You may already have a woodland in mind; a great first step is to find out who owns it. Many woodland owners such as local authorities, private owners, large organisations such as Forestry Commission Scotland and the National Trust for Scotland may welcome community involvement on their site. If you cannot identify the owner, or are looking for a potential site, the information below should help.

Helpful publications

• Summary Guide to Asset Transfer
• The Woodland Trust: Leasing a Wood
• The Woodland Trust: Buying a Wood
• The Woodland Trust: The Legal Minefield

Relevant website/organisation

• Community Asset Transfer Scheme (CATS) - Forest Enterprise Scotland's Community Asset Transfer Scheme for Scotland's National Forest Estate
• Community Land Advisory Service - information on making more land available for community use.
• The Community Ownership Support Service (COSS)
• Scottish Land Fund - offers grants of up to £1 million to help communities take ownership of the land and buildings that matter to them
• Land Registry Service – find out who owns the land
• Community Land Scotland - represents Scotland’s new generation of community land owners
• Scotland’s Environment: Land information search
• Summary of the Community Empowerment Act by Scottish Community Development Centre