Durham Woodland Revival

We are carrying out an evaluation of the Durham Woodland Revival Project for Durham County Council.

The project’s aim is to deliver a programme of works which will demonstrate how fresh approaches to woodland management and ownership, and collaborations with local people and private landowners, can provide a valuable, rewarding and sustainable resource for years to come. It includes a programme of training and events to engage woodland owners and managers, providing advice to woodland owners, encouraging new woodland planting, supporting community groups and training and apprenticeships for young people.

Durham County Council is the project lead and major partners include the Woodland Trust, Forestry Commission, Living Woods NE, River Wear Trust and Rural Developments Initiative.

We carried out an assessment of their outputs, outcomes and Key Performance Indicators described in their funding bid, which was quite a complex process. We then prepared an Evaluation Framework with a summary table showing the activities, outputs, outcomes and how the evidence would be gathered.

The contract includes collaborative working with the team throughout the contract, the production of annual assessments in 2020 and 2022 and a full Interim Evaluation report in 2021. All of these were completed with the engagement of the team and to the satisfaction of the client.

The methods included analysis of data collected, interviews with the team, site visits and interviews with community group representatives.

The project was awarded an extension in order to overcome issues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Final Evaluation has been postponed until early 2024.