Mapping the social benefits of woodland creation

Thank you for agreeing to participate in this research project. Your participation will help inform our research on the impacts of new tree planting for communities and how these impacts may change over time. Please fill out this short consent form prior to the first interview.

Below is a brief explanation of the project and some consent statements. Please read them and tick all relevant boxes. If you have any questions about the project or how we are using your information please contact the lead researcher, Dr Beth Brockett at Forest Research by email: beth.brockett@forestresearch.gov.uk or by phone on 07435 609192

Who we are and the aims of our project
We are SERG, the Society and Environment Research Group based within Forest Research. We are working on a project funded by Defra’s Nature for Climate Fund. We are keen to understand your perspectives, knowledge and experience through conducting research interviews.

The aim of this project is to understand the impact new tree plantings have on local communities and how these impacts may change over time. The England Tree Planting Programme (ETPP) contributes to the UK Government’s commitment to increase tree planting to 30,000 hectares per year by 2025 across England. The ETPP looks set to dramatically change the rate and type of woodland creation and expansion in the coming years. This represents a unique opportunity to design and launch a new generation of research on the establishment and growth of trees in the English landscape and how they benefit people (or not). It is important to understand how these benefits vary by different groups of people across different parts of England. You can read more about the project here.

Your participation will involve three 'waves' of interviews between now and autumn 2024. Each wave will last between 60 and 90 minutes. The first interview will be hosted online (or potentially via telephone), where we will ask you questions which explore your life history / background / experiences and your engagement with trees and green spaces. The second interview will be a walking interview. This will involve walking (or other way of moving) through your local tree planting sites, discussing your experiences of and thoughts about the new planting along the route. This interview will utilise geo-tracing technology to map the walk, allowing us to highlight specific points of interest. The structure of the final (third) interview is to be confirmed, but will not involve any non-local travel.

As this research is part of a pilot 'proof-of-concept' project, we may ask you at a later date if you would be interested in participating in future waves of the research. You are under no obligation to agree and can ask to be removed from our contact database.

Your information
The information collected will be used to produce written reports and publications, and these may be shared with partner organisations or placed in the public domain. Your data will be anonymised, meaning anything you say will not be attributed to you in reporting. As far as is possible, we will check with you that our interpretation of your data contribution is correct.

The raw data, which contains your personal information (e.g. name, contact details), will only be viewed by the Forest Research project team. The data you contribute to the project will be securely stored separately from your personal data and only the Forest Research project team will have access to the key which links your personal information and your data contribution.

Further details
The Social and Economic Research Group's (SERG) Code of Ethics can be found here
The Forestry Commission's Personal Information Charter can be found here
The Forestry Commission is registered as a data controller under the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 (Registration No: Z6542658). The Forestry Commission’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted at informationrights@forestrycommission.gov.uk.
You have a right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority the Information Commissioner’s Office (www.ico.org.uk).

Mapping the social benefits of woodland creation - QL Consent Form

1. Project description and your consent

1. Do you wish to take part as an individual or as a couple or other family group? Each participant needs to complete a separate consent form.

2. I understand that my participation in the interviews is voluntary, that I do not have to answer any/all the questions, and that I can stop the interviews and/or my participation in the research project at any stage without having to give a reason. *

4. I consent to my interviews being audio and video-recorded, so that the researcher has an accurate record of what was said in my own words and that the recordings will be destroyed by 30th April 2025 (or before if the participant withdraws from the research). *

5. I understand that my attributed data will be shared within the project research team for analysis and reporting purposes, but that only anonymised data will be shared outside of this team. *

6. I understand that the data collected will contribute to written reports and publications, and these may be shared with partner organisations or placed in the public domain and that all contributions will be anonymised. *

7. I understand that the information collected will be treated, stored and analysed in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act (2018) and Forest Research’s Code of Ethics. *

8. By entering my name below, I show my consent to participate in this study. Please do not write your name if you answered no to any of the questions above. *

9. Please provide your email address and phone number so that the team can contact you.

10. What is your preferred mode of contact?

11. Are you over the age of 18? *