We’re excited to announce that we are leading on preparing a new £3million bid to the National Heritage Lottery Fund (NLHF).

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Called ‘Our Forest’ this new community-driven project will focus on the heritage of the Forest of Dean

To prepare for this bid, we are asking local people, community groups and organisations to have their say at two community events we are hosting this weekend.

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Taking place at 1pm-4:30pm on Saturday (13 April) at Lydney Town Hall and 1pm-4:30pm on Sunday (14 April) at Mitcheldean Community Centre, these events are open for anyone to attend, to share and discuss ideas for potential heritage projects, partnerships and collaborations that could be included in the bid for funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF).

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Deb Cook, our Volunteering Manager at FVAF said “Heritage is what you think is important and should be preserved. It could be about improving access to landscapes, historical sites, or collections; cultural activity or traditions; stories and celebrations as well as more traditional ideas of heritage. It can be anything from the past or even present that you value and want to pass on to future generations.

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She added: “We’re asking the community to come along to one of these events to be part of the conversation and tell us what they think is important to include in the ‘Our Forest’ project.”

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Building upon the legacy of the Foresters' Forest Landscape Partnership programme, ‘Our Forest’ will focus on involving diverse people, grass-roots organisations, and the voluntary community sector, with projects that involve young people, older people, hardly reached groups, as well as focusing on mental health and wellbeing.