The Community Woodlands Association was established in 2003 as the direct representative body of Scotland's community woodland groups. We help community woodland groups across the country achieve their aspirations and potential, providing advice, assistance and information, facilitating networking and training, and representing and promoting community woodlands to the wider world.
A community woodland is one partly or completely controlled by the local community, through a community woodland group. The woodland may be owned or leased by the group, or managed in partnership with another organisation, such as Forestry Commission Scotland.
From small beginnings in the late 1980's, there are now well over 200 groups across Scotland, involved in or responsible for the management of thousands of hectares of woodland and open space. New groups continue to form, encouraged by the Land Reform legislation and the National Forest Land Scheme.