25-May-2006 - The Environment
Agency, the Forestry Commission, Alfred McAlpine
and Volker Stevin have joined forces to enhance
a community woodland for World Environment Day.
The improvements to Windy Bank
Wood, which is situated at Glazebury, between
Leigh and Culcheth, include the planting of specimen
oak trees and the creation of a wetland, which
will lead to more diverse habitat and encourage
different species.
Volunteers from the Environment
Agency who are more used to managing flood defence
schemes will swap their suits for overalls, their
computers for spades and will be getting their
hands dirty on World Environment Day.
They will spend the day putting
up picnic benches and planting trees under the
supervision of the Forestry Commission. Alfred
McAlpine will have heavy construction equipment
on site to dig the wetland and Volker Stevin will
be providing the trees for the volunteers to plant.
The 100-acre site, which is
owned and managed by the Forestry Commission,
straddles the borders of the Mersey Forest and
the Red Rose Forest and is surrounded by a Site
of Special Scientific Interest.
Much of the site used to be
intensively managed grassland and arable farmland
with only limited public access. The Forestry
Commission bought the site in 2002 and opened
new footpaths and planted thousand of trees. Wildflower
hay meadows and pastures were created with grant
aid from DEFRA in open areas of the site. These
are now farmed under a Countryside Stewardship
agreement, which encourages farming in an environmentally
sensitive way.
Since these changes there has
been a marked increase in the numbers and variety
of wildlife including barn owls, long eared owls,
buzzards, cuckoos, pheasants, partridges, mallards,
bats, roe deer, foxes, hares, rabbits, weasel
and voles.
If you are feeling inspired,
why not take part in your own green project in
your community for World Environment Day? Environment
Agency Action Earth can support you with advice,
promotional material, a media toolkit and a grant
of up to £50 to get you started.
Last year, the campaign had
over 800 projects registered with over 15,000
volunteers. It also helps to raise the profile
of World Environment Day. Projects included clearing
woodland, planting trees and bulbs, building bird
and bat boxes, recycling schemes and many more
activities.
For further information on our
campaign for World Environment Day and the Action
Earth campaign visit www.environment-agency.gov.uk/wed
and www.actionearth.org.uk.
Notes
United Nations’ World Environment
Day is celebrated on 5 June every year across
the world. The Environment Agency takes the lead
in supporting and promoting the day in England
and Wales.
