Acorn is the first of what we hope will be many Co-forests around the UK, perhaps even the world. It is the coming together of like minded people and organisations around Bath and Bristol to preserve land and plant new woodland or forestry. We are taking our time with Acorn, exploring many ideas and opportunities in the hope that Acorn will help us create a blueprint for future Co-forests.
To create our first co-forest in the Bath & Bristol area, we’re inviting organisations and individuals to adopt up to an acre of land. You’ll be able to name your forest plot and even help to plant it.
Together, we’ll create a whole new forest – all we need is you…
The size of the project will depend on the number of organisations and individuals involved. Here is an example of what we could achieve.
We can buy enough land to create one of the largest planting initiatives in the Bath & Bristol area
We can buy a significant amount of land and establish a small number of structures for community use
We can buy enough land to buy a modest farm, convert it to forest and establish more substantial structures
We want to get this inaugural project off the ground quickly and start making an impact as soon as possible.
We will purchase the land required to underpin the Co-forest:Acorn project
Once purchased, land prep will start with securing fencing and access
Planting will begin, we hope to be able to invite volunteers to help us
There has never been a more important time to help repair our planet
In order to reach our targets and start making a difference right away, Co-forest is not becoming a registered charity. Whilst that may seem surprising given the nature of our work, we have created a private limited company to give us the ability to scale quickly. This is so we won’t hamper the opportunity of accessing private investments, building a forward-thinking team and planting trees as soon as possible. Our hope is that Co-forest can become a national (or even international) movement.
We will continue to ensure that our approach and profit taking will be documented with complete transparency using what’s called Articles of Association. This will enable us to uphold our values and continue to operate as intended in the future.
We’re doing this in the UK. Most offsetting schemes are based abroad and we want to demonstrate that you can make an impact right here.
We’re not just planting trees, we’re buying and protecting the land for the forest so that it doesn’t get cut down unnecessarily. Many offsetting schemes simply rent land and are unable to promise that the trees will have the best chance to grow to maturity.
We are about the ecological impact as much as the carbon offsetting. We’re planting the right mix of native woodland trees, in the right place to join up ecological corridors. Most offsetting projects plant single species with little thought to habitat creation.
You will be able to arrange to visit your co-forest and will have access to the founders forest area. You may not be able to stand on your exact plot as it may not be suitable terrain and we have to be considerate of the wildlife.
Purchasing and preparing the land for a new forest to be planted, and of course the trees!
We also have some small staffing and infrastructure costs, but those are related to getting more people co-foresting.
The Woodland Trust is helping to ensure we plant the right trees in the right places. We’re also working with local groups who have localised knowledge.
We have incorporated maintenance costs into the pledges, however, beyond that we will establish a small commercial element to Co-forest to help fund the long term needs of the project.
Co-forest:Acorn, as the inaugural project, will be owned by Co-forest Ltd and managed by its trustees.
There are a lot of things to juggle, but we’re hoping we can find land that isn’t perfect for agriculture. At the same time we need land which is the right size, is not already a valuable non-woodland ecological habitat in its own right, ideally connects existing woodland habitats, is affordable and is geographically accessible. We may not manage to get everything on our shopping list but that is our ideal.
Each tree will offset approximately one tonne of Co2 during its lifetime (100 years).
It’s hard to get an exact figure without a lot of investigation but in short, even a fairly small business making just half a dozen flights per year with nominal car mileage for meetings etc could produce north of 25 tonnes Co2 per year. Larger businesses will create significantly more.
The average 3 person family in the UK, taking one long haul flight per year, and driving one family car, could produce north of 15 tonnes of Co2 per year.
We’re open to all discussions that help us to grow this project. Just get in touch.
If you’d like to get involved in the Co-forest vision, donate as a business, or simply discuss the project further, we’d love to hear from you.
Get in touch