Hello and welcome to the New England Woodland Creation Checker tool in partnership with the Land App, Forestry Commission, and the Woodland Carbon Code. The England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) is the new government scheme for gathering funding for the creation of new woodlands. The EWCO Checker tool has been designed to make it simple and easy for landowners to understand potentially eligible sites and where those sites are eligible for extra stackable payments through EWCO.

Each site will receive an estimate of the carbon sequestration potential for the new woodlands on their land. The tool assesses land by comparing it to constraints, like areas of peat or designations, and additional contribution layers from the Forestry Commission. These contributions recognize the additional value the proposed woodland would bring to the environment or public goods, such as nature recovery, flood risk mitigation, social access, biodiversity, connectivity, and maintaining river health.

To set up a map, download the land covers data from the Rural Payments Agency using an SBI number. Import data by choosing the basic payment scheme and following the steps to download land covers. Then, activate the EWCO tool by clicking 'new download data' and selecting the EWCO Checker tool. Choose the reference area and add an SBI number. Once ready, trigger the Checker; it may take up to 2 minutes for the data to run, and the user will be emailed when it's ready.

Once complete, the Land App will display three layers of data on the user's map. The first layer shows potentially eligible areas for woodland creation, considering known constraints. The second layer is for sites potentially eligible for natural colonization under EWCO, situated within 75 meters of an existing seed source. The third layer includes high-value sites, scoring more than £2,800 per hectare for additional contributions as one-off payments, aiming to incentivize suitable woodland placement.

The EWCO tool partnered with the Woodland Carbon Code provides estimates for carbon sequestration over 100 years for each woodland block. This estimation uses a proxy mixed native woodland type with minimal interventions, indicating potential carbon units available if the land became woodland. Detailed breakdowns and scores are available using the table view button.

Subscribers can download an Excel file summarizing the user's reference area, including total EWCO value, highest-value sites, and areas potentially eligible for natural colonization. The next step involves creating a woodland creation plan using the provided plans. Users can select blocks of land, draw plans including various features, and validate their plan using the EWCO validator within Land App's toolbox.

After validation, the Woodland plan will display as a new layer, indicating valid areas with updated values and emissions. Invalid areas due to ownership or constraints will be highlighted separately. This tool aims to expedite understanding and rewards under EWCO, aiding the application process and promoting woodland growth across England. To learn more or try the EWCO tool, register at www.thelandapp.com. Happy mapping!