About us Our story Our story In the early 1990s, the government designated the 61 square mile area between Bedford and Milton Keynes a Community Forest and the Forest of Marston Vale was born… Tree cover was seriously low at only 3% (a third of the national average of the time), as the area was previously home to the massive Stewartby Brickworks and a number of landfill sites. Photo c/o Britain from Above The Forest of Marston Vale is here to bring that up to 30% tree cover, transforming the landscape and making it a thriving place to live, work and play. As of 2017, we have achieved 15%, but we still have a way to go. There’s another 5 million trees to plant, and we need your help! Back when the Forest began we received funding to keep things moving, but now we rely almost entirely on donations from the public and money made at the Forest Centre & Millennium Country Park - our flagship site. All money spent there goes towards helping us towards our vision of another 5 million trees in the ground so you should pop over for a visit or check out our events listing to see what’s coming up. We need your support Creating and managing woodlands is expensive work and we wouldn't have been able to get as far as we have without the help of people's generous donations. Even a small donation can help us towards our goal of planting more trees, and creating a greener heart of Bedfordshire... Please select a donation amount: * £3 Buys one tree identification guide for a school visit £5 Buys the sand for approx. 5 sand martins to build their nests, in our sand martin wall in the Wetlands £10 Builds a home for bats to roost in £20 Buys a litter picker to keep the Forest free from rubbish £100 Buys one signpost to help visitors find their way around one of our woodlands Other Set up a regular payment Donate Publications If you're interested in learning more about our work, you can view some of our most important publications online - from the original Forest Plan, to the most recent study which show the amazing achievements we've made so far. Forest Plan (2000) Progress and Impacts Study (2017) Summary document of Impacts Study (2018) Love your Forest! If you’re passionate about trees you can sign up to be a volunteer or check out our Fundraising Page for a bit of inspiration. The Forest of Marston Vale is your Community Forest and, with your help, our future is growing! For more information on the Forest of Marston Vale, call 01234 767037 or email us.