July 28, 2022

Community forestry film supported by the 1% Woodland Tax

Thinking deeper on community forestry: A new film supported by the 1% Woodland Tax

A new film on community forestry has received a grant from the ‘1% Woodland Tax,’ a fund from Vastern Timber to help forests thrive. Filmmaker Alice Carfrae has been commissioned by Timber Strategies to make a documentary film that explores what community forestry, is and what it means to the communities close to the forests. 

We asked the team behind the series to tell us more.

“We are taking an international approach and asking what community ownership means to the people involved, the businesses, the families, the users . We have filmed in Nepal, and this grant will help us film in Scotland, Germany and England, in rural and urban community forests.

The audience is everyone and anyone who wants to find a better connection between woodlands and society.”

The team will draw inspiration from Nepal – where old growth forest has been felled, land degradation occurred and new planting took place within people’s lifetime; where communities have taken ownership and responsibility for reforestation.  

They will travel to Germany where the income from community forestry is an asset that many small towns and villages rely on to supplement tax income and Scotland where communities are buying up forestry from large estates for mixed purposes.  

In England the team will investigate community woodlands where the important aspects of leisure and conservation are core parts of what community forestry is

The idea is to show how community ownership can deliver a range of outputs that create a woodland culture.  How resilience, ecology and profitability can be managed together.

Jez Ralph at Timber Strategies commented:

“We won’t be making any pronouncements, we won’t be saying one type is better than another, but will let the voices of those involved explain the importance of the forest to them and their community.  We hope it will help communities in the UK think deeper about their connection with woodlands near them and how community ownership could work.

The launch will be at the Evolving the Forest festival