The Mersey Forest
The Mersey Forest is a growing network of woodlands and green spaces across Cheshire and Merseyside, which has been creating 'woodlands on your doorstep' for over 30 years.
They have planted over ten million trees across the area, creating a Community Forest which has transformed landscapes and communities whilst helping people to connect with nature.
Working closely with local authorities across Cheshire and Merseyside, The Mersey Forest is continuing to increase tree coverage across the area, with woodlands playing their part to tackle climate change by storing carbon, preventing flooding and providing cooling for urban areas.
One of 15 Community Forests across England, The Mersey Forest has years of experience of working with a range of landowners and partners to develop woodlands and can provide advice on woodland design and management.
Funding through Trees for Climate Programme
Funding support is available to landowners who have land suitable for tree planting, including through the Trees for Climate (TFC) programme, a multi-million pound woodland creation programme with one of the most competitive grant schemes for tree planting available today.
As well as helping the country to tackle climate change, storing hundreds of thousands of tonnes of carbon, the TFC programme will also help to reduce flood risk, deliver more home-grown timber and create more places for nature to thrive.
Cheshire West and Chester Council is the accountable body for the TFC programme. In this role it has entered into agreements under which delivery partners are able to distribute TFC funding to eligible organisations. The England's Community Forests Subsidy Scheme 2026 - 2046 was made on 13 April 2026 by the Council for the purpose of accelerating the planting/increasing the number of trees, woodlands and shrubs within England in order to deliver benefits for the environment and the community. Details of the scheme can be found in the document downloads section of this page.
Tree planting
Any landowners, farmers or residents with land suitable for tree planting can contact The Mersey Forest team: