Red Rose Forest is a partnership initiative of the twelve Community Forests in England and is the most urban of all the Community Forests. The project was started in 1991 and is expected to last 40 years, with the aim of involving communities in safeguarding and creating a woodland flora for the future, and helping preserve the fast disappearing flora of British woodlands.[1]
For over 20 years Red Rose Forest has been creating new areas of woodland, helping to improve existing green spaces and encouraging thousands of people every year to visit their local park, woodland, nature reserve or community garden.
The main aim is to get greenery where people can appreciate it every day. This includes street trees, green roofs and green spaces. Red Rose Forest's Green Streets team works with local communities on unique and innovative greening projects to improve the quality of life for urban communities.
The value of greening as a means of tackling a range of social, health and economic issues is huge.[2]
Red Rose Forest offer many ways for the people to get involved in their environment including the general public through their Friends of the Forest scheme, businesses through sponsorship and communities through the Green Streets project.
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The Forest area covers 292 square miles (760 km2) and takes in the districts of Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Trafford and Wigan.[3]
The population within the Forest boundary amounts to 1.5 million, making it the largest urban community forest in the UK.[4]
Over the Forty year lifespan of the project it is planned to plant 25 million trees in the Forest. For new woodland the costs of planting is between £7 - £10 for each tree as compared to £300 in an urban area. Since the scheme started 1,183 hectares of woodland have been planted in the Forest area.[4]
| Main Partners | Wider Partnerships |
|---|---|
| Countryside Agency | Businesses |
| Forestry Commission | Landowners |
| Bolton MBC | Environmental and voluntary bodies (RSPB, Woodland Trust, BTCV) |
| Bury MBC | Countryside Services |
| Trafford MBC | Schools |
| Wigan & Leigh MBC | Individuals |
| City of Manchester | Local communities |
| City of Salford |
The project has received £17,565 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (National Lottery).
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