Forest Holidays raises £100k in guest donations to the National Forest

We’re thrilled to announce that our partner Forest Holidays has raised a total of £107,374 in donations to the National Forest, helping us in our mission to a grow a greener, healthier and more sustainable future. 

From their support centre in Moira, Leicestershire, in the heart of the National Forest, Forest Holidays coordinates ten holiday locations across the UK offering around 600 luxury log cabins in beautiful forest settings. 

Our partnership with Forest Holidays began in 2016, with shared values in forest creation, communities and tourism - they were a natural fit for us. They have raised funds for the Forest by inviting guests to make a donation when booking their holiday or short break, resulting in this phenomenal total figure. 

During our five-year partnership, the donations raised by Forest Holidays have contributed towards our forest creation and community engagement programmes including, the planting of 370,000 more trees here in the National Forest. Forest Holidays customer donations together with support from regular donors and grant funders have helped to engage 6.5 times more schools in regular outdoor learning in 2021 compared to 2017. In the last five years we have also created 11% more tourism jobs and increased visitors to the Forest by 12% each year. All these are vital steps towards creating a future where nature, society and the economy can all work together. 

Since the National Forest’s creation, we have made great progress: we have reached our 9 millionth tree, we have increased forest cover from 6% to 22%, transforming in total 8,000 hectares of land into wildlife-friendly habitats.  Over half a million attendees have had fun in the woods through environmental education sessions, 84% of National Forest woodlands are in active management, greatly supported by 56 community volunteer groups across the Forest, and 100 kilometres of hedgerows and 120 wildlife ponds have been created.

Over the years Forest Holidays have not just supported us through their donations but have also been hands-on, with their support centre staff planting trees at Cadborough Hill Wood in Derbyshire and helping to build bug hotels in Sarah’s Wood.  

We’re delighted to have been in partnership with Forest Holidays and their support through these donations is vital in helping us to create a positive future for everyone.  

Find out more about Forest Holidays here.