The charity Avon Needs Trees has smashed its crowdfunding campaign to raise £100,000 to establish the Lower Chew Forest at Compton Dando, thanks to more than 1,000 supporters.
The charity has thanked everyone who donated during the crowdfunding campaign to make the South West’s biggest new woodland in a generation a reality.
It said: “Avon Needs Trees had just six weeks to fundraise £100,000 to help buy the land and establish the Lower Chew Forest, a 420-acre new woodland creation project between Bristol and Bath, which will see 100,000 trees planted alongside the creation of hedgerows and species-rich grassland.
“With the support of over 1,000 individuals and businesses we have smashed our target and raised £120,613 on Crowdfunder and £27,560 in offline donations, to help us buy the land. With Gift Aid this amount rises to £171,955.
“We are now working relentlessly to get the purchase of Wick Farm across the line. Once we own the land we will be working hard to raise funds to plant the woodland.”
When put together with nearby woodland, the proposed new Lower Chew Forest would be bigger than Leigh Woods or the Downs (Clifton and Durdham) in Bristol, and 12 times the size of Royal Victoria Park in Bath.
Avon Needs Trees has been creating permanent woodlands since 2019, with four established woodlands already planted.
Speaking during the launch of the campaign, chief executive Dave Wood said: “When Wick Farm came onto the market, we knew we had to act.
“It’s rare for such a large amount of land to come up in one go, particularly somewhere like Compton Dando which is so close to Bristol and Bath, and we know that biodiversity recovery is far more effective across a large area.”
Government analysis by the Environment Agency shows that the new woodland, along with leaky dams and wetland habitat, will help reduce downstream flooding in local villages, Keynsham and Bristol.
This story first appeared in The Week In, our sister title.