Tree Charter privacy policy

Who are we?

We’re the Woodland Trust and we care about the UK’s woods and trees. This policy talks about us as the Woodland Trust, ‘we’ or ‘us’. We’re a registered charity in England and Wales (No. 294344) and in Scotland (No. SC038885). We’re a non-profit making company limited by guarantee and registered in England (No. 1982873) at Kempton Way, Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG31 6LL.

This policy also includes Woodland Trust (Enterprises) Limited (registered in England No. 2296645). This is a company we own. We use it to raise money to help us do our charity work.

What personal information do we collect and use?

Tree Charter Signatory

When you sign the Tree Charter on our Tree Charter website, we ask you for your name, your address, and your email address.

When you sign the Tree Charter by completing our Tree Charter signatory form at an event, we will ask you for your name and email address.

Tree Charter Branch

When you complete the 'Join the Tree Charter Network' form to join the Tree Charter Branch Network, we’ll collect the name of your Tree Charter Branch; the name, address, telephone number and email address of the Lead Contact for the Tree Charter Branch. We will also collect details of the Tree Charter Branch’s Website or Social Media accounts (e.g. Facebook or Instagram), if it has one.

We’ll collect a description of how your Tree Charter Branch aims to stand up for trees, what inspires your group to support the 'Charter for Trees, Woods and People' and the number of members in your Tree Charter Branch.

Where your Tree Charter Branch holds a Branch event or activity, we may collect from you details of that event or activity and the contact person who is coordinating that event.

How do we use your personal information?

This policy also tells you how we’ll use your information. By law, we can only collect personal details if we have a genuine legal reason to do so. This is called the ‘lawful basis for processing’.

See below for the information we collect and why.

Tree Charter Signatory – how we use your information

Name and address
We collect your name so that we can identify you as a person who has signed the Tree Charter, demonstrating your support for the Charter for Trees, Woods and People. Where you provide us with your address details we will use this to monitor the location demographics of our Tree Charter signatory base.
Lawful basis for processing – only with your consent do we collect your name and address details.

Email address
We use your email address to send you information about our news, appeals, campaigns, events, products and the ways you can get involved with the work of the Woodland Trust.
Lawful basis for processing – only where you have provided your consent will we communicate with you by email about our news, appeals, campaigns, events, products and the ways you can get involved with the work of the Woodland Trust.

Tree Charter Branch – how we use your information

Tree Charter branch name, branch lead contact name and address, email address and description of branch
Lawful basis for processing – only with the consent of those named individuals will we collect the personal information provided on the 'Join the Tree Charter Network' form and publish this information on our Branch location map available on our Tree Charter website.

Website and social media information
We use this information so that we may publish details of your Tree Charter Branch on our Branch location map available on our Tree Charter website.
Lawful basis for processing – only with the consent of those named individuals will we collect the personal information provided on the 'Join the Tree Charter Network' form and publish this information on our Branch location map available on our Tree Charter website.

Telephone number
We use this to call the Branch Lead Contact should we need to make immediate contact in relation to the Tree Charter Branch’s activities.
Lawful basis for processing – only with the consent of those named individuals will we collect the Branch’s Lead Contact’s telephone number.

Event details and event coordinator
We use this information to promote your Branch events or activities on the Woodland Trust website or on our social media platforms such as our Charter Champions Facebook page.
Lawful basis for processing – only with the consent of those named individuals will we collect the personal information relating to any event coordinator, Branch event or activity.

How do we share your personal information?

We will only use your personal information for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason, and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If we need to use your information for an unrelated purpose, we will contact you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.

We’ll never sell or rent your information to anyone else. But we may need to share your personal information when the law tells us to, or for the following reasons:

• if you’ve agreed that we can.
• when we use other companies to provide services. This could be for: handling credit/debit card payments; posting or delivering orders; answering questions about products or services; sending post and emails.
• when services are provided by another company owned by the Woodland Trust.
• if you come to an event we’re running with another organisation we may need to share your details with them. We’ll be very clear what will happen to your information when you register for the event.

All the personal information we collect is handled by our staff in the UK. Sometimes our Information Technology services might place your personal information outside of the European Economic Area. When this happens we’ll make sure it’s done in line with guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Where do we get your personal information from?

Tree Charter Signatory

We collect personal information from you when you 'sign the Tree Charter' on our Tree Charter website.

We also collect personal information from you when you 'sign the Tree Charter' by completing our Tree Charter signatory form at an event.

We’ll update our records when you provide us with additional information or changes in the information already provided.

