A new national forest in the Oxford Cambridge Corridor has moved closer after the government opened a search for delivery partners. The project is real. A fictional sapling has brought a blank map and announced that it cannot begin without a strategy, a steering group and a very small chair.
New national forest starts with a sapling in charge
The Expression of Interest process asks potential partners to show they have the capacity, experience and knowledge to deliver the forest. It also looks for large scale woodland creation, community engagement and work across sectors. The blank green folder has described this as an excellent moment for trees to improve their stakeholder management.
The planned forest will be the second of three new national forests pledged in the manifesto. It follows the Western Forest in the West of England. At the imaginary Department of Woodland Confidence, a potted sapling has requested a formal introduction to every field in the corridor.
A real delivery search meets a very patient oak
The government expects millions of trees to be planted in the years ahead as part of wider forestry support. That can bring nature closer to communities and support green jobs. Meanwhile, the tiny sapling has produced a three page vision statement, although every page contains a drawing of itself.
First, interested organisations set out their experience. Next, delivery partners assess the proposals. Then the work begins over time. Finally, the measuring stick asks whether it can lead the partnership because it has always had a strong sense of scale.
A national forest needs practical planning, local knowledge and long term commitment. It does not need a squirrel ornament to chair a governance board. The ornament has nevertheless scheduled the first meeting at dawn and listed acorns as a standing agenda item.
By the end of the workshop, the sapling had not yet become a forest. It accepted this with remarkable dignity, then asked the blank map where its office would be.
Source: UK Government.
