People from across St Helens are encouraged to turn out to a free family funday at the Forestry Commission’s Brickfields Community Woodland, off Chester Lane in South St Helens, on Sunday the 7th of June.
The Forestry Commission have teamed up with The BBC’s Breathing Places campaign and Springwatch to encourage local people to explore their new Brickfields community woodland, learn more about the area’s wildlife and help make it a greener, friendlier place.
Breathing Places is encouraging people from all over the country to roll up their sleeves and make their very own place for nature – right on their doorstep.
From 10am until 3:00pm, the ‘Brickfields Dirty Weekend Sunday Funday’ will offer a variety of free ‘hands-on’ activities available for the whole family to get stuck into, including a wildlife walk, pond dipping, wildflower planting, a litter pick and something to share for a picnic. People should bring suitable clothes, shoes or wellies with a mind to getting dirty and wet.
The Brickfields site has been improved as part of the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and Forestry Commission land regeneration programme, Newlands.
Once completed, the ‘Brickfields’ community woodland will include multi-purpose leisure trails, wildflower meadows and wetland habitats. The whole site is equivalent in size to more than 40 football pitches.
Andy Glover from the Forestry Commission in the North West, says:
“The Brickfields family funday is a great way for local people to come together, find out more about their local wildlife and how they can get involved to help make their new community woodland even better.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming as many people as possible on the day and in the future.”
Children must be supervised by a parent or guardian. No unsupervised children will be able to join in the event.
For more information about the Brickfields Sunday Funday, please contact Sarah Tarmaster at Groundwork Merseyside on 0151 7262768.
There are more community events planned for the Brickfields community woodland over the summer, so people should keep a look out for details.
£2.1 million of regeneration funding has being provided for the Brickfields project via the Newlands programme. Additional funding of over £140,000 from EU Objective One via The Mersey Forest Trust and approx £87,000 from Biffa award has been secured.
A number of local partners, including Ibstock Brick Ltd, The Mersey Forest, St Helens Council and Groundwork Merseyside are working alongside the NWDA and Forestry Commission to realise this project.
The Brickfields project also includes a 20-year management plan by the Forestry Commission so people can be confident that this new woodland will be kept in good condition.
The regeneration of the site will also benefit the local economy by helping to improve the image of the area and visually enhancing the main rail route between Manchester and Liverpool. This will help to form part of The Mersey Forest in St.Helens, which has seen the town transformed over the past ten years with the planting of over 2 million trees so far.
Further information about Brickfields and other 'Newlands' projects is available at www.forestry.gov.uk/newlands and www.newlandsproject.co.uk
Further information about Breathing Places is available at www.bbc.co.uk/breathingplaces
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For further information please contact Paul Gardner or Jon Perkins at Osprey Communications on 015394-42436.
Notes to the Editors:
1. Artist’s impressions of how the new Brickfields community woodlands will look are attached. Higher resolution versions are available by calling 01524-782086.
2. The Newlands long-term investment for Brickfields is £2,136,104.
3. £140,000 has been awarded to the project through the Integrated Countryside and Environment Plan, which is an Objective One Project part funded by the European Union. The Mersey Forest is working to deliver ICEP through Community Forestry.
4. Brickfields will be transformed into a community woodland through a unique partnership of the NWDA and Forestry Commission as well as a range of delivery partners, The Mersey Forest, Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority, Cory Environmental, St Helens Council; Ibstock; NGF Europe and Biffaward.
5. Newlands is a £59 million NWDA-funded land regeneration scheme, which is rejuvenating around 900 hectares of the region's brownfield land to encourage economic growth, while creating new opportunities for leisure and recreation. Newlands, which stands for New Economic Environments Through Woodlands, is a partnership scheme involving the NWDA and the Forestry Commission.
6. Community Woodlands are multi-purpose open spaces that can be easily accessed by the local community, and can include a series of small woodlands, footpaths, cycle and bridleways, informal play areas, wetland habitats and a wildflower meadow. Each site is designed in partnership with the local community to help improve and enhance the economic, environmental and social value of the local neighbourhood to work towards a sustainable environment for everyone.
7. St.Helens Council has completed a St.Helens Town in the Forest study that identified the importance of regenerating brownfield sites, such as Brickfields, in helping to secure environmental improvement, which will enhance the image of St.Helens and help to secure direct and indirect economic benefits for the area.
8. Woodland cover across the North West of England currently stands at just 6.5% compared with the national average of 8% and a European average of 33%.
9. The Forestry Commission is the largest provider of countryside recreation in Britain, with responsibility for more than one million hectares (2.4 million acres) of forest, woodlands and open countryside. Its North-West England Forest District covers the Lake District in Cumbria, the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cheshire. The forests are managed for conservation, wildlife, landscape and recreation as well as providing a valuable source of timber.
Media enquiries to:
Andy Glover (Community Development Manager) on 07748180662 or 01606 882167 or email andy.glover@forestry.gsi.gov.uk
Tim Oliver (Newlands Project Manager) on 01524 565806 or 07771 806964 or email tim.oliver@forestry.gsi.gov.uk