THE new chief executive of one of the UK’s leading woodland charities has outlined three key ambitions to be part of the solution to the defining challenges faced by our generation.

Andy Parsons has been appointed to the Heart of England Forest role, and will oversee a charity which has already planted more than two million trees on 7,000 acres of land. 

As for his three key ambitions, Andy believes the organisation must support local authorities to address the climate emergency, help meet England's protected nature targets, and ensure local communities access and enjoy nature. 

WANT MORE LIKE THIS? 

"The Heart of England Forest is built on three pillars, which drive our mission and position us to become a national leader in our field,” he said.

“We can play such a massive role in mitigating against, and adapting to, climate change, whether that is to help and maintain flood management, keep soils healthy, or provide areas of shade for wildlife.

“All the local authorities within the Heart of England Forest have declared climate emergencies which is not an easy thing to do but is not as hard as actually addressing that climate emergency, and we can support their responses which is a really important role for us.

“Secondly, the ecological crisis. Biodiversity is in a huge decline. We know there is half a century of decline in species and habitats, and we will work with partners to help improve nature. We can be front and centre in helping the Government with this, not just locally and regionally.

“One of the Government’s key targets is that 30 per cent of land in England should be protected for nature by 2030. When we consider protected lands like national parks, a lot of those areas are protected for nature, but in the area we operate in in the Central and Western Midlands, there are no protected landscapes, so the role for organisations like us in these areas is ever more important to prevent a devoid area.

“Thirdly, the Forest is surrounded by towns and cities which gives people an opportunity to visit these green spaces and providing access to the great outdoors to benefit health and wellbeing is really important.

"It isn’t our job as Heart of England Forest to become a large visitor destination, but we have a huge role to play for our local communities to access and enjoy nature."

Andy's career in the environment sector started when he was head of operations at South West Lakes Trust in Devon and Cornwall before moving to Severn Trent which led to being head of property operations.

He then returned to South West Lakes Trust to become chief executive between 2015-2019 before being appointed as chief executive at the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty organisation, where he implemented rural skills programmes for young people to improve access to the countryside.

Andy believes the skills he has built up by working in the charity, private and public sectors will prove integral to his new role. 

“This is an opportunity for me to return to the charity sector,” he said. “Charities have to be entrepreneurial, innovative, and forward-thinking, especially when it comes to looking at how we fund our work for the long term – especially the management and enhancement of the new habitats we are creating.”

“The permanency of the work that we are involved in with new tree planting, mature and ancient woodland, grassland, heathland, farmland, and wetland, to enable animals, plants, and people to thrive, makes our charity and our work vital. We are excited about what we are already achieving and the future possibilities to create a greener future for our communities and beyond.”

The Forest is a mosaic of habitats which includes 4,685 acres of new woodland and 600 acres of ancient woodland, across South Warwickshire and Worcestershire for the benefit of the environment, wildlife, and communities.