The oak trees of The National Forest are laden with acorns this autumn � and just ripe to collect and plant to grow your own tiny tree that can be part of The National Forest.

The National Forest Company�s (NFC) Grow a Tree from Seed scheme is a great way to get involved in helping to grow The National Forest and it�s so easy and enjoyable!

From late September acorns will be ready for collecting and planting � get the family together for an acorn collecting day or involve your local school. The NFC�s Grow a Tree from Seed leaflet gives advice on how to plant and grow your young seedlings for the first two years of life. The leaflet can be found on the NFC website at http://www.nationalforest.org/involved/seed.php or contact them on 01283 551211 for a copy. Don�t forget to send them your details by completing the seedling pledge form (included with the leaflet).

When your trees are around two years old, you will be invited to a community planting event to plant your trees. This is a fantastic day with people of all ages coming along to plant their trees, with staff from NFC and BTCV (British Trust for Conservation Volunteers) on site to give a helping hand and advice where required. No sooner are the trees planted than people can�t wait to go out and start collecting and growing acorns again!

If you already have any seedlings between two to three years old that you would like to plant in The National Forest, please contact Beverly Fairbrother at the NFC on 01283 551211. (Please note that the NFC plants primarily native trees and cannot accept horse chestnut or sycamore).

So why not get started by collecting acorns this autumn and pledging them to plant in The National Forest and do your bit to help The National Forest grow!

For more information visit http://www.nationalforest.org/involved/seed.php or call Beverly Fairbrother on 01283 551211.

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Media contact: Contact Carol Rowntree Jones, Media Relations Officer, NFC on 01283 551211. Digital images are available: contact media@nationalforest.org For background information on The National Forest see www.nationalforest.org NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. The National Forest area covers 200 square miles of the counties of Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire. Its objective is to increase woodland cover within its boundaries from an initial six per cent to about a third. No multi-purpose forest on this scale has been created in the UK for one thousand years. To date the proportion of woodland cover in the Forest has already trebled to 18 per cent and over 7 million trees have been planted.

2. Year by year, The National Forest has been steadily turning what was once one of the least wooded areas of England into a multi-purpose, sustainable forest. The National Forest provides environmental, social and economic benefits, including landscape enhancement, creation of new wildlife habitats and major new access and leisure opportunities. It is an excellent example of sustainable development � with environmental improvement providing a stimulus both to economic regeneration and to community pride and activity.

3. To achieve these objectives, the National Forest Company leads the creation of The National Forest, working in partnership with landowners, local authorities, private business, voluntary organisations and local communities and has strong support from Government, politicians and the public. The Company receives grant in aid from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

4. In 2008 the National Forest Company and partners won the Sustainable Development UK Award, for their work in Ashby Woulds, at the heart of The National Forest.