Preparations for bumper year of planting that will deliver for communities and nature
Cheshire West and Chester Council is showing their support for The Mersey Forest, the area’s local Community Forest, as they prepare for a bumper year of planting, establishing woodlands across Cheshire and Merseyside that will benefit the area for generations.
The Mersey Forest team, with the help of the Green Task Force, has been preparing ground ready for planting on a number of sites and the first trees of the season are being planted. This year the team plan to plant 150 hectares of woodland across Cheshire and Merseyside.
Over the last three years The Mersey Forest has worked with partners and landowners, including Cheshire West and Chester Council, to establish 220 hectares of new woodland across Cheshire and Merseyside through the national Trees for Climate programme. That’s the equivalent of filling 11,220 tennis courts with trees.
Although many of these trees are in their infancy now, their impact will be felt far and wide across the region for generations to come. A recent study by Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) shows that, thanks to these newly planted schemes, over 47,000 households in the area are within 500m of an accessible wood, with 21% of these homes based in some of the country’s most deprived area.
Paul Nolan, Director of The Mersey Forest, said: “We saw over the lockdown period just how important green spaces and woodlands were to people’s health and wellbeing. They are spaces for people to connect with nature, places to socialise or to seek a moment of peace in their busy lives. Establishing trees and woodlands that benefit our communities is the essence of Community Forestry and will be what we’re focused on over the coming planting season.”
Councillor Karen Shore, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Transport, said: “As a partner of The Mersey Forest and the accountable body for the Trees for Climate programme nationally, we’re proud to be supporting the growing Mersey Forest. Having access to nature provides so many benefits for both our communities and the environment, and increasing tree cover in the area is supporting the borough’s aim to be carbon neutral by 2045.”
The LJMU study also found the planting will provide the following benefits for the region.
- 58 hectares of flood risk land will be improved by the planting, helping to reduce the risk of flooding for local communities. The value of additional water storage on these sites is estimated at £26,640 per year.
- Once established the newly created woodlands could generate over 490,000 recreational visits, with an estimated total value of over £1.5 million per year.
- 1,620ha of ecological network has been improved, providing more joined up habitats for wildlife to thrive.
- The trees planted will capture 2,962 tonnes of CO2 annually, the equivalent of removing 2,154 cars from the road each year. The economic value of this is estimated to be £219,439.
Paul, continued: "The study by colleagues at LJMU shows the real impact that good planting can make to an area. We work closely with a wide range of partners to find land where woodland can be established, with a particular focus on schemes that can provide the most benefit to the local community.
“We’re set to get planting again this winter, providing our flexible grants, advice and support to a range of landowners who are all doing their bit to help grow and maintain The Mersey Forest.”
The Mersey Forest is the lead for the national Trees for Climate programme, which is funded through the government’s multi-million pound Nature for Climate Fund. Cheshire West and Chester Council is the accountable body for the programme, supporting the 13 Community Forests who are delivering the programme nationwide.
Alongside The Mersey Forest's work, Cheshire West and Chester Council is also progressing their own biodiversity net gain project, which is focused on improving habitats in the area, including woodland and meadow land creation.
Landowners and farmers with land available for tree planting can find out about The Mersey Forest's flexible grants, which can fund a range of woodland creation schemes from 0.1ha up by visiting: www.merseyforest.org.uk/planttrees
