Development that is sustainable manages to balance the needs of people, the environment and the economy, and community forestry hits this target dead centre.
Through a combination of a strategic vision, and a powerful delivery mechanism at the local level, community forestry is an excellent model for regeneration. It works; for people; for the places where they live; and for the economies that support them.
As much as 25% of the UK’s total land dereliction is found in the Northwest and The Mersey Forest is already tackling this legacy of neglect head-on, through new regional partnerships.
The physical regeneration of our landscape remains a priority for the Northwest. The industrial revolution has scarred our landscape and this legacy of mismanagement continues to lie heavy on the shoulders of the current population. Community forestry is playing a part in helping to redress the balance and contribute to the regeneration and re-birth of the region’s landscape.
Land reclamation has been driven up the regional agenda with millions of pounds earmarked over the next decade to reclaim the Northwest. With over 70% of all derelict, underused and neglected land sites in the region suitable for community woodland schemes, the scale of the action required is immense. The Mersey Forest is at the heart of this challenge, tackling a diverse range of sites and working as a strategic partner in the regional Newlands land reclamation programme funded by the Northwest Development Agency.
The Mersey Forest Partnership is working to transform the character of the region by creating a rich mosaic of wooded landscapes. This programme is a regeneration initiative in its own right but also serves to complement other regeneration programmes, particularly in urban areas. Community forestry enhances modern architectural developments, softens the hard edges of urban renewal and provides a taste of the Forest amongst urban streets and houses. Urban trees also play a wider role, reducing noise and contributing to the increasingly important task of climate change adaptation. Research from the Adaptation Strategies for Climate Change in Urban Environments (ASCCUE) project shows that by reducing surface temperatures through evaporative cooling (where energy is used in the plant's transpiration process rather than becoming heat that we can feel), providing shade, and reducing surface water runoff by intercepting rainfall and allowing it to enter the ground, urban trees will have an important role to play in helping our towns and cities to adapt to the effects of climate change. Read more about the importance of green infrastructure planning here.
To find out how this work fits into The Mersey Forest's strategy, click here.