After the successful partnership working that led to the publication of the local nature recovery strategy (LNRS), Oxfordshire County Council is now continuing its work with the Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership (OLNP).

The OLNP is launching the first of Oxfordshire’s strategic nature projects – a growing portfolio of the county’s most ambitious nature recovery initiatives, now live on the OLNP’s website. It will include 15 projects, with these six already promoted and more to come:

• Black poplar project to recover Britain’s rarest tree species back to floodplains in Oxfordshire.
• Cotswolds Savannah project: a large-scale chalk grassland and mosaic habitat restoration project on 2,000 hectares.
• Evenlode landscape recovery project restoring habitats, soil health, and waterways. Led by farmers without sacrificing food production.
• Thames Valley wildflower meadow restoration project in Eynsham, including the acquisition of a new piece of land.
• Ock and Thame landscape recovery project, including benefits for people, food, farming, and nature.
• Reconnecting Bernwood Otmoor and the Ray project.

Councillor Laura Gordon, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Economy, said: “The selected projects are built to last, with trusted partnerships, and plans to sustain their impacts well beyond any single funding cycle. Together, the projects span a significant area of Oxfordshire and represent a shared vision for nature recovery across the county, helping to deliver the LNRS’s strategic vision.

“Publishing these projects is just the first step. We will continue working with and through the OLNP to help these projects unlock the specific delivery funding and investments that they need.”

Each project has been assessed for its strong alignment with the LNRS, which the council published in November 2025, and its potential to deliver lasting, landscape-scale change. The projects include key actions to connect habitats across the county, support the recovery of priority species, and build greater local resilience in the face of increasingly extreme weather events.

Beyond nature recovery, the strategic projects each offer a variety of key wider benefits for people and place – cleaner water supplies, greater flood resilience, more opportunities for communities to connect with nature, and improvements for health, wellbeing and local economies.

Given that these projects are at different stages and different scales, the right kind of support will vary.

For some, philanthropic or grant funding will be the right fit. For others, public sources such as agri-environment payments or woodland creation grants may be more appropriate. As projects mature, opportunities through emerging nature markets are also expected to open up.

Over the coming months the OLNP and its members, including the council, will be promoting the portfolio more widely and connecting projects with the funders and partners best placed to support them.

Looking further ahead, the OLNP hopes to make it easier for individuals and businesses to contribute directly to the projects that matter most to them, through a crowdfunding-style approach – so that everyone with a stake in Oxfordshire's landscapes can play a part in their recovery.

For now, the public is invited to explore the projects, share them widely, and get in touch to help create a greener and more resilient Oxfordshire.

People can see the projects and get in touch with them directly through the OLNP’s website.

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Since 2023, Oxfordshire County Council has been working in partnership to reverse the decline of wildlife, restoring habitats, and ensuring that coordinated nature recovery is embedded in Oxfordshire’s future. Partner organisations span nature conservation, farming, forestry, rural and local businesses, local authorities, education, and community groups.

The LNRS is designed to restore and reconnect the county’s natural environment to build local resilience against flooding and climate change to benefit for generations to come.

Over many months, this partnership has met people, listened to local priorities and crafted a set of targeted actions. These include an innovative, interactive map that guides nature recovery efforts to areas that could become particularly important for biodiversity, offering every corner of Oxfordshire the chance to play its part in this collective endeavour.

Councillor Judy Roberts, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Place, Environment and Climate Action, said: “This is not simply a document – it is a call to action, a statement of hope and a promise to future generations. Together, we will forge the path towards a county where wildlife flourishes, nature is part of our daily lives, and the benefits of a vibrant natural environment are secured for all.

“All local people, organisations and authorities are the delivery partners of the LNRS. There is something for everyone to do whether it’s creating a pond, managing your garden for wildlife, creating habitats at school, creating arable wildflower strips, managing an ancient woodland or reintroducing beavers.

“Let’s recover nature, together – Oxfordshire’s future depends on it.”

The development of the strategy has been a collaborative journey. From the outset, there has been a deep commitment to drawing on the knowledge, passion and vision of Oxfordshire’s local people and organisations.

The engagement process was extensive, culminating in a formal public consultation that generated more than 2,000 responses to the strategy documents and the pioneering mapping tool. The outcome was overwhelmingly positive, with communities, stakeholders and individuals voicing support for the direction and priorities set out in the strategy.

