It’s like a woodland version of Google’s Street View, but Forestry Commission Wales’s new Map Viewer will help farmers and land owners all over Wales to plant more trees.
The Map Viewer, which can be accessed on the FC Wales website, brings together information from several land managers to show areas where trees can be planted under the new Glastir woodland creation grant scheme.
FC Wales, which manages the Assembly Government’s woodlands, has worked closely with CCW, ancient monuments body Cadw, archaeological trusts and national parks to develop a planting map of Wales.
The information can be overlaid on Ordnance Survey maps, enabling farmers and other land owners to go online to quickly see if their land qualifies for the new increased rate of grant to plant woodlands.
As well as using the map-based information to see all the land in Wales which might be turned into woodland, people can also type in a grid reference or postcode to view aerial images and zoom in to see the potential for new woods on their land.
The woodland creation scheme is a bespoke element of Glastir – Wales’s new sustainable land management scheme – and provides support for the cost of creating woodlands as well as income foregone payments for taking land out of agriculture.
The scheme aims to help to fulfil the commitment to create more native and mixed woodland as set out in Woodlands for Wales, the Welsh Assembly Government’s woodland strategy.
FC Wales is keen to encourage more tree planting to meet a Welsh Assembly Government pledge to plant 100,000 hectares of trees.
Wales is one of the least wooded countries in Europe, with woodland covering 14 per cent of the land area.
Martyn Potton, FC Wales’s Grants and Regulations Technical Manager, said, “This is the first phase of our internet mapping programme and is part of an Assembly Government initiative to make more data available to the public.
“Anyone who is thinking of going into the Glastir woodland creation scheme can check online to see if their land is eligible for the new increased rate of grant to plant woodlands.
“This demonstrates how we are making efficient and innovative use of our resources to deliver the policy priorities of Woodlands for Wales.”
The map viewer also allows people to view “planting opportunity maps”, showing where woodland creation would be acceptable.
To explore the new Map Viewer and guidance on how to use it, go to
www.forestry.gov.uk/glastirwoodland
