Growing Children's Forest

Aim

To enable more children & their communities to plant and tend forests. To offer inspirational training, education and a new Youth Programme.

UPDATE ANNOUNCEMENT:

You are invited to join us for our Festive Tree Choir Singalong Concert night on Sun 3 Dec - tickets available here now as a 'Festive Tree Choir Ticket' Reward.

Who we are

Children’s Forest is a movement to support children to restore our environment as well as our relationship to nature through the planting and tending of forests. Working with Forest School practice we take children through a Nature Connection journey to inspire a meaningful and long term relationship with the land. Over the years to come, the children return to tend the Children's Forests with their families and communities in support of a healthy world for the future generations.

What we do

We are a small team passionate about planting hope in the hearts of children, supporting their wellbeing, their sense of belonging and their connection to nature. Planting trees together is such a positive action in the face of climate change and enables us to experience ourselves as a beneficial species, helping our children know that we can be caretakers and guardians of the Earth. Trees nourish the soil, sequester carbon, clean the air and water and provide habitat for many species- the restoration of forests is vital for the health of our planet. We build regenerative culture and intergenerational communities through planting and tending Children's Forests.

What we have achieved already

With groups of school and home educated children, we have planted over 5,000 trees in 13 Children’s Forests across the country since we began 3 years ago and grown over 2,000 trees from seed in our Tree Nursery. 

What next?

We have come so far in 3 short years, but our vision is to plant many more Children's Forests – and for many more children to have access to nature and work together as communities for the benefit of the climate and Mother Earth. We are ready to expand our work into urban areas, where nature deprivation can be the greatest.

We also hope to educate, train and mentor people so that these skills can be shared far and wide. This means developing our training courses and educational resources so that communities have the toolkit to plant and tend their own Children's Forest. 

From our work on the ground, we have also seen how vital it is to engage young people and provide inspirational training to support their vocations. We are ready to develop our Youth Programme to do just this. 

All we need to make these projects happen is the funding, and that is why we are here today.

What you can do now

Pledge what feels good for you! Early supporters can choose from all of the 'Rewards' on the right side of this page, from a Celtic Tree Alphabet Ogham cloth, exclusive here right now (only 50 available), to a chance to experience a Children's Forest Tree Planting and Nature Connection Day for yourself. Please note that our Community Solstice Celebration Day is weather dependent, and will be rescheduled in adverse weather. 

Most of our offerings are limited in number and we do not know how long they will last, so pledge now if you would like to receive one of these wonderful gifts.   

Why we are asking for your help

We rely solely on donations and grants to be able to do our work, and in order to carry on we would love your help. We are so grateful for your incredible support, we would not have made it this far without you all, but to keep planting trees, training people, sharing skills and creating biodiversity in the UK - we need funds. 

If the work we are doing speaks to you… please make a pledge to this bright vision for our children and our Earth. Every donation you make is matched so £1 becomes £3 or £25 becomes £75 for Children's Forest. We are so grateful to you and to this generous match funding available right now, helping projects like ours connect more people back to nature.

Where your money goes

Your pledge will help us to:

• Plant and Tend 3 more Children’s Forests across the UK –  including our first planting in an urban environment where nature deprivation is felt the strongest.
• Develop our training and educational resources, including developing our pilot Youth Programme - a year long course of 6 modules. This vocational training programme for 16-24 year olds will include a qualification in Forest School Level 1 and as a Children's Forest Young Facilitator. The course will also provide a toolkit for mental health and wellbeing, working in community and environmental restoration and education. We will offer 2 practical introduction days to bushcraft and foraging for young people who are interested to find out more.

If we reach our initial goal, our stretch target would go towards:

1. Film production about the Children's Forest - as educational resources for the community and to inspire children to participate. 

2. Children's Forest Tree Nursery - growing trees from seed with children 

Thank you

We are so touched by your hearty support - every time you pledge, share, post online or chat with a friend about us, it makes the world of difference in seeding the golden green wishes of Children’s Forest, so thank you.

With huge gratitude, 

Anna & the Heartwood team

This project successfully funded on 30th November 2023