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Red Rose Forest is the previous name for the charity City of Trees, the charity underwent a rebranding in 2016. City of Trees is the community forest for Greater Manchester, part of a national network of community forests across England - www.communityforest-trust.org
Red Rose Forest was founded as a community forest in western and central Greater Manchester, England. [1] It was established in 1991, as the Greater Manchester Community Forest – one of 12 community forests across England. In 1994 the Red Rose Forest Plan was approved by Government and launched to the public. It aimed to be a mechanism for the economic, social, and environmental regeneration of the countryside around our towns and cities. Achieving this by involving communities in creating and preserving a woodland flora for the future. The population within the forest boundary amounted to 2.5 million, at the time the community was founded, [2] making it the largest urban community forest in the United Kingdom. [3]
The main aim of Red Rose Forest was to get greenery where people can appreciate it every day. This included street trees, green roofs and green spaces. Red Rose Forest's Green Streets team worked 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. [4] Red Rose Forest offered 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.
The forest area under Red Rose Forest covered 292 square miles (760 km2) and took in the districts of Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Trafford and Wigan. [5]
The population within the forest boundary amounts to 1.5 million, making it the largest urban community forest in the UK. [3]
Over the 40-year projected lifespan of the project it was planned to plant 25 million trees. 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, as of 2007, 1,183 hectares of woodland had been planted in the forest area. [3]
Main Partners [3] | 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 |
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the cities of Manchester and Salford. Greater Manchester was created on 1 April 1974, as a result of the Local Government Act 1972, and designated a functional city region on 1 April 2011. Greater Manchester is formed of parts of the historic counties of Lancashire, Cheshire and the West Riding of Yorkshire.
The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland heritage. It has planted over 50 million trees since 1972.
Salford is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It is the principal settlement of the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886, Salford is located in a meander of the River Irwell which forms part of its boundary with Manchester. The former County Borough of Salford, which also included Broughton, Pendleton and Kersal, was granted city status in 1926. In 1974 the wider Metropolitan Borough of the City of Salford was established with responsibility for a significantly larger region.
Urban forestry is the care and management of single trees and tree populations in urban settings for the purpose of improving the urban environment. Urban forestry involves both planning and management, including the programming of care and maintenance operations of the urban forest. Urban forestry advocates the role of trees as a critical part of the urban infrastructure. Urban foresters plant and maintain trees, support appropriate tree and forest preservation, conduct research and promote the many benefits trees provide. Urban forestry is practiced by municipal and commercial arborists, municipal and utility foresters, environmental policymakers, city planners, consultants, educators, researchers and community activists.
The City of Salford is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, named after its main settlement Salford. The borough covers the towns of Eccles, Worsley, Swinton, Walkden and Pendlebury. As well as the villages and suburbs of Monton, Little Hulton, Boothstown, Ellenbrook, Clifton, Cadishead and Winton. The city has a population of 245,600, and is administered from the Salford Civic Centre in Swinton.
Whitefield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. It lies on undulating ground above the Irwell Valley, along the south bank of the River Irwell, 3 miles (4.8 km) south-southeast of Bury, and 4.9 miles (7.9 km) to the north-northwest of the city of Manchester. Prestwich and the M60 motorway lie just to the south.
Worsley is a town in the Greater Manchester district of Salford, England, which in 2014 had a population of 10,090. It lies along Worsley Brook, 5.75 miles (9.25 km) west of the city centre.
The River Irwell is a tributary of the River Mersey in north west England. It rises at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately 1+1⁄2 miles north of Bacup and flows southwards for 39 mi (63 km) to meet the Mersey near Irlam. The Irwell marks the boundary between Manchester and Salford, and its lower reaches have been canalised and now form part of the Manchester Ship Canal.
Blackley is a suburban area of Manchester, England. In the County of Greater Manchester. Historically in Lancashire, it is approximately 4.5 miles (7.2 km) north of Manchester city centre, on the River Irk.
Eccles is a suburban town in the Greater Manchester district of Salford, England. It lies 3.7 miles (6.0 km) west of Manchester city centre, split by the M602 motorway and bordered by the Manchester Ship Canal to the south. The town is famous for the Eccles cake.
Partington is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, ten miles (16 km) south-west of Manchester city centre. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Cheshire, it lies on the southern bank of the Manchester Ship Canal, opposite Cadishead on the northern bank. It has a population of 7,327.
Blackley and Broughton is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Graham Stringer. He was first elected in 1997 for the former Manchester Blackley and prior to this was Leader of Manchester City Council. The constituency covers north Manchester and east Salford.
Social forestry is the management and protection of forests and afforestation of barren and deforested lands with the purpose of helping environmental, social and rural development. The term social forestry was first used in 1976 by The National Commission on Agriculture, when the government of India aimed to reduce pressure on forests by planting trees on all unused and fallow lands. It was intended as a democratic approach to forest conservation and usage, maximizing land utilization for multiple purposes.
The geography of Greater Manchester is dominated by one of the United Kingdom's largest metropolitan areas, and in this capacity the landlocked metropolitan county constitutes one of the most urbanised and densely populated areas of the country. There is a mix of high density urban areas, suburbs, semi-rural and rural locations in Greater Manchester, but overwhelmingly the land use in the county is urban.
Drinkwater Park is situated in the Irwell Valley on the western border of Prestwich, near Manchester, bounded by the River Irwell to the west, Agecroft Road and Rainsough Brow (A6044) to the south, Butterstile Lane and Carr Clough estate to the east and Bunkers Hill to the north. The park is administered by Forestry England and is part of Prestwich Forest Park, which also incorporates Philips Park, Mere Clough, Prestwich Clough, Forest Bank Park in Pendlebury and Waterdale Meadow.
Trees for Cities is a UK charity which aims to plant urban trees and create greener cities. Since 1993, the organisation has reported that 125,000 volunteers have planted over 1,000,000 urban trees in parks, streets, woodlands, schools, hospitals and housing estates. The charity also runs the Edible Playgrounds programme, which aims to inspire school children to grow and eat healthy food.
The Big Tree Plant was a Government-sponsored campaign in England in 2010, to promote the planting of trees in neighbourhoods where people lived and worked. The national campaign ran over four years from 2011 to 2015 and met its objective to plant one million trees.
Urban reforestation is the practice of planting trees, typically on a large scale, in urban environments. It sometimes includes also urban horticulture and urban farming. Reasons for practicing urban reforestation include urban beautification, increasing shade, modifying the urban climate, improving air quality, and restoration of urban forests after a natural disaster.
The Northern Forest is a proposed forest in England to encompass five community forests. The aim is to plant 50 million trees by 2032 which would provide a timber industry, leisure opportunities and environmental benefits. Initial funding for the project was granted by the British government in January 2018.