Since the consultation, the LNRS has further developed the documents and map to improve the strategy further and the final version is now live.

Chloe Edwards, Oxfordshire County Council’s LNRS Project Manager, said: “The LNRS is poised to empower communities at the grassroots, offering a powerful framework to direct energy and resources towards habitat and species work where they could offer great benefits.

“By putting this strategy into action, Oxfordshire stands ready to realise the vision of a well-connected, biodiversity rich network of nature – one that is resilient to future challenges, restored not only for the health and wellbeing of people but for nature’s own intrinsic value.”

Richard Benwell, Chair of Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership and CEO of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “Our LNRS is a treasure map, setting a path to make Oxfordshire rich in nature. The strategy is an amazing team effort, but the plan won't happen by itself. Now it’s up to us all to bring the plan to life. 

“Politicians must follow the plan in planning decisions and budgets. Land managers should figure out how their patch can be part of a thriving landscape. Businesses and communities need to step up with investment and commitment.

“Restoring nature is a huge task, but if we keep the spirit of positivity, good science and collaboration alive, it really is possible.”

Nature Minister Mary Creagh said: “I welcome this strategy as an opportunity to create bigger, better and more joined up areas for nature in Oxfordshire, benefitting local communities, alleviate flooding, making landscapes more climate resilient and improving health and wellbeing. 

“This is an important step in the effort to recover nature and support prosperity in the county for the future.”

The strategy is now expected to be used by funding bodies, local authorities, planners and other investors in nature to focus their funding, support and finance towards those locations and actions that could offer the greatest benefits for nature.

To ensure Oxfordshire’s nature recovery ambitions are realised and remain relevant, the strategy is underpinned by a strong commitment to monitoring and evaluation.

Oxfordshire County Council will be responsible for tracking, assessing and reporting on the progress of nature recovery actions across the county. Over the next three to 10 years, in line with government requirements, the strategy and its interactive map will be formally reviewed and republished, enabling adaptation to changing local habitats, evolving community priorities and the latest scientific data.

This ongoing process of evaluation will ensure the strategy continues to deliver real and lasting benefits for people and nature alike.

More information, including the LNRS map, are available on Oxfordshire County Council’s website.

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The tree service was answering a request from local environmental groups to help them plant trees on land to the north of the Wantage community support service and Wantage Market Garden, a project jointly run between Oxfordshire County Council, Sustainable Wantage and Style Acre.

County council-run Wantage community support service, in Charlton Village Road, provides daytime support for adults with physical disabilities, learning disabilities, mental health problems and dementia.

On Friday 5 May, members of the county council’s tree service (Andy Lederer, Luke Rowland, Edward Whorwood, Matthew Hirons, James Hammond and Ellie Rawden) supported by James Smith (the council’s countryside access delivery team) and Lucy Duerdoth (national trails team) helped volunteers of all ages, Wantage Market Garden, Sustainable Wantage and Wild Wantage, plus day centre staff and users, plant 14 apple trees to create an orchard that will be available for the local community to enjoy for years to come.

Principal Officer – Arboriculture, Andy Lederer, said: “We absolutely love helping to enable projects like this to take place. We identified the potential but it was through significant planning and conversations by Luke, Senior Tree Officer, that the community and associated organisations were engaged and ultimately supported the idea through to delivery.

“We want to be enablers of projects as we know the importance of trees to our environment, not forgetting the ability to access food sources and improve our wellbeing and mental health. Well done to all the volunteers taking part and we look forward to helping with similar projects in the future.”

The council provided the trees, the equipment – including spades – and the expertise, while the volunteers gave their time and labour to turn the vision into reality.

Volunteers helped prepare the trees to be planted, put them in the ground and fill the holes with soil, with guidance from the county council’s tree professionals.

Jo Harvey, Sustainability Coordinator for Sustainable Wantage, said: “We're delighted to see this patch of land coming back into use. We would love to be able to help this develop into a community orchard, getting local residents and groups involved in its care and in enjoying the benefits and harvest.

“Given how COVID lockdowns and rising energy costs have highlighted the fragilities of our current food system, the more we can grow and use locally the better!”

It is hoped that pupils from Charlton Primary School and residents will join members of Wantage Market Garden in helping to look after the orchard.

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New British citizens living in Oxfordshire were offered the opportunity to donate a tree for planting on their behalf or to be presented with one at their citizenship ceremony. This was part of the wider Queen’s Green Canopy programme, first introduced as part of Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee earlier in the year.

