An MP is calling for volunteers to come forward following the announcement of a new woodland for Cheshire.
Mike Amesbury – who represents the Weaver Vale constituency – is encouraging people to get behind the project which will see the former Frodsham Golf Club transformed into a community woodland.
The Woodland Trust will manage the site which is part of a wider project to reconnect the ancient woods of Snidley Moor, Woodhouse Hill and Frodsham Hill Woods.
A third of the course will remain as open space – such as glades sown with wildflowers – and will retain views of the Sandstone Ridge, River Mersey, Liverpool and the Welsh Hills.
Mr Amesbury was recently given a tour of the site and believes the proposals for the site will contribute towards the country’s battle against climate change.
He said: “This fantastic Woodland Trust project will help nature and people to thrive.
There’s rightly a lot of talk about the environmental crisis. Well, the response has got to include rewilding and tree planting, especially given Cheshire as a whole is low in tree cover.
“What an opportunity this is to create a woodland that is open to the community!
“I’m so pleased the site hasn’t been sold off for development and will be preserved as a green space to be enjoyed for generations to come.”
Mr Amesbury added: “This ambitious initiative will involve planting some 40,000 trees, starting next autumn.
“The Woodland Trust will be holding community planting days but is also keen to get individuals and groups involved – young and old – across the planting season, so keep an eye on their website for details.”
The site will develop as native broadleaf woodland and all trees planted will help to grow both The Mersey Forest and the larger Northern Forest (which stretches from Liverpool to the Yorkshire coast).
Woodland Trust site manager Neil Oxley said: “We want to engage with local people and make them feel like it’s their space.
“Somewhere they can come and get close to nature, whether with kids or dogs or just themselves, and get all those benefits from being outdoors.”
For more details about the Woodland Trust, including volunteer opportunities, please visit: www.woodlandtrust.org.uk
