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Kennetsideshead Farm: planting riparian woodland in the heart of a working farm

#172 | Source: Forest Research | Published on May 6th, 2026

A farm’s new riparian woodland shows how targeted tree planting can deliver major water and climate benefits.

Riparian woodland often provides little direct economic return for landowners but many environmental and societal benefits, including clean water, flood mitigation and cooler water temperatures. Restoring and expanding riparian woodland along our streams and rivers to deliver these increasingly needed benefits therefore requires funding support to incentivise land use change.

The Kennetsideshead Farm woodland creation project, delivered in partnership with the Tweed Forum and Borders Forest Trust, demonstrates how this can be achieved. The project is carefully designed to deliver a wide range of benefits and ecosystem services across the landscape, while supporting the farm’s goal of diversifying its core agricultural business.