Since the start of the programme in February, 825 trees have been donated and 396 collected for planting.

 Councillor Susanna Pressel, Oxfordshire County Council’s Chair, said: “I’m delighted to be planting a tree on behalf of the people of Oxfordshire, especially since this is National Tree Week. The trees come from the citizenship ceremonies in County Hall, which are always moving occasions, particularly this year when we have been donating a tree to each new citizen. With these trees they can ‘put down roots’ either in their own gardens or in our beautiful Oxfordshire countryside.”

Following the wishes of His Majesty The King upon the passing of Her Majesty, the initiative has been extended until the end of March 2023 to allow more people to plant trees in memoriam.

An interactive map has been created by The Queen’s Green Canopy to showcase the planting projects across the United Kingdom until the end of March 2023, giving people an opportunity to be part of this special legacy.

Find out more about getting involved in The Queen’s Green Canopy by visiting the project’s website queensgreencanopy.org

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The Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund has offered a share of £9.8 million in funding to 57 local authorities across England to bring on board new staff and access the professional expertise needed to drive tree planting and woodland creation activity at a local level.

More than 100 new green jobs will be created across the country, with an emphasis on upskilling professionals from outside the forestry sector. This will help to expand the industry’s workforce, address skills shortages and help to grow the economy.  

Oxfordshire County Council will create two new community tree and woodland planting roles as part of its collaboration with Oxford City Council and Cherwell, South Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse and West Oxfordshire district councils. The two new recruits will work to increase tree cover through training volunteer groups and further engaging the local community in woodland creation activities.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment, said: “We know we need to play catch-up with the increasing impacts of climate change. One of the most versatile and effective ways of tackling many climate impacts, including heat, storm, heavy rainfall, and soil erosion, is planting trees.

“Understanding and agreeing what trees to plant, and where, is a high priority of all Oxfordshire’s councils and the money from this joint bid for funding will allow us to do that as rapidly as possible.”

Richard Stanford, Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission, said: “Local authorities have set out a range of inspiring and ambitious plans which equate to more than 10 million trees being planted on public land across England by 2025. The Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund will provide the support and resource needed to turn these aspirations into results, marking a significant step forward in our collective efforts to treble planting rates in England. 

“Growing both our treescapes and the forestry sector workforce through this fund demonstrates how protecting and restoring our natural world with trees can unlock environmental, economic and social benefits for everyone.”  

Hannah Bartram, Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport, said: “The Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund is set to make a real difference, supporting local authorities to accelerate their tree and woodland planting plans and helping to tackle the climate change and biodiversity crises. 

“The fund has been well received and demand has been high – it will support local authorities across the country, equipping them with the new staff, skills, and expertise needed to drive tree planting and woodland creation commitments.” 

Over two thirds of upper tier local authorities in England applied for the Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund, representing a blend of urban, mixed, and rural applications. Planting will take place across the country, in both deprived areas with lower tree cover, as well as through ambitious schemes expanding existing woodlands in rural settings.

Since the fund’s launch in June, an additional £2m has been made available through the government’s £750m Nature for Climate Fund in response to the high level of interest in the grant, the quality of proposals submitted and the recognised need for support.  

The Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund has been promoted by the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport (ADEPT), on behalf of DEFRA and the Forestry Commission. ADEPT will continue to support the successful local authorities over the next two years. 

For more information, go to Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund on GOV.UK or read the Forestry Commission’s blog.  

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Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet endorsed the updated tree policy when it met today. It will put the emphasis on a ‘presumption in favour of trees’ because of the host of benefits they provide to the climate, the environment and the places where people live.

Bill Cotton, Oxfordshire County Council’s Director of Environment & Place, said: “This is a bold and ambitious long-term policy to increase investment in trees across the county. Trees are valuable assets for so many reasons and we aim to give them more prominence when looking at areas including planning, transport, connectivity and health.

“We want to move away from simply maintaining and managing the trees on our land to actively encouraging and enabling more trees to be planted in both rural and urban settings. This can help tackle climate change and increase resilience to it, as well as improving people’s quality of life – both now and in the future.”

One requirement of the policy is to plant two new trees for every tree that has to be removed from county council land. It also promises to explore new tree planting opportunities and extra investment to carry it out, stricter guidelines for those wanting to remove existing trees and implement proactive care to prolong the lives of established trees.

