We love using our business as a force of good
From the local charities that we support on the ground to broader projects with charitable organisations and our partners, our focus is on building a brighter future for the planet and for the generations who will enjoy it. As well as our relationship with Forestry England, Forestry and Land Scotland, Natural Resources Wales and local collaborations with Wildlife Trusts, amongst others, we have a number of key partnerships. These include National Parks, Family Holiday Charity, Grown in Britain and The Royal Countryside Fund.
The Royal Countryside Fund
Since 2019, Forest Holidays has been proud to partner with The Royal Countryside Fund to deliver the Rural Start-Up Fund— a joint initiative to support people with business ideas in rural areas. We donate 10p from every hot drink, and we provide core business mentoring workshops; a key and exciting component of the initiative.
Get to know our rural start up winner
Moving forward we now have a revised brand image, a new ethos, and an entirely different plan in place for 2022 which we’re extremely excited about and all of which we’re certain wouldn’t exist if not for the support of The Prince’s Countryside Fund Forest Holidays their efforts have been amazing, and will doubtless have a huge impact for this next cohort of winners.
"I can only thank them again for all their support follow the exciting progress of this new batch of businesses, and look forward to our next chapter!"
Jamie Bending, Ergrownomics. Winner of our 2020 Rural Start Up Fund.
National Parks
National Parks and Forest Holidays share an ambition to connect 20,000 young people with nature, both to improve their physical and mental health and well-being and to ensure that National Parks are valued, understood and cared for into the future.
As the first step, we launched a pilot year of partnership in 2018, to enable up to 6,000 young people to experience and explore the best of the UK countryside. It is our ambition to grow our partnership and connect 20,000 young people with nature in the next five years.
Spotlight on our partnership
Connecting young people with nature takes time, expertise and funding. Forest Holidays’ long-term commitment to ‘National Parks Futures’ is enabling thousands of young people to experience learning in amazing natural settings.
" Forest Holidays share our ambition to improve lives through connecting to nature, and thanks to them, ‘National Parks Futures’ is helping to inspire the next generation to love and care for our precious landscapes.”
National Parks.
Case study - National Parks Futures
- We're excited to relaunch National Parks Futures and the following projects in 2022.
- The ‘Wild connections youth project’ runs in the New Forest and aims to allow young people experiences in wild spaces. We’ll be providing the support needed for visits to the New Forest National Park, many will be visiting for the first time. Youth projects include taking part in citizen science, trying out nature photography or geocaching, cycling or visiting coastal habitats.
- The Peak District National Park are piloting ‘Family Nature Connect Volunteering’. The pilot is delivering a family volunteering programme linking with the John Muir Award. Families are targeted from urban communities around the National Park, with the hope they will learn new skills, connect with nature, have fun and create lasting memories.
- Little Larks Forest School, within Northumberland National Park, is a monthly National Park focussed Under 5’s Forest School programme. It encourages children to connect with nature, manage their own risks, lead their own adventures and exploration of the outdoors, and build relationships with a small community of friends.
Grown in Britain
Grown in Britain promotes the use of local, sustainably-grown timber. Our partnership is long-term and for us, it offers opportunities to explore new ways to improve the design, sourcing and use of the wood within our business. Our partnership is based on a shared set of values that aims to connect people with nature and teach them about the management of forests for sustainability.