Tree-mendous grant of more than £1million will fund thousands of saplings

Lancashire County Council has been successful in an ambitious bid for £1,002,514 - larger than any previous award from the Local Authority Treescapes Fund by the Forestry Commission. 

The scheme restores trees in non-woodland areas which may have been impacted by issues such as disease, ageing or habitat degradation.

The grant will fund around 965 trees, between 5ft and 8ft tall, of which around 465 may be used across the county to replace dead or damaged highway trees. The further 500 trees will be planted in parks, schools and other premises across Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool,  Burnley, Hyndburn, Preston and Fylde.

The grant will also fund 24,000 saplings, which are very small trees that need time to mature. Most of these will be planted as Miyawaki Micro-woods, which are planted in a special way to optimise their growth. The aim is to create up-to 16 new Micro-woods with at least one in each district in Lancashire. Each Micro-wood will contain 1,500 tree and shrub plants and will be planted in an area slightly bigger than a tennis court.

Japanese botanist Dr Akira Miyawaki developed this unique tree planting technique, which involves enhancing the soil and planting trees closer together, which results in faster growth than traditional techniques. This faster growth allows carbon to be absorbed faster.

Councillor Shaun Turner said:

"It is wonderful to see this £1million investment in trees across Lancashire – and these will be planted across the county in a range of different schemes.

"The Miyawaki Micro-woods are fantastic as they absorb carbon faster than traditionally planted woodlands do, as they will grow faster and be so densely populated.

"We are looking forward to rolling out this scheme as soon as possible."