Accolade for Heartwood Forest

After seven years of hard work by local people, Heartwood Forest, nestled in the middle of London’s greenbelt, has been given a prestigious accolade. The Woodland Trust site has been awarded Quality Assured Visitor Attraction status by Visit England as it is considered a place well worth visiting and exploring.

It follows years of hard work by the Trust and its volunteers to make Heartwood Forest a valuable resource for the community, while remaining an important and carefully managed wildlife habitat.

Some of the newest features on the site include a visitor hub, which welcomes people with information about the site and map, re-surfaced car park and a series of new trails.

A programme of summer events is also planned, offering great opportunities to visit Heartwood – these include guided nature walks that start from 1st July 2017 and the annual Heartwood summer festival on 8th July.

Louise Neicho, site manager for the Woodland Trust, said: “We’re thrilled to have Heartwood Forest recognised by Visit England, as it stands testimony to the hard work local volunteers have put into making it so wonderful. We hope people take the opportunity to visit the wood this summer, and enjoy all it has to offer – including our new visitor hub and walks.”

Heartwood is supported by individual donors, Disney Store UK and charitable trusts as well as the Forestry Commission. It has also received grants through the Landfill Communities Fund.

With help from community volunteers 500,000 trees have been planted and the area is now home to a host of wildlife.

To book on any of the summer events go to: www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/get-involved

All photographs ©Woodland Trust