Tree Charter Branch

We collect personal information relating to the Tree Charter Branch name, the Branch Lead Contact’s contact details, and personal information associated with or arising out of the Branch Website and Social Media accounts, and the aims of the Branch when you complete our 'Join the Charter Branch network' form and provide us with a copy.

We’ll update our records when we are requested to change the Tree Charter Branch Lead Contact details or you provided us with additional information.

Where you organise a Tree Charter Branch event or activity, we will collect any additional personal data that is provided to us at the time you let us know about the event or activity.

Do you have to give us your personal information?

Tree Charter Signatory

You may become a Tree Charter signatory using our online form available on the Tree Charter website or by completing our Tree Charter signatory form at an event.

You do not have to provide us with your address or email details, but if you didn’t give it to us we wouldn’t be able to understand the location demographics of Tree Charter signatories, and would not be able to communicate with you by email (where you have given us your consent) about our news, appeals, campaigns, events, products and the ways you can get involved with the work of the Woodland Trust.

You do not have to provide us with your name, but if you didn’t give it to us we wouldn’t be able to add you as a signatory to the Tree Charter and you would not be able to provide your support to the 'Charter for Trees, Woods and People' or the other activities of the Woodland Trust.

Tree Charter Branch

You do not have to provide us with personal information relating to your Tree Charter Branch and or the Branch Lead Contact, but if you didn’t give it to us we would not be able:

• to add your Tree Charter Branch to our ever growing Tree Charter Branch network.
• use your information to publish details of your Tree Charter Branch on our Branch location map available on our Tree Charter website so that you can attract additional supporters to your Branch membership.
• keep you updated on the Tree Charter through our monthly E-newsletter.
• to promote your Branch events on the Woodland Trust website or on our social media platforms such as our Charter Champions Facebook page.

How long will we keep your personal information?

We’ll only hold your information for as long as we have a genuine reason to keep it – this depends on why we collected it in the first place.

Tree Charter Signatory

We shall keep the personal information provided at the time you signed the Tree Charter (or when subsequently updated) until such time as the Tree Charter ceases to exist or you inform us that you no longer wish to be a signatory to the Tree Charter, except where the law tells us that we must retain specific records.

Tree Charter Branch

We’ll keep your personal information provided at the time you joined the Tree Charter Branch network (or when subsequently updated) until such time as you tell us that your Tree Charter Branch no longer wishes to be part of the Tree Charter Branch network, except where the law tells us that we must retain specific records.

What are your rights?

You’re in charge of your personal information. If you don’t like how we’re using it you can ask us to change what we do, or tell us to stop using it.

Below is a list of your rights. If you’d like to talk about them, or how we use your information, please get in touch.

• you can ask us for a copy of your personal information and how we use it.*
• you can ask us to correct your personal information if we’ve got it wrong.
• you can ask us to stop using your personal information.
• you can ask us to change or limit how we use your personal information.
• you can ask us to delete your personal information.
• you can ask us to transfer your personal information to another person.

Find out more about your rights under data protection law on the Information Commissioner’s Office website.

* You can get a copy of your personal information by sending us a ‘subject access request’. Please email dataprotection@woodlandtrust.org.uk or call our supporter services team.

If you want to correct or request us to stop using, change or limit how we use, or delete your personal information, or request that we transfer a copy of your personal information to another person, please contact us at dataprotection@woodlandtrust.org.uk.

We try to respond to all valid requests within one month. Sometimes it might take us a bit longer if it’s very complicated or if you’ve made more than one request. We’ll always let you know if it will take longer than a month. To speed things up, we may ask you to tell us more about what you’d like to see or what you’re concerned about.

Sometimes we might not be able to help. For example, if the law tells us we can’t or if some information is confidential.

How do we keep your personal information safe?

Keeping your information secure is very important to us and we have systems to stop personal information being lost or used in the wrong way. We’ll only give your information to people who need to use it, like employees of the Woodland Trust. Anyone using your information must follow our rules and look after it carefully.

If we think someone has accessed your information without permission, we’ll tell you when the law requires us to.

Your duty to inform us of changes

It is important that the personal information we hold about you or your Charter Branch is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal information changes.

What can you do if you’ve got a complaint?

If you’re not happy about how we’ve used your personal information, you can talk to our Data Protection Officer (contact details below).

If you’re not happy with our response, or you think we’re breaking the law, you can make a complaint. Send it to the Fundraising Regulator or the Information Commissioner’s Office. But please talk to us first before you contact them and we’ll try our best to help.