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The Community Woodlands Association was established in 2003 as the direct representative body of Scotland’s community woodland groups. We help community woodland groups across the country achieve their aspirations and potential, providing advice, assistance and information, facilitating networking and training, and representing and promoting community woodlands to the wider world.

A community woodland is one partly or completely controlled by the local community, through a Community Woodland Group. The woodland may be owned or leased by the group, or managed in partnership with another organisation, such as Forestry Commission Scotland.

From small beginnings in the late 1980’s, there are now over 200 groups across Scotland, involved in or responsible for the management of thousands of hectares of woodland and open space. New groups continue to form, encouraged by the Land Reform legislation and the National Forest Land Scheme.

CWA exists to:

• Promote the benefits of community woodlands and represent the interests of community woodland groups within the political arena and to the wider world and
• Support established and new community woodland groups in achieving their aspirations and full potential.

CWA networks the Community Woodland Movement through conferences, seminars, newsletters, and other information provision.

We also provide training and in-depth support across a range of themes, including:

• Forest / Land Management
• Developing Social Enterprise
• Supporting Community Engagement
• Arts, Culture and Heritage
• Woodfuel supply.

What is a community woodland?

Community woodlands are extremely diverse, embracing all woodland types from ancient semi-natural woods to extensive conifer plantations, and ranging from less than a hectare to over a thousand hectares in size.

Likewise, the communities involved range from crofting townships in the far north and west to small towns and inner-city communities in the central belt.

Some of the larger groups now employ staff to manage and develop their woods, while others are managed entirely by volunteers. Whilst the aims and objectives of individual groups vary according to local needs and aspirations, and the type and scale of the woodland managed, all are working to build sustainable, flourishing, creative, resilient and vibrant communities.

Individuals, groups and their own communities, are increasingly recognising woodland and associated activity as being an important part of their cultural heritage.

What do Scotland’s community woodlands deliver?

Scotland’s community woodlands deliver a huge range of public benefits, including:

Recreation - providing wide-ranging opportunities for outdoor recreation, from informal paths and "all ability" facilities to mountain bike trails and orienteering courses;

Biodiversity & Conservation - restoring and expanding native woodlands, and carrying out habitat improvements within other forest types, to conserve and enhance Scotland’s biodiversity and contribute to climate change mitigation;

Economic development - increasing the value of forestry to local communities, creating jobs and developing local processing and markets for timber and non-timber forest products;

Renewable energy - developing local supply chains and markets for woodfuel, to help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and support sustainable forest management;

Social inclusion - involving all sections of the community in planning and decision-making, and ensuring that the benefits of community woodlands are available to all;

On the 25th June 2003 the Community Woodlands Association was formally launched in the Committee Chambers of the Scottish Parliament. The launch was attended by seven MSP’s, representatives of Community Woodland groups from across the country, Reforesting Scotland, the Forestry Commission, Commission’s Forest for People Panel, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Scottish Executive, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, other funding bodies and a group of Swedish officials who had just arrived in Scotland for a Community Woodland study tour.

The Reforesting Scotland publication “A Review of Community Woodlands in Scotland” - which traces the development of the Community Woodlands movement and details the actions and changes necessary to produce a more effective support infrastructure for Community Woodland groups - was also launched at this event.