Woodland Trust Conservation Research Grants

Funding for research projects that aim to address one or more of the Woodland Trust’s priority research themes (ie protect, create and restore woodland) in order to conserve UK woods and trees.

Founded in 1972, the Woodland Trust is a large UK woodland conservation charity that envisions a world where woods and trees thrive for people and nature.

Conservation Research Grants underpin the work of the Trust with evidence, which in turn maximises conservation impact and builds credibility in conservation science and practice. By aligning its research priorities with the strategic goals to protect, create and restore, the Trust can deliver its vision of creating a world where native trees and woods thrive for people and nature.

Grant funding will be awarded for research projects that aim to address one or more of the Trust’s priority research themes (ie protect, create and restore). Grants can cover:

• Novel applied research relevant to the conservation of UK woods and trees.
• Short-term, pilot or proof-of-concept research.
• Support for under-represented and early career woodland conservation researchers to help them gain experience in leading applied research projects with a practitioner non-government organisation.

Empirical and modelling approaches can also be funded, as well as practical conservation work designed to scientifically test or trial a management intervention.

Research outputs must be relevant to the conservation of UK woods and trees, and must aim to address a specific evidence gap and produce tangible outputs within the project timeframe. Applicants are required to consult Conservation Evidence to indicate how their project will fill an existing evidence gap.

Research must be a discrete project, or a discrete part of a larger project. In the latter instance, the Trust contribution must fund a recognisable and isolated part of the project.