New King’s Coronation nature reserves and woods to spark nature jobs across the UK
- England’s longest national trail to be renamed the ‘King Charles III England Coast Path’
- The next two sections of the King Charles III England Coast Path to open will be in Filey, North Yorks and Crosby Beach, Liverpool. Both sections will be opened on the 10 May.
- ‘King’s Series of National Nature Reserves’ to be launched, with first to be declared in Lincolnshire
- New ‘Coronation Woods’- large-scale woodland creation as part of the nation’s forests and funding for local communities to plant trees in the King’s honour.
To celebrate the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III, the government is spearheading a series of coastal paths, nature preserves and woodland across the UK, which means forestry contracting and management jobs are already on the up.
The news will be welcome for nature-loving freelancers who make a habit of taking walks in nature to decompress from a hectic workload. There will be a series of events to celebrate the developments throughout the summer.
Here’s what’s in store.
King Charles III England Coast Path
The newly renamed The King Charles III England Coast Path will be a 2,700-mile-long National Trail around the whole of the English coast, passing through some of our finest countryside and some of England’s most stunning coastal scenery. There may not be wild camping areas to take a well-deserved break but there are many campsites nearby.
Natural England has worked in partnership with local access authorities to open 794 miles of the route so far and the trail will be fully walkable by the end of 2024 – connecting communities from Northumberland to Cumbria via Cornwall
King’s Series of National Nature Reserves
The creation of a new ‘King’s Series of National Nature Reserves’ will mean five major National Nature Reserve (NNR) declarations per year for the next five years (25 in total).
The first will be the ‘Lincolnshire Coronation Coast NNR’ according to Natural England, to be started this summer and will be over 12 square miles and contain a wonderful variety of habitats including sand dunes, saltmarsh, mudflats and freshwater marshes, supporting many breeding and wintering birds, natterjack toads, special plants and insects.
The remaining four ‘King’s Series National Nature Reserves’ for the 2023-2024 year will be announced at a later date, but are likely to include The Mendip Hills in Somerset, Moccas Park in Herefordshire, Ingleborough in North Yorkshire and Lullington in East Sussex.
Coronation Woods
The development of ‘Coronation Woods’, with Forestry England will create new woodland on land they buy and plant between April 2023 and March 2025.
These will be the first official new woodlands created to recognise the Coronation of King Charles III. In addition, Defra will provide up to £2.5m of funding for communities in England to plant trees as a permanent reminder of the Coronation in their local areas.
Freelancers keen on greening their communities will be pleased to know that the funding will support Local Authorities, Parish Councils and Housing Associations to deliver local planting initiatives including community orchards, small areas of woodland and ‘tree handouts’ – whereby trees are supplied to local residents to plant in areas of their choosing.
Thérèse Coffey, Environment Secretary said:
The King is a dedicated champion of nature in our country. He spearheaded efforts to move to more environmentally friendly farming techniques and through his Prince’s Foundation has sought to highlight how education can foster responsible stewardship towards the planet and the natural environment.
The Coronation marks the beginning of a new chapter in our national story and it’s fitting that nature and the public will benefit from these lasting commemorations for years to come.
Useful sites, events and dates
- To celebrate the path’s gradual completion, a series of events will be held across England throughout the summer of 2023. Find out more about the events, or plan your route along the coastal path.
- Forestry Contractor Jobs – 2023 | Indeed.com
- Natural England Careers – Natural England Careers