Evaluation of Ancient Woods and Trees

Client: Woodland Trust and National Trust

Ancient Woods and Trees was a £4.6 million partnership project delivered by the Woodland Trust and National Trust and supported by DEFRA Green Recovery Challenge Fund (GRCF). The project was delivered on sites across the country and land in Woodland Trust, National Trust and private ownership. Strands of work included Ancient Woodland Restoration, surveying and management work to Ancient and Veteran Trees and training and education elements, including facilitating sharing and upskilling of staff, training and demonstration events for private landowners, production of volunteer training resources and formation of new partnerships with Higher Education bodies.

Through our commission we:
  • Formed of an Evaluation Framework detailing all project outputs and outcomes and determining methods and responsibility for reporting data.
  • Produced of a wide range of tools for the client and delivery partners for data gathering.
  • Participated in the project Action Learning process to capture project benefits and challenges and feed them back into the project approach.
  • Delivered extensive stakeholder engagement to form case studies alongside a more formal partnership evaluation study.
  • Created of an Interim Evaluation report to reflect progress to date.
  • Produced a Final Evaluation Report, Executive Summary, and Presentation Slide Deck capturing all the achievements of the project while reflecting on challenges, lessons learnt and legacy to support future planning.

We were further commissioned to deliver a detailed piece of work, devising a replicable methodology to assess the economic impact of the Ancient Woodland Restoration work delivered through contractors.

Client Testimonial:

CFP feel integral to the delivery of the project and are keen and enthusiastic to discuss ideas and opportunities for the evaluation; whilst at the same time bring their experience and professionalism to discussions. Their provision of outputs is reliable and of a high standard…CFP have provided me… with the confidence that we will produce an effective, rewarding and meaning final report – not just one which ticks boxes.

Claire Leach, Project Manager, Woodland Trust
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