Members of the community are invited to help create a forest on the Countess of Chester Country Park next to the city hospital.
This ‘Natural Health Service’, which will feature up to 3,000 mixed trees, is intended to create a great environment for flora and fauna as well as people.
Upton ward councillor Matt Bryan is inviting everyone along to the first tree planting day, between 9am and 5pm, on Saturday, January 21.
Cllr Bryan said: “I’ve used part of my member’s budget to purchase the trees and the Mersey Forest have kindly added £10,000 to provide the planning, tools and expertise in an area which has been identified and agreed by the Land Trust. This will create much needed wet woodland but not affect any proposed works at Finchett’s Gutter.”
He added: “We will be running a series of planting days with the first in January. I would encourage everyone to come along and bring a picnic. One of my promises before I was elected was to do as much as I could for the local environment.”
Cllr Bryan insists consideration will be given to ensuring paths and other areas are ‘kept as open as possible’.
The Mersey Forest team will work with TCV conservation volunteers to undertake all site preparation, health and safety assessment, communications and provide all the tools and materials.
Future dedicated planting days are being considered for Dee Point Primary School, hospital staff, Green Gym participants, The Friends group, a local children’s nursery and Chester businesses.
The project will link in with the ongoing work to deliver Mersey Forest’s Natural Health Service vision which aims to ‘get more from trees’ and make Merseyside and North Cheshire one of the best places to live in the country.
The late sixth Duke of Westminster launched a Life for a Life Memorial Forest at the country park in the summer of 2015. Life for a Life is a charity that helps facilitate the planting of memorial trees, benches and plaques to commemorate loved ones.
Young trees were planted by His Grace, Michael Hemmerdinger, chair of governors at the nearby Countess of Chester Hospital, Colonel Debbie Telford, commanding officer of 208 Field Hospital Liverpool and Euan Hall, chief executive of the Land Trust, which manages and maintains the whole site.
