Trees and Woodlands
The Essex Forest Initiative (EFI) was a 5 year programme, which ran from 2019 - 2025 and is now complete. The initiative exceeded its targets by planting 476,200 trees, 120 hectares of woodland and 57,303m of hedgerows across Essex.
Land Use Change
ECC provides guidance on actions for landowners and farmers to help with nature recovery and sustainable farming. This includes:
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support with grant applications for the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO)
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woodland Creation plans and maps
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advice on transition to agroforestry systems
Get in touch at Environment@essex.gov.uk to find out more or to book a visit from our woodland officers
Community and Resilience
ECC has set up 2 community tree nurseries, through Forestry Commission’s Tree Production Capital Grant, where we aim to propagate local seed stock. We run seed collecting days at various woodlands and country parks in Essex, seed sowing days, and other general activities at our nurseries in Coggeshall and Wivenhoe Park, Colchester.
Get in touch at Environment@essex.gov.uk to find out more and register to volunteer by subscribing to our mailing list.
Woodland Management
ECC owns 140 hectares of existing woodland spread across 11 estates and 2 woodland creation sites planted by the Essex Forest Initiative. We are actively managing these woodlands to improve their condition and biodiversity. This includes:
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Re-stocking planting, thinning and coppicing
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Surveying and controlling invasive species
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Monitoring for tree pests and diseases