Map shows Northern Forest expansion across Merseyside after biggest ever tree planting year

More than 1.9 million trees – enough to fill more than 1200 football pitches - were planted across the Northern Forest in the last year.

The bumper season - with the most trees planted since the project began more than six years ago - means nearly eight million new trees have been established across cities, towns and countryside since the Northern Forest project kicked off.

A new map of the plantings shows the scale of the scheme which has seen more than 87,000 people in the most deprived areas now within 500 metres of woodland.

The project started in 2018 when the Woodland Trust joined with a host of Community Forests – The Mersey Forest, City of Trees (Greater Manchester), Humber Forest, White Rose Forest and Community Forest Trust - with a vision to establish 50 million trees over 25 years from Liverpool to Hull in an area with just 7.6%tree cover (compared to the national average of 13%)

In the Merseyside area, over 2,700 trees were planted at Eastham Country Park, which sits on the banks of the River Mersey, while 30,000 trees will have been planted at Frodsham Woods by the end of the year.

Paul Nolan, Director of The Mersey Forest and Chair of England’s Community Forests, said: “Ensuring everyone has access to woodland and green space is vital for our communities’ wellbeing and trees will play an ever more important role as we adapt to a changing climate. 

“We look forward to working with Defra and our partners to deliver more woodlands and greenspaces that will boost biodiversity, enhance our local economies and provide vital shade and cooling in our towns and cities.”

Some of the Northern Forest success stories this year: 

Mersey Forest – Eastham Country Park: 

The Mersey Forest has worked closely with councils across Cheshire and Merseyside to introduce more trees in parks and greenspaces in the area. Volunteers from the local community joined officers from Wirral Council and The Mersey Forest to plant over 2,700 trees at Eastham Country Park, which sits on the banks of the River Mersey. The new planting will help to extend the ancient semi-natural woodland that is already on site at this popular park, making it more resilient to hazards such as storms and emerging pests and diseases, as well as increasing habitat for local wildlife and capturing carbon.

Woodland Trust – Frodsham Woods, Runcorn: 

30,000 trees will have been planted at Frodsham Woods with a further 10,000 trees being encouraged to ‘spring up naturally’ with seed from neighbouring ancient woodland. The Woodland Trust is turning the former golf course site into a haven for nature that people can access and enjoy. In the last year there have been over 50 planting sessions, involving 2500 volunteers and 800 children from local schools. 

White Rose Forest – in Kirklees: 

Kirklees Council, with support from the White Rose Forest, planted almost 15 hectares of woodland across 11 Council-owned sites during the 2023/24 planting season. Almost 1000 volunteers helped with the planting, including council staff, local environment groups and schools. The new woodlands will benefit both communities and the environment, from improving biodiversity and natural flood management, to providing new recreation opportunities for local residents.

Humber Forest – Dent Road, Cottingham: 

Hull City Council wanted to create a small woodland for the community to enjoy and to encourage wildlife. With funding from the Northern Forest Grow Back Greener programme, Humber Forest delivery partner Rewilding Youth held a community day, planting 576 trees and running nature-based activities to connect local people to the space.

City of Trees – Onward Homes: 

City of Trees, the community forest for Greater Manchester, worked with social housing provider, Onward Homes, to plant woodlands at three of their sites in Tameside and Bolton. Together, with customers of Onward Homes, 540 whips were planted. In addition, 132 standard trees were planted across 20 locations to enhance the green spaces for those who live there.

A report by Liverpool John Moores University and commissioned by Northern Forest partners, showed that  millions of new trees have brought a £43 million boost per year for those living in the Northern Forest, and 300,000 extra households are now less than 10 minutes’ walk away from publicly accessible woodland, roughly the size of Leeds. Studies have shown that access to trees is directly linked to better health outcomes.  Meanwhile, thousands of tonnes of carbon have been locked up with multi million pounds annual uplift from the natural benefits.