Woodland Social Enterprises: Supporting people ‘in-need’
In 2018, we worked with ClarityCIC and ARC CIC as participant researchers investigating a topic that really mattered to us. Jenny Archard led on this work.
The research project was commissioned by Making Local Woods Work (MLWW) and funded by the National Lottery, to explore the relationships between Woodland Social Enterprises (WSEs) and ‘in-need’ groups in the community.
159 woodland-based organisations were identified and surveyed, with 65 full responses, from all parts of the UK, albeit with a majority from England. A Facebook group generated discussion with individuals from 14 WSEs. A subset of respondents took part in telephone interviews, and two focus groups were conducted, at Young Wood in Somerset and Foundry Wood in Warwickshire, involving eight WSEs.
“One of the biggest comments that our participants make about coming to the woods is feeling part of a ‘community’ or “I feel like I have found my tribe”. It taps into something primal about sitting around a fire with others, but also having a purpose (doing what’s needed to keep the fire going, prepare food, manage the wood). A really simple session can meet these needs.”
The full report is here. Plunkett Foundation did not succeed in getting further funding to help develop or support our sector and this work.
Meet the Neighbours...
' Start here to meet and greet the wildlife at Young Wood
Meet the Neighbours' was a year-long project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, to find, identify and celebrate the myriad of wild species which surround us at Young Wood - from the fairly obvious to the very obscure! We ran a series of discovery events through 2017, each focusing on a different group of plants or animals, and as a result we began to build up a picture of the real depth of wildlife in our woods.
In total so far we have identified 500 different species of plants, fungi, insects, spiders, birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians living within the bounds of Young Wood. Follow the links below to find out more about what we have discovered to date - and if you think you've found something that isn't on our lists - please let us know!
We know this is only part of the story - the real total number of species at Young Wood is probably several times what we have found so far - but we have made a start, and we will add to our knowledge over the coming years, so everyone who comes to Young Wood has a chance to get to know more about the life with which we share our beautiful woodland.