South Yorkshire Forest Partnership

In the AFO-project, SYFP executes regional and sub-regional activities in the U.K., in co-operation with The Forestry Commission.

The South Yorkshire Forest Partnership (SYFP) is realising a vision for over 200 square miles of South Yorkshire's diverse rural and urban landscapes. Since its inception in 1991, the Partnership has facilitated massive economic and environmental regeneration projects within South Yorkshire. We work closely with partner organisations including the Forestry Commission, Objective 1, Doncaster, Rotherham & Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Councils, and Sheffield City Council to turn ugly and abused land into beautiful, useful landscapes rich in biodiversity.

We plant trees of course, but we also work with the authorities and local industries to promote sustainable use of resources, with communities to educate and encourage healthy, sustainable enjoyment of their green spaces and wildlife and with businesses to develop attractive settings for investment. We create practical networks that provide ongoing support for these activities and feed into the vital development of a ‘green infrastructure' for South Yorkshire.

The South Yorkshire Forest Partnership is one of England's Community Forests, a national partnership that is regenerating and revitalising the greenspace in and around some of our major towns and cities, creating well-wooded environments for work, wildlife, recreation and education. Together, the twelve Community Forests are helping to improve the health, well-being and quality of life of over half of England's population.

England's Community Forests were initially sponsored with national funding from the Countryside Agency and the Forestry Commission and they work with local authorities and a wide range of public, private, voluntary and community partners to create better places and more sustainable communities.

Since 2002, South Yorkshire Forest Partnership has been promoting and developing woodfuel energy projects in the region. An initial £13,000 proposal to the Countryside Agency for a feasibility study to investigate the potential for woodfuel generation in the SY region, grew and developed into a series of projects that have attracted around £2m of funding. These have helped put South Yorkshire firmly on the map as National leaders in woodfuel development. South Yorkshire Forest Partnership instigated the formation of the South Yorkshire Biomass Group and the South Yorkshire Wood Energy Cluster.