The main climate benefits of trees, due to their ability to mitigate extremes of heat, cold, wind, rain, and drought, include:

• removing and storing carbon from the air
• reducing urban temperatures through canopy cover
• preventing flooding by reducing the pressure on drainage systems
• wind speed reduction
• cutting air pollution
• enhancing biodiversity
• supporting sustainable agriculture.

Their presence has also been shown to contribute directly to improved wellbeing and mental health, enhance street design and even reduce crime. Research has shown that public open space with trees tends to be used more than space without trees and this increases casual surveillance – deterring criminal activity.

The new policy will not compromise the council’s ability to deal with trees which pose a danger to the public or to property.

The scope, scale, and business case for direct investment into a tree planting programme will be considered as the next step for key consideration as part of the 2023/24 annual budget setting process. Money to fund tree planting would also be sought from numerous national grants, sponsorship, carbon offsetting by businesses and developer contributions.

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Christmas Tree Collection Points

City and District Councils are running Christmas Tree collection points for residents who don't have green waste collected. 

Oxford (open between 27 December 2017 and 14 January 2018)

• Alexandra Tennis Courts, Middle Way, Summertown
• Bury Knowle Park, North Place car park
• Cutteslowe Park, Harbord Road car park
• Florence Park, Cowley
• Hinksey Park, off Abingdon Road
• Leys Pools and Leisure Centre car park (formerly Blackbird Leys Leisure Centre)
• Long Lane, Littlemore
• Margaret Road Recreation Ground
• Meadow Lane Recreation Ground, Jackdaw Lane
• Oatlands Recreation Ground, Ferry Hinksey Road (car park)
• South Park, Morrell Avenue
• Sunnymead Recreation Ground, by play area

South Oxfordshire

If you're not a garden waste customer you can drop your tree off at one of the following locations

Before Sunday 14 January​

• Brightwell - Root One
• Christmas Common - The Tree Barn
• Henley - Toad Hall
• Nuneham Courtenay - Notcutts Garden Centre
• Sonning Common - Herb Farm
• Wheatley - Waterperry Gardens
• Chinnor - Whites Field Car Park - Mill Lane
• Thame - Cattlemarket car park

Before Monday 15 January

• Beckley - Folly Farm, Common Road
• Towersey - Sports and Social Club car park and Village Green

Before Tuesday 16 January

• Ewelme - Recreation ground car park - Common Road
• Watlington- Church car park (left of the grass by the fence)

Before Thursday 18 January

• Aston Tirrold and Aston Upthorpe - Recreation ground car park - Chalk Hill
• Brightwell-cum-Sotwell - Recreation ground car park
• Cholsey - Pavillion car park

Vale of White Horse 

If you're not a garden waste customer you can drop your tree off at one of the following locations

Before Tuesday 9 January

• Buckland Village Hall
• Childrey playing field
• East Challow Village Hall Car Park
• Before Thursday 11 January
• Appleford recreation field car park
• Milton burial ground

Before Friday 12 January

• Kennington - Forest Side and Playfield Road playing fields car park

Before Sunday 14 January

• Frilford - Millets Farm Garden Centre
• Hinksey - The Oxford Garden Centre
• Wantage - Charlton Park Garden Centre

Cherwell District Council

Cherwell District Council have more information on how to recycle your Christmas tree here 

West Oxfordshire

Saturday 13 January 2018

• Witney: Witan Way Car Park, 9 - 11am
• Carterton: Black Bourton Road car park, 1.30 - 3.30pm

Sunday 14 January 2018

• Chipping Norton: New Street car park, 9 - 11am

One of the council’s highway officers came across a large tree branch blocking the carriageway and contacted colleagues from the Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service via the council’s customer service centre. A specialist team was sent to cut up and remove the offending timber, restoring order the well-used local road.

Until recently contractors dealt with all fallen trees on the road but it is thought that in many circumstances a fire service response could restore safety and traffic flows more quickly. The county council’s regular contractors will remain available to do this work if the fire service has more pressing priorities.

Paul Wilson, Highway Network Resilience Coordinator, said: “Trained firefighters from the Specialist Rescue Team are now turning out to remove dangerous fallen trees from the highway as part of a special trial.

“The trial seems to be going well as this latest piece of work shows.”

