Breathing life back into Marston Vale
In 2022 & 2023, CAP funders paid for the planting of 6,500 trees in the Forest of Marston Vale, an area that was once dominated by clay pits & landfill sites...
Reforesting an industrial lansdcape
Industrial Zones © Marston Vale
History of the Forest
The Forest of Marston Vale is a swathe of land set over 61 square miles between Bedford and Milton Keynes. The area was once peppered with deep clay pits dug up to supply the brickworks industry which were then filled with waste to be used as landfill. Over 100 industrial chimneys filled the air with smog. Tree cover was a low 3.6%, a third of the national average at the time.
TREE RESTORATION
In the early 90s, to help the area recover from the effects of these industries, the Government made it a Community Forest. Since then, thanks to the Forest Trust Charity, 2.75 million trees have been planted making 13 community woodlands across the area. It has lifted the tree cover to an impressive 16.9%.
Photo © Martin Rogers
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WILD HAVEN
These woodlands are now interspersed with wetlands and bike paths, grasslands and horse trails which a quarter of a million people enjoy them every year.
Photo © Marston Vale
CAP'S TREES
Between 2021-23 CAP-Clients helped us fund the planting of 6,500 trees, extending the range of a woodland at Houghton Conquest within Marston Vale.
The success of this project led to further planting at the Forest in January 2026. Click here for details.
