Minister for Nature visits community forest projects
England’s Community Forests (ECF) and Cheshire West and Chester Council recently hosted Mary Creagh, MP, at several woodland sites in The Mersey Forest.
Mary Creagh was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in July and has responsibility for tree planting and forestry and domestic biodiversity, among many others.
Minister Creagh joined Councillor Louise Gittins, Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council and Paul Nolan, Chair of England’s Community Forests and Director of The Mersey Forest, alongside other key partners, to hear about the work of ECF and their partners and see the difference that woodland and access to nature can make to an area. The first visit of the day was to Hooks Wood, a community woodland on the outskirts of Chester, seeing first-hand how partnership working with local communities can deliver a range of benefits for people and nature.
Paul Nolan, Director of The Mersey Forest, said: “England’s Community Forests have years of experience establishing woodlands in areas where the need is greatest. Historically we work around some of the country’s largest towns and cities, where tree cover is lower than the national average, providing more people with access to nature and improving the places where we live, work and do business. “Woodlands and trees can be incorporated in both urban and rural communities to great effect, and it’s been fantastic to show the minister how, through successful partnerships, we are delivering 35% of all woodland planting in England.”
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