Rooting communities in nature: how one woodland brought people together

Planting trees and creating woodland is important work, which is increasing in pace and public attention. At Woodsworth, our work is funded through the management and maintenance of an established 10.5-acre broadleaf woodland in Oakworth, West Yorkshire, that Sir Isaac Holden planted in the 1850s.

This has given us a valuable perspective on the challenges and lasting benefits that today's newly created woodlands will come to provide.

The tiny seed that started everything

In 2009, we concluded that spending time outside as part of our work and having access to outdoor space for our family would be beneficial. We dreamed of an outdoor lifestyle where we could connect a community with nature. What we didn’t understand at the time was just how many people this would bring together, or the connections that would develop between them.

After 10 years, we found the land that would meet our dream. We settled on the idea of managing a modest woodland sustainably, using the income it generated to drive genuine ecological uplift. We planned for the main income to come from a campsite operating as Woodsworth Exploring Ltd and so we bought the land and I walked away from a 15-year career in software design.

A community coming together

People seemed inspired by our project, with many offering free help, despite Woodsworth not being a registered charity. In the first two years alone, over 150 different volunteers kindly gave their time and we formed an advisory group of people keen to lend their expertise on an ongoing basis.

The range of skills people brought was extensive. Architects, lawyers and drainage technicians helped with planning proposals. Others rolled up their sleeves for physical tasks like removing litter and fly tipping, clearing rhododendron, moving 60 tons of soil by hand to install utility connections, carrying out ground works to create an entrance, repurposing felled trees into gate and fence posts, and building a toilet block.

It’s hard to imagine the multitude of expertise that was required to get this project moving. Alongside our volunteers, we also had paid support including specialists in arboriculture, ecology, tree root protection systems and ground works. The list goes on.

Sustainably managing woodlands

This period sparked a tweak to our dream. We still wanted to connect people with nature, but we realised that a distinct part of this is ensuring that spaces are available for them to use sustainably.

In most cases, plantations haven’t developed the full ecosystem of an ancient woodland. They need careful management to reach their potential and that management needs funding. We therefore needed to develop strategies for generating income while safeguarding our established woodlands from the population’s increasing demand upon them.

A desire to generate funding in a sustainable way and to manage the plantation to its full potential led us to gain new qualifications and start a second company, Woodsworth Managing Ltd. This focuses on the management of existing woodlands and trees, keeping them safe and healthy even when frequently used to foster human connections with nature.

Watching connections flourish

After 18 months spent planning and beginning development, we began to see human connections grow in ways that felt both natural and rewarding. We allow public access for over 90% of the year, and this has quietly created a small but close-knit community.

Now, we regularly see locals walking through and chatting, sometimes stopping to talk with others and spending time together in an environment that nurtures conversation, where you don’t have to shout over traffic or constantly watch for vehicles passing.

Our campers too, create bonds by making time for one another in a slower-paced setting. Sometimes customer groups mix, creating new friendships and support networks, something we actively encourage through organised events like retreats and group walks.

Other community projects also benefit by using the land, bringing the people they support to spend time in our woodland, which helps to calm individuals and strengthen the bonds within their groups.

We’ve found that there is a difficult period shortly after retirement where people can feel lost and need to re-establish their identity. Having a volunteering project, connecting with new people and leaving a positive environmental legacy can really help. Our volunteers and employed workforce find new friendships here as well.

This has all been a natural by-product of sharing a passion for sustainably maintaining and enjoying the natural environment.

A mission centred on people and nature

All of this gives us a clearer understanding of the benefits woodlands can create and the demands that obtaining those benefits places on the land. That understanding drives our overarching mission to share, promote, develop and encourage the symbiotic relationship between humans and the Earth wherever possible.

In practice, this shapes everything we do across both companies. Through Woodsworth Exploring, we aim to enable people to spend time outdoors to learn about and develop their relationship with the environment. Through Woodsworth Managing, we work to provide and look after outdoor spaces that are sustainable and that people want to spend time in.

To help work towards these goals, we’re giving talks about our story, spreading knowledge of the need for and benefits of planting and managing woodlands, and connecting even more community groups to a shared desire to nurture the natural environment.