 July 2025

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill is a piece of governmental legislation which will significantly reform England’s planning system. In its original form, the bill weakened many vital and longstanding environmental protections, with potentially disastrous consequences for nature.  

Alongside other charities, our supporters, and thousands of members of the public, we called on the Government to ensure that English planning law would help protect and restore nature. Thanks to our collective efforts, the Government has now proposed amendments to the bill which address some of our concerns. We are pleased the Government has begun to listen, and welcome this significant, positive step forward.  

However, our work isn’t over yet – we’ll be keeping a close eye on the bill as it moves through parliament, working to ensure the amendments make it into the final version of the bill. We’ll also continue working with the Government, striving to improve the bill further whenever possible. A sincere thank you to everyone who has supported our efforts so far.  

Hope for the Darwin Oak

16 July 2025 

After years of campaigning, there’s reason to hope that the Darwin Oak – a 550-year-old, irreplaceable ancient oak with a 7 metre girth – could now be safe.  

In 2023, the Shrewsbury North West Relief Road was approved despite thousands of objections, including our own. The scheme threatened the loss of nine ancient and veteran trees, including the Darwin Oak, and would have caused dozens more to deteriorate. 

Now, the road scheme has been paused and looks likely to be called off as delays and increased building costs have left insufficient funds to complete construction. This would secure the oak’s future, at least for now. We’ll be supporting efforts to ensure future infrastructure projects keep this tree, as well as other veterans and irreplaceable ancient woodland, safe. 

Thank you to local campaigners who have worked diligently to protect the tree and thousands of you who have backed them. The support shown for this special tree has been nothing short of amazing.