Almost £4.5 million will be allocated to successful applicants across two woodland funds which have opened today, the government has announced.
Applications for the Woods into Management Forestry Innovation Funds and the Tree Production Innovation Fund have now reopened.
The government says the funding aims to help futureproof trees and forests against impacts of pests, disease and climate change.
Projects which successfully apply for funding through the second round of the Woods into Management Forestry Innovation Funds will receive a share of £3m.
As part of the project, the Forestry Commission aims to bring an additional 20,000 hectares of existing woodland in England into active management by 2024/25.
Under the umbrella of this fund, the new Timber in Construction Innovation Fund will support projects which increase the use of timber from sustainably managed woods and forests in construction.
Other funds will support new business models and supply chains for ash timber to help restore woodlands damaged by ash dieback, as well as for initiatives using temporary infrastructure to access neglected or degraded woodlands.
Moreover, a series of regional funds will support projects that enable the active management of woodlands where previously not possible.
Applicants in the forestry and associated sectors, as well as local authorities, will be invited to submit multi-year proposals spanning up to three financial years (ending March 2025), with individual projects valued at up to £100,000 per year.
Also reopening today, the Tree Production Innovation Fund will make over £1.4m available to projects striving to enhance the tree planting stock available for planting in England.
This fund will support the research and development of new technologies and ways of working which will supply young trees in the quantities required to realise tree planting plans.
Applicants?will?be invited to submit multi-year proposals spanning up to three financial years, with projects valued at up to £300,000 per year.
Chair of the Forestry Commission, Sir William Worsley said: “Fostering resilient tree growth and management will be essential to realise the health, economic and ecological benefits that trees offer – now and in the future.
“Both funds will drive innovation across the forestry and associated sectors to ensure our much loved trees and forests continue to thrive for generations to come in the face of a changing climate.”
