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Japanese-style micro woods planted across county

Lancashire County Council A young girl in blue wellies with a pink butterfly pattern wearing a pink and white striped woolly hat, navy coat and blue leggings plants a tree in a park with a women wearing a blue and green striped woolly hat green coat, blue trousers and wellies helping her dip the tree. Lancashire County Council
School pupils were among the volunteers who helped plant trees in the mini forests

A series of Japanese-style micro forests are being brought to life across Lancashire, thanks to help from community volunteers.

Led by Lancashire County Council, the Miyawaki micro woods have been created by planting more than 9,000 trees over the last year at 11 sites across the county.

This year 24,000 more trees will be planted at a further 16 locations following a £1m grant from the Forestry Commission, the county council said.

Volunteers who have planted trees have included school children, Army veterans and refugees.

Japanese botanist Dr Akira Miyawaki developed the tree planting technique which involves enhancing the soil and planting trees closer together so the wood grows to its full scale in about 30 years, as opposed to up to 200 years a new forest would usually take to mature.

Lancashire County Council Councillor Shaun Turner wearing a blue fleece and navy trousers and wellies holding a spade resting on the ground in a park where new trees are being plantedLancashire County Council
Councillor Shaun Turner says people of all ages got involved in planting trees

Every pupil at Weeton Primary School, members of the local Roots to Branches forest school, veterans, members of Lancashire County Council's Treescapes team and councillor Shaun Turner, cabinet member for environment and climate change, joined forces to plant the first 500 of 1,500 trees at Weeton Barracks earlier this month.

'Massive uplift'

The councillor said people of all ages had been involved in the planting sessions "as it's really important the community truly own this project and are part of it right from the very beginning".

The grant is also funding Miyawaki micro woods at:

  • Roundway in Fleetwood
  • John Smith's Playing Fields in Longridge
  • Astley Park in Chorley
  • Lancaster and Morecambe College
  • Witton Park in Blackburn
  • Edisford Bridge in Clitheroe
  • Bedford Park in Padiham
  • Lancaster Avenue in Helmshore
  • Dinmore Avenue in Blackpool
  • West End Park in Ormskirk
  • Archbishop Hutton's VC Primary School, Warton
  • Sparth Road, Clayton le Moors
  • St Catherine's Park, Lostock Hall
  • New Longton Recreation Ground and
  • Nelson and Colne College in Barrowford.

Ian Wright, community engagement officer in the council's Treescapes team, said: "One of the great things about this type of woodland creation is it provides instant and massive uplift for native wildlife in a way that few other nature conservation initiatives could ever do."

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