The Julia Rausing Trust Supports the Silk Wood Community Planting Project with £190,000 Grant

9,000 trees are to be planted in the Silk Wood Community Planting Project (SWCPP) over the next two years, thanks to an incredible grant from the Julia Rausing Trust.

The Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum has been awarded a £190,000 grant from the Trust which will be invested in the community-led planting project. With their support, a diverse range of species will be planted, as well as adding new physical interpretation of the woodland, delivering a series of both artist and educational workshops. Multiple groups will be involved in carrying out ongoing work onsite, from tree planting, mulching, ground clearance, and providing aftercare, to conducting flora and fauna surveys, as well as tree monitoring.

Silk Wood, which comprises 150 hectares of ancient semi-natural woodland, is a critical part of the arboretum’s ecosystem. The funding partnership will not only allow SWCPP to restore five hectares of the habitat lost to Chalara ash die-back, safeguarding the natural heritage for generations to come, but will also help facilitate new audience engagement in nature and the work at Forestry England Westonbirt, The National Arboretum, encouraging diversity and inclusivity.

It is anticipated that the project will lead to improvement of the woodland habitat, while enabling more people to actively connect with nature and heritage by identifying and removing barriers to engagement.

The Julia Rausing Trust is a prestigious charitable fund that gives away £100 million each year to UK charities and organisations. Relaunched this year to honour the late philanthropist Julia Rausing, the funder does not accept unsolicited applications and invites organisations that align with the aims of the programme to apply.

Emma Griffiths, CEO, The Friends says “We are over the moon and beyond grateful to The Julia Rausing Trust for partnering with us and offering this significant award which will result in the delivery of such an important project at Westonbirt Arboretum. The Silk Wood project is all about inclusion and community; it would be easy to simply bring in contractors to ‘put things right,’ but instead the heart of SWCPP focusses on young people, those from disadvantaged backgrounds, and those with physical and neurodiverse conditions, across a broad range of ethnicities. This means that the arboretum’s beautiful newly restored woodland is designed, planted, managed, monitored and cared for, now and in the future, by Westonbirt Arboretum teams, community groups, schools and other volunteers.

“Beyond vital reforestation, the innovative engagement plan, devised through a series of consultation, participation events, and interpretation activities will help more than 2,000 people make personal connections with nature, building skills and creating treasured memories. This restored woodland will provide an accessible space for people to enjoy the wellbeing benefits of connecting with nature and the natural heritage.

“We hope that through having participated in the project, people will get to fully understand Silk Wood’s heritage. As a result, we hope to see an increased interest in voluntary work at Westonbirt, which is pivotal to operations and creates a rewarding experience for all.”

Andrew Smith, Director of Westonbirt Arboretum says “I’m delighted with the success of the first year of the Silk Wood Community Planting project. We’ve already planted 3,800 trees, so far restoring 6 acres of ancient woodland that had been devasted by ash dieback. Nearly 1,000 people from community and specialist groups have been involved in the planting, providing new opportunities for those people to access nature and forging partnerships for the future. This wouldn’t have been possible without the support of The Friends charity and their success in raising the necessary funds for us to be able to embark on such an ambitious project. I am extremely grateful for the grant from The Julia Rausing Trust, which will allow us to see the current project through to conclusion in 2026.”

The Silk Wood project has been made possible thanks to the generous support from the Julia Rausing Trust, alongside funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The John Horseman Trust, Swire Charitable Trust, the Summerfield Charitable Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation, The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust, Miller Knoll Foundation, and Gloucestershire County Council.