Tweed Forum

Tweed Forum, founded in 1991 as a pioneering cross-sector partnership of 27 public, private, and voluntary organizations, drives the sustainable use, protection, enhancement, and restoration of the 5,000 sq km River Tweed catchment spanning the Scottish Borders and North Northumberland. Its mission centers on holistic, integrated catchment management to combat biodiversity loss, habitat degradation, invasive species, and flooding while preserving cultural and built heritage and bolstering community livelihoods. Core values—partnership, evidence-based decisions, community benefit, environmental stewardship, and transparency—underpin its collaborative ethos, translating strategic plans into practical, multi-benefit projects like the Eddleston Water flood-resilient restoration and Tweed Invasives initiative.

The Forum prioritizes landscape-scale efforts including riparian tree planting, peatland recovery, natural flood management, wetland/woodland creation, sustainable agriculture/forestry, species protection, and rural economic diversification via the Fallago Environment Fund, which channels windfarm benefits to environmental and heritage projects. It supports charities, community groups, land managers, farmers, youth, and conservation organizations delivering ecological gains (river health, habitat connectivity) and social outcomes (flood resilience, skills, greenspace access).

Eligible applicants are UK-registered charities and community/voluntary groups with no income limits, but projects must align tightly with Tweed catchment aims—restricted to Scottish Borders local authority and Gifford parish—and demonstrate partnership potential; individuals are rarely funded. Typical grants range £1,000–£150,000 (up to £50,000/year for three years) via Main Grants (capital-focused) or exceptional Core Funding. Start with a phone enquiry, then submit electronic forms by biannual deadlines (next: 1 March 2026, 12 noon); decisions follow shortly after. Distinctive for its boundary-spanning governance and leverage of collaborative funding, it excludes non-aligned or external projects, favoring pragmatic, science-led interventions with enduring legacy.