Future Forests

Earth Trust is home to the most diverse collection of living hardwood trees in the UK which is a unique genetic resource for resilience, productivity and plant health.

Earth Trust is championing a new sustainable model for our trees and forests: demonstrating integrated woodland management which balances their value for amenity and for wildlife, as well as for economic, sustainable timber production.

We have a number of tree collections: Paradise Wood, a nationally significant research woodland; Broad Arboretum, a living collection of every tree species native to Oxfordshire; Neptune Wood, a Trafalgar wood established in 2005; and Little Wittenham Wood, a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation.

The diversity of each forestry asset and their shared climactic conditions provide a wealth of forestry research and social science opportunities, not least using the gene bank and the ecosystems of these collections to answer a broad range of enquiries. We are a laboratory for productivity, biodiversity and community engagement and forestry research undertaken at Earth Trust can be transformative in its application to policy questions and challenges.