Community Woodland of the Year Award 2025
Congratulations to Gold winner Great Avon Wood, and to Silver winner Coombe Hill Wood.
This award encourages and rewards woodland projects that benefit communities. We are looking for woodland which has been established and managed in a way which is sustainable and beneficial to the landscape, the local people, biodiversity and the economy in the short and long term.
Two exceptional woodland projects were recognised for their outstanding service to communities in the Woodland Trust-sponsored Community Woodlands of the Year Award. The judges noted the wide range of benefits these woodlands provide, from supporting pupils with special educational needs to encouraging diverse communities to connect with nature.
"Great Avon Wood is run by a young and dynamic organisation with a positive can- do ethos; the new woodland itself has been expertly and sympathetically designed to tie in in with the character of the local landscape, community engagement has been present since the very beginning of the project and has evolved organically and rapidly during the project to date."
Gold winners: Great Avon Wood
Great Avon Wood, part of the wider Forest of Avon community forest, received the Gold Award, with judges praising its impressive portfolio of benefits while still being in its infancy. Delivered by the Charity Avon Needs Trees, the 113-acre woodland creation project seeks to tackle the climate crisis, tackle flood risk in the Chew Valley and to provide a space for community.
The woodland has welcomed over 10,500 visitors in 18 months and established partnerships with the likes of Black2Nature and Bristol University. With over a thousand volunteers getting involved each year, judges were impressed with how quickly the initiative has connected with local communities.
“Our work with the public particularly focuses on engaging and empowering children, young people and communities most likely impacted by future climate change,” said Amy Timms, Land and Habitat Officer. “We are indebted to all of our volunteers who show up time and again and in all manner of weather to dedicate their time and skills to the management of our woodlands.”
Silver winners: Combe Hill Wood
Combe Hill Wood in Somerset was awarded Silver for its accessible, inclusive approach. The 65-acre mixed woodland on the Polden Hills welcomes an estimated 2,000 visitors on busy summer weekends, providing crucial support for special educational needs pupils through partnerships with Avalon School.
The judges were struck by the site’s relaxed, low-key ethos that allows visitors to enjoy the woods as they choose, while woodland manager Oliver Frost was praised for the work being done to gradually diversify the tree cover and improve habitats for invertebrates and butterflies.
“The Trust’s objectives for Combe Hill Wood has always been to provide an access to all space for people of the local area,” said Oliver. “This is met with a desire to show that this can be done while growing high quality timber and creating a biodiverse and resilient woodland. We are thrilled that this award recognises our ongoing efforts to achieving this.”
"The overall ethos of the management approach is positive and provides important social benefits; this is clearly dependent on the local profile and trust in the team of Ollie and Lisa Frost who provide a continuity of approach which can be summed up as allowing visitors to enjoy the woods in the way they choose to."
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