Protecting our past; preparing for our future
Our Shared Forest is a project to reshape and redirect Forestry England's sustainable management of Savernake Forest. The world, our climate, and our society are changing. They always have. But the pace of change is speeding up, and the impacts on our Forest over the next generation of trees and people will be profound. Together, we have the opportunity to think about what we want the Forest to look like and feel like in 100 years’ time.
A vision for Savernake Forest
We have published a land management plan for Savernake Forest, called Our Shared Forest, which you can read in full online. This sets out our long-term vision for how we will manage, protect, and improve the Forest over the coming decades. Next year, this will be followed by a more detailed Forest Plan that will set out our specific management actions for the next 10 years.
Our Shared Forest sets out a framework for how we will manage the Forest around six key pillars:
- trees and woodlands
- wildlife and wild spaces
- geology and soils
- water
- cultural and built heritage
- community and recreation
We are currently reviewing the results of a public survey about these proposals. We will amend the document in line with feedback.
Since publishing Our Shared Forest, there have been reports about an internal discussion document that was prepared at the request of our landlord, the Savernake Estate. This paper makes no formal proposals for the Forest. It was drafted in response to concerns raised by the Estate trustees and to explore potential ways we might work to deliver some of our management commitments within Our Shared Forest. A number of our aspirations for a sustainable and resilient Savernake can only be achieved with Estate consent, so early discussion between tenant and landlord is essential.
We have published this paper, Savernake Forest - A Way Forward, here so you can read it in full.