Red Rose Forest

Red Rose Forest is a community forest in western and central Greater Manchester, England.[1] It was founded in 1991 and is expected to take 40 years to develop and mature, 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. The population within the forest boundary amounts to 1.5 million, making it the largest urban community forest in the United Kingdom.[2]

Wild flowers at Byrom Wood. This is farmland in Lowton taken over by the Forestry Commission near to Pennington Flash part of the Red Rose Forest.

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.[3] Red Rose Forest offers 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.

Area covered

The forest area covers 292 square miles (760 km2) and takes in the districts of Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Trafford and Wigan.[4]

The population within the forest boundary amounts to 1.5 million, making it the largest urban community forest in the UK.[2]

Cost

Over the 40-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.[2]

Partnership bodies
Main Partners[2] Wider Partnerships
Countryside Agency Businesses
Forestry Commission Landowners
Bolton Council Environmental and voluntary bodies (RSPB, Woodland Trust, BTCV)
Bury Council Countryside Services
Trafford Council Schools
Wigan Council Individuals
Manchester City Council Local communities
Salford City Council
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See also
  • Community Forests in England

References
  1. "About Red Rose Forest". redroseforest.co.uk. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  2. City of Salford retrieved on 23 March 2007
  3. Forest Research: Benefits of greenspace
  4. Red Rose Forest retrieved on 26 March 2007

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