Jason Crapper, “The Fire and Rescue service is an integral part of the county council and it makes sense that we test whether using our specialist skills and resources can benefit residents to save time, maintain safety and save money.”

Only trees that fall onto roads are dealt with by the fire service - trees falling on private land remain the responsibility of the owners and emergency call outs will remain the fire service’s top priority.

Trained firefighters from the Specialist Rescue Team are now turning out to remove dangerous fallen trees from the highway.

Until now the county councils contractors deal with all fallen trees on the road but it is thought that in many circumstances a “blue light” response could restore safety and traffic flows more quickly. The county council’s regular contractors will remain available to do this work if the fire service has more pressing priorities.

So far the team has been to incidents at:

Chazey Close, Chazey Heath

Woodstock Road, Oxford

Bourne Lane, Hook Norton

Devils Hill, Harpsden

Only trees that fall onto roads are dealt with by the fire service - trees falling on private land remain the responsibility of the owners and emergency call outs will remain the fire service’s top priority.

A trial is underway which will see dangerous fallen trees being removed from Oxfordshire’s roads by the fire and rescue service.

At the moment the county councils contractors deal with all fallen trees but it is thought that in many circumstances a “blue light” response will be able to restore safety and traffic flows more quickly, as well as saving money.

The work will be done by Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service chainsaw trained firefighters from the Specialist Rescue Team. They will take responsibility for dealing with any tree that falls on the highway.

Fire service an integral part of the county council

County Councillor Rodney Rose, Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, said: “The Fire and Rescue service is an integral part of the county council and it makes sense that they should use our specialist skills and resources to benefit residents if it can save time, maintain safety and save money.”

Only trees that fall onto roads will be dealt with by the fire service - trees falling on private land will remain the responsibility of the owners and emergency call outs will remain the fire service’s top priority.

The council will still have access to its current tree contractors who will carry out emergency work in the event of high numbers of trees down or if the fire and rescue service does not have the resources.

County Councillor David Nimmo Smith, Cabinet member for Environment, said: “Residents will know all about the work that our crews do to rescue people and put out fires, but clearly the range of things that they can help with is quite broad.

“I will be keen to see the results of the trial as it has the potential to provide a faster and more efficient service.”

You’d have to be very focussed on the roads you travel on, or the streets you walk through, to miss the fact that Oxfordshire is predominantly a rural county, full of greenery, sloping landscapes and, of course, trees.

Trees = assets

Trees, as with most of our arrangements with neighbouring councils, are separated by boundaries and areas. In some cases, you could literally be stood in between two trees, with your left arm touching one owned by a district council, and your right arm touching one owned by the county!

You might not know it, but trees are actually council assets; assets that need to be registered, managed and regularly maintained by our team of trained specialists in the Tree Team. We have over eight hundred thousand trees that need to be inspected, by law, a minimum of once every five years. Incredibly, this arduous task is done by just two surveyors.

The surveyors play a crucial role in keeping Oxfordshire’s roads and public safe – by reacting to dangerous overhangs at the side of the highway or any fallen debris – and making sure that the data we have in our system is current and accurate.

They conduct driven and walking surveys to visually assess trees; sometimes using fancy equipment to see what’s lurking inside of them – fungal decay, large wounds, and nesting birds and bats are just a few examples of what you might find.

Maintaining a natural balance

Biodiversity (using native species of trees and leaving deadwood for animals where possible) and protecting and increasing tree cover for future generations, is embedded in the Tree Team’s roots. Together they, work closely with our street lighting, bridges and highways colleagues. They also liaise with counterparts at a district level, and play an advisory role on projects across the county, often being called in at the planning stages of private projects such as multi-million pound housing developments.

Given the nature of such projects, there are often differing opinions and interests involved. The team have to balance the wants and needs of individuals, with what’s best for residents and the environment. 

In case you were wondering …

As well as an entry level introduction to arboriculture, we learnt some interesting things after a day with the Tree Team. For example, did you know that photophosphorylation is the process in which a tree converts potential energy from the sun into kinetic energy, to facilitate its living processes in the dark?

And did you know that you’re more likely to win the euro millions jackpot than you are to be killed by a falling tree? (Your chances are 1 in 20 million, in case you were wondering.)

Got a problem that needs fixing?

Head to www.FixMyStreet.com to report, view, or discuss local problems relating to trees, graffiti, fly tipping, broken paving slabs, or street lighting.