Final piece of the jigsaw

Northwood residents can look forward to the completion of a major revamp of their local green space thanks to funding secured with the help of The Mersey Forest and landowner Knowsley Council.

A previously unwelcoming and under-used public green space, which is the size of 10 football pitches, has so far been improved with the first stage of enhancements including a new entrance, access path and fishing pegs around its natural water feature. The local community were consulted and engaged in improvement plans and have now fully embraced the renewed site, particularly the pond area that is a hub for community angling and pond dipping activity.

Over £62,000 worth of funding was invested in the site through the Forestry Commission's Setting the Scene for Growth programme (funded by the Northwest Regional Development Agency), Marks & Spencer 'Green Living Places' fund and the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund 'Environmental Blight Fund'. This success has been the culmination of work between a range of partners including The Mersey Forest, Knowsley MBC, 2020 Knowsley, Groundwork Merseyside and the local community.

The surrounding neighbourhood has also benefited from 160 new street trees through The Mersey Forest's Green Streets programme (see photo below and this previous news story).

Now the main Northwood site is set to be completed over the next six months thanks a further £185,000 from the Setting the Scene for Growth programme. This funding is matched by £50,000 from the Big Lottery Fund 'Community Spaces Fund' and a further £30,000 from the Forestry Commission's English Woodland Grant Scheme.

The funding green light will see the rest of the site developed, including welcoming, yet secure, entrances, all-access paths and installation of signage, seating and bins. The site will also benefit from habitat works including tree planting, woodland management and further work on the pond and wetland habitats on the site.

The development of the site will be tailored to help local schools deliver outdoor lessons. 'Forest School' sessions have been shown to help children re-connect with nature, and also improve their self-esteem and confidence. The site's areas of established woodland will be cleaned up and managed to provide a realistic forest experience to capture children's imagination, even in the heart of an urban area.

The clean-up and tree works within the woodland are planned to be undertaken with the help of volunteers and the involvement of groups from Merseyside Probation Service, helping ex-offenders to play a positive role in the community. This work will be funded partially through Forest Education Initiative funds through the Northwest Forest Schools cluster group.

Once the woodland improvements are completed, not-for-profit company 'The Forest School Experience Ltd', led by Forest School Leader and former headteacher, Grahame Watts, will be inviting staff from local schools to experience a free 'taster day' of Forest School activities on the site. Schools will then be able to book Forest School times for their children. Schools should contact Grahame on 07725109563 or at grahame@theforestschoolexperience.co.uk for further information. This will complement other community activities planned on site.

To make Forest Schools happen at Northwood, specialist advice and support has been provided by The Mersey Forest Team, who in recent years have helped bring outdoor lessons to more than 2,500 pupils across Merseyside and North Cheshire. At Northwood this support has included woodland management advice, finding funding (though the Forest Education Initiative via Lancashire Wildlife Trust), and developing a partnership agreement between practitioner and landowner.