Got a question about your carbon donation?

Your carbon donation will support carbon sequestration including soil carbon, hedgerow carbon, delivering our trees outside woodlands programme and funding permanence. It will also help us protect and look after the 1,000-plus woods in our care, ensuring they continue to capture and store carbon dioxide (CO₂). It doesn't support carbon sequestration projects under the Woodland Carbon Code and will not generate offsets.

Your donation will be spent exclusively on the maintenance of our woodland estate. The woods in our care are a valuable carbon store, removing CO₂ from the air as part of the carbon cycle and helping to mitigate the effects of climate change. Our estate also provides vital habitat for wildlife and places for people to visit and connect with nature. Your donation does not support carbon sequestration projects under the UK Woodland Carbon Code and will not generate offsets.

Government figures for the UK population and CO₂ emissions suggest the average person has a carbon footprint of 11 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

You can mitigate your own impact by helping us to care for our woods, ensuring they continue to absorb CO₂ emissions and store carbon. Every £31 donated helps us protect and care for an area of woodland that has the potential to secure roughly a tonne of CO₂. A donation of £341 would allow us to look after enough woodland to capture and store 11 tonnes of CO₂, matching the figure for the average UK person’s yearly greenhouse gas footprint. The donation amount is up to you but can be set up as a regular direct debit or as a one-off donation.

The term carbon footprint refers to the amount of greenhouse gas emissions attributable to the activities of a person, business or other entity. Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is the most significant greenhouse gas driving anthropogenic climate change due to the abundance of CO₂ emissions.

If you are interested in calculating your own carbon footprint, we recommend:

• the Carbon Independent's footprint calculator

• the Resurgence Trust's footprint calculator

• the Eco Passenger transport footprint calculator, which compares the energy consumption, CO₂ emissions and other environmental impacts of planes, cars and trains.

Other emissions calculators are, of course, available online.

We always recommend that anyone reduces any emissions associated with their own activities as much as possible as a first step. Carbon neutrality is achieved when the greenhouse gas emissions attributable to a person or other entity are compensated by activities that ensure the equivalent amount of greenhouse gas emissions are either avoided or, in the case of woodlands, removed from the atmosphere. This is different from net zero, a commitment made to reduce absolute emissions.

To become carbon neutral you must estimate your carbon footprint and ensure the equivalent amount of CO₂ is compensated for by activities that avoid or remove greenhouse gas emissions. 

A carbon donation funds the maintenance and protection of the existing trees and woods cared for by the Woodland Trust. This includes encouraging the natural growth of new trees through the process known as natural regeneration. If you would like to plant a tree, trees are available to purchase from our shop.

Your Nectar points donation will support carbon sequestration through our work, including soil carbon, hedgerow carbon and protecting our woodlands, ensuring they continue to capture and store CO₂. Nectar points donations will not support carbon sequestration projects under the UK Woodland Carbon Code and will not generate offsets.

Carbon atoms naturally occur in every life form on Earth. The carbon cycle is the natural process by which these atoms continually move between the Earth’s atmosphere and the physical environment. When in the atmosphere, carbon takes the form of CO₂. The burning of fossil fuels by humans means CO₂ is being released into the atmosphere at a much faster rate than would naturally occur, while the destruction of trees and other plants means less carbon is stored in the environment. CO₂ is a potent greenhouse gas and the increase in greenhouse gas levels within the atmosphere is the driving force behind climate change.

Trees play a key role in the carbon cycle as they absorb CO₂ from the atmosphere during photosynthesis. Each year around 19.6 million tonnes of CO₂ are absorbed by the UK’s forests.¹ The carbon will eventually be re-released into the atmosphere as the trees decay, before being reabsorbed by new trees. As a result, it is vital to both protect existing trees and plant new ones to help cope with the rising CO₂ levels caused by human activity.