Carbon storage through community planting

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Project type:

Carbon Sequestration

Foundation funding:

£25,500

Total project value:

£36,600

Lifetime CO₂ savings:

851.30tonnes

The Mersey Forest is delivering its community tree planting programme with the help of a Foundation grant. As well as saving over 20 tonnes of CO2 each year the programme will encourage habitat creation, reduce air pollution and get communities working together.

Hundreds of community volunteers and schoolchildren will be involved in planting over 7000 trees across 32 different sites in Merseyside and Cheshire during the two year scheme.

Community sites to benefit include Wigg Island Nature Reserve in Runcorn and Marbury Country Park in Northwich, while school sites include Norwood Primary School in Southport.

Norwood’s Year 3 pupils were involved in a programme planting session in February 2010 as part of their outdoor lesson activities (know as Forest School). They planted carefully chosen species to their existing woodland to help create a new coppice area of willow, hazel and dogwood and brightened up their woodland’s border with some colourful broom.

Jo Sayers from Mersey Forest’s Community Development team said: “The funds Foundation has provided will make a real difference – by improving the structure of the woodland, the new planting will not only add interest visually but will create a sustainable resource the school can utilise for years to come.”

Sue Ashcroft, Norwood's Forest School Leader said: “the kids really enjoyed it; some of them said it was the best thing they had ever done in Forest School.”