Cambridgeshire County Council is inviting communities, landowners and farmers to come forward if they have land suitable for new woodland, hedgerow creation, and nature recovery, as part of a campaign to rebuild the county’s depleted tree cover.
Cambridgeshire is one of the most tree‑depleted counties in England, with intensive agriculture and the loss of traditional hedgerows leaving habitats fragmented and wildlife increasingly isolated.
The Woodland Creation project, led by Cambridgeshire County Council and funded by the Forestry Commission, aims to reverse this trend by increasing tree and woodland canopy cover and expanding hedgerows across the county, to open up potential opportunities, such as agroforestry.
The project delivers a wide range of benefits including climate resilience, carbon storage, flood management, improved biodiversity, cleaner air and better public health.
The initiative directly aligns with the council’s ambition for a green and sustainable Cambridgeshire, helping to expand and better connect woodland and hedgerow networks across the county and to restore nature.
Woodland creation will ensure new planting strengthens ecological networks and delivers maximum benefit for both wildlife and people. By creating new woodland and hedgerow corridors, the project aims to support thriving nature, manage flooding more effectively, store carbon and create healthier, more resilient landscapes.
This campaign also links closely with Cambridgeshire County Council’s ‘Nature Recovery – From the Ground Up’ project, which supports local communities to develop their own Community Nature Recovery Plans, helping people identify and deliver nature recovery projects that matter most to them while informed by the Local Nature Recovery Strategy.
The Council is now inviting expressions of interest from community and parish groups, landowners and farmers with land of 0.5 hectares or more that may be suitable for tree planting, woodland creation, hedgerow improvement or wider nature recovery initiatives.
Priority will be given to:
- Lower‑grade agricultural land
- Sites next to existing habitats such as woodland, wetlands or meadows
- Land that can help connect ecological networks across Cambridgeshire.
Those interested are encouraged to complete the secure online form by 30 June 2026 for the 2026/27 planting season. Further information about the offers to support the delivery of these woodlands will be available over the next couple of months: Woodland Creation | Cambridgeshire County Council
Cllr Ros Hathorn, Chair of the Environment and Green Investment Committee at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “Cambridgeshire’s landscape has changed dramatically over time, leaving us with some of the lowest tree cover in the country.
“This project is about working with communities, farmers and landowners to rebuild our woodland and hedgerow networks to deliver real benefits for nature, climate resilience and residents. I’d encourage anyone with suitable land in Cambridgeshire to step forward and become part of this important project which will help improve nature and biodiversity and create new habitats.”
Bones MacBradan, Forestry Commission Nature Recovery Advisor for the East, said: “The UK Government has pledged to increase total UK tree cover to 16.5% by 2050, creating 30,000 hectares of new woodland per year by the end of this Parliament.
“Cambridgeshire is one of the least wooded counties in England, set within one of the least wooded countries in the world. This campaign presents a powerful opportunity to begin to transform Cambridgeshire’s position from a sparsely wooded county to a far leafier one by increasing tree cover both in and outside of woodlands. In doing so, it can help tackle the biodiversity and climate crises, deliver vital ecosystem services, create jobs, and provide people across the county with greater access to beautiful, nature‑rich green spaces.”
