Project Aims

Meirionnydd Oakwoods Project Aims

We are ‘a partnership to care for the Oak woodlands of Meirionnydd, promoting their importance to the community, the economy and the environment’.

How the project works
For the project to be a success a lot of co-operation from a great number of local people and interest groups is required. Community involvement is a key to the long term protection of these sites and sites with safe access will be used for environmental interpretation and education.

Sites that have open access or way marked trails are listed on our Where to See Page.

Photograph of classroom activity We want to ensure the work completed through the project is of the highest standards, so most of the work carried out on private and public land not owned by the Forestry Commission, will be in line with the Forestry Commission’s Woodland Grant Scheme .

Our partners in the project are at the forefront of sound environmental and forestry management which is clearly reflected in the work programmes for their sites.

The Forestry Commission is the lead partner and their entire estate is certified as being sustainably managed under the UK Woodland Assurance Scheme , a global standard of best practice for forest management.

Our aim is to ‘Combine a healthy, well-managed environment with economic productivity and viability by managing the special, unique and threatened character of Meirionnydd’s internationally important oakwoods sustainably for the benefit of the public, the local economy, biodiversity, and the landscape’.

Promoting traditional management of broadleaved woodland. This will involve forestry operations like thinning, selective felling, coppicing and charcoal burning. These operations will benefit the oak woodland habitat whilst supporting the local forest industry from chainsawyers and planting squads through to the saw millers and timber merchants.
Improving native woodland biodiversity by controlling non-native and invasive species like Western Hemlock, spruce, Rhododendron and Japanese Knotweed that can take over sites causing a decline in the sensitive native species that make these sites so important.
Involving local communities in the long-term care of their local woods. Nicola Maysmor is committed to getting you involved in your local wood. She will be running events across the area from Acorn collection and planting days to hosting stalls at local shows and visiting schools. If you would like to know more about getting involved please contact Nicola
Creating long-term employment for local people by letting contracts for management works to the local forestry contracting base. And through limited commercial woodland management creating forestry products to be marketed locally and nationally.
Improve public access by creating or improving nature trails, cycleways, All-Ability access and informal walking access.
Getting the message of positive woodland management to as many people as possible by providing interpretation panels, leaflets, the website and through educational visits.
Contribute to the Meirionnydd tourism economy particularly in the shoulder seasonsby making our sites more attractive and interesting places to visit, and improving landscape views by making them feel more natural.
Providing increased opportunities for wildlife watching. Through the project we will be building a bird hide, and running public open days to bring attention to locally endangered species like bats and dormice.
Ensuring that the improved sites have long term management to continue their improvement through the provision of Management Plans.