The
National Forest Company is responsible for leading the creation of the National
Forest, working in partnership with landowners, businesses, public, private and
voluntary organisations and local communities to deliver and champion the
shared vision for the Forest.
In 2022:
In the past year, the National Forest Company (NFC) has made significant improvements in monitoring the diversity of those we support, which will allow us to better understand the demographics we’re currently serving and therefore potentially under-serving. A Board level EDI champion has been agreed, and the diversity of Board members enhanced through recent appointments. All staff were offered mental health first aid training, and staff wellbeing in all its forms has been given more prominence in the new Safety, Health and Wellbeing group that has been set up. The NFC also held an organisation-wide workshop on what accessibility to the Forest means to staff and their work programmes, which provided a springboard for future work in this area. This has already resulted in a broader range of audiences receiving grant support.
In 2023:
The National Forest Company commits to offering specific and detailed EDI training to all its staff and Trustees in the coming year. We will also use the enhanced diversity monitoring to check whether the demographics of those we support fully represents communities within the Forest. Any gaps in representation will be identified and strategies identified to engage any under-served groups. The NFC has also been working on a new website which will be launched in 2023 and will be accessible to all, clearly outlining our commitment to EDI. In addition, a more diverse group of voices is being used as part of NFC communications to better reflect the range of audiences across the whole of the National Forest.