A PROJECT to inspire people to use their local woods has come to an end.
 

The Woodland Trust’s woodland communities project has reached hundreds of children and families and encouraged them to manage and look after the valuable natural assets.


In 2007 then Woodland Trust site manager Tim Kirwin came up with the idea to revitalise the way urban woodland was managed and used.


With thanks to funding through a grant from the Access to Nature scheme, run by Natural England and funded by the Big Lottery Fund, the idea came to life in 2009.


A total of 10 urban woods were chosen as the areas to benefit from the scheme, including Mary Anne Plantation and Gorse Covert Mounds.


Events such as bat walks, storytelling and bushcraft outings all saw people come out to their local woodland.


After the project’s scheduled end-date in March 2012 funding was found to allow it to carry on for another 18 months, with Tim at the helm on a consultative basis.


Tim said: “I hope that the legacy of this project will continue through the groups and the children and teachers who have been involved, and that the woodland will continue to play an important role in the lives of the local people.”