Making Local Woods Work (MLWW) is an exciting pilot project which was conceived to help support and grow woodland social enterprises across the UK. The project was funded by the National Lottery through the Big Lottery Fund (now known as The National Lottery Community Fund), led by Plunkett Foundation and involved a range of fantastic partners.

​

MLWW was launched in September 2015 and was originally designed as a three-year programme; we were delighted to secure several extensions, which enabled the project to support woodland groups through until September 2019.

​

Eligibility for support was based on woodland social enterprises setting up, or undertaking, a new activity that would help provide a range of benefits for local people, bring woodlands under active management, and generate trading income. The programme offered  up to 47 different types of 'support' from business planning, through to governance, practical training with chainsaw use, woodland management planning, and income generation.

​

The project aimed to work with fifty woodland social enterprises across the UK, and to provide them with a range of support tailored to their needs. Within the programme it was expected that all fifty woodland groups would receive four days of specialist support, with the majority then going on to receive further specialised assistance.

​

We ensured there were a number of ways that anyone interested in, or involved with, woodland social enterprise could become involved – through training events, workshops, webinars and national campaigns that we developed.  We encouraged groups to get involved by signing up to our newsletter.