CONTEXT 180 : JUNE 2024 19 WHERE HERITAGE AND NATURE MEET continuity for species that depend on the niches these venerable elder statesmen provide. All this requires mindfulness of the past; for example, characteristic irregular ancient woodland boundaries from ‘ancient’ rather than more uniform ‘planned’ countryside need careful consideration to maintain their legibility and avoid their erasure. Through expanding tree cover we are tackling pressing issues. At Gorpley Reservoir, near Todmorden, more than 60 hectares of new native woodland have been planted on Yorkshire Water land, through partnership with the National Trust, Woodland Trust and White Rose Forest. Coupled with natural flood management (NFM) measures (stabilising stream banks, incorporating leaky dams and pond creation), this project aims to slow water flow, protecting downstream communities in the flood-prone Upper Calder. At the Woodland Trust’s Smithills Estate, on the urban fringe of Bolton, the Mersey Forest and University of Liverpool researchers have introduced NFM measures, already showing reductions of more than 27 per cent in both peak and low water flows. Smaller areas of planting, such as hedges and shelter belts, or even individual trees in wood pasture, have benefits for livestock health and survival in farmed landscapes and provide cover and food sources for pollinators. Historic Ordnance Survey maps show the number of now missing field trees that would have framed the landscape; returning these brings multiple benefits. Urban trees have a cooling effect in city centres that goes beyond the direct shading effects. The Mersey Forest, with Liverpool City Council and other partners, has implemented more than 40 innovative, nature-based solutions (NBS) across Liverpool as part of the EU-funded Urban GreenUp project. This will help the city adapt to future climate-related threats such as high temperatures, air pollution and biodiversity loss. These include pollinator verges, floating gardens in the city docks and a 65-metre-long elevated green wall at St Johns Shopping Centre. Sustainable urban drainage systems and urban catchment forestry are helping to lower flood risk. In the heatwave of 2022, a thermal monitoring camera showed how trees and green spaces reduced temperatures, with 38 degrees recorded in the city, down to 25 degrees in the shade of a tree. Getting close to nature can reduce stress and trees provide green surroundings for physical activity with multiple health benefits. Creating new woodland close to people’s homes is key to the mission of the Northern Forest partnership. On the Smithills estate, a self-guided wellbeing trail complements a partnership with Bolton GP Federation and Green Social Prescribing sessions. These walks include nature identification sessions, which inspire passion for fungi and trees, and create a sense of community for those who attend. Further sense of connection to place has come through the creation of an award-winning local history book compiled by Smithills volunteers. While past treescapes developed through the material or aesthetic value of trees and woods to the landowner, the wider range of values we now ascribe to them are societal, reflecting an evolving cultural landscape. Creating new treescapes in the right places requires willing landowners who need positive economic returns as a result of direct benefit to their farm productivity, through grants and/ or payment for public goods delivered (carbon credits, for example). Private finance mechanisms are still developing, but we welcome the government’s support of an initial burst of £90 million funding through Defra’s Nature for Climate programme and inclusion of the project in the 25-year Environment Plan. Finally, at Frodsham Woods, near Warrington, the Woodland Trust is creating new woodland on a former golf course, with nearly 3,500 volunteers, including local school children, planting more than 30,000 trees this winter. This illustrates perfectly how we want to inspire those who live and work in the Northern Forest to share our vision, re-engage them with woodlands and recreate the cultural meaning and value of our woodlands for today. Landowners interested in creating or managing woodland in the Northern Forest are invited to get in touch through www. thenorthernforest. org.uk. Sian Atkinson, Liam Plummer and Emily Sloan work for the Woodland Trust, supporting and advising landowners to create and manage native woodland. Trees planted at Gorpley Reservoir, near Todmorden, as part of a wider project to reduce flooding in Calderdale (Photo: WTML/ Doug Edmondson)
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