Woodland Trust's new community woods taking shape on land near Billington

Newly named Swindells Wood and owned by the Woodland Trust, schools and communities will be invited to get involved and plant trees at the 8.47 hectare site throughout the autumn. These will all be native broadleaf species that will link and buffer pockets of existing woodland.Thanks to over £9,000 of funding from Lancashire Environmental Fund, work has been completed on entrance ways, gates and a new pedestrian footbridge connecting the main footpath into the site.

The land for the project, off Whalley Road, was gifted to the Woodland Trust by the Peel Bank Woodland and Conservation Trust, with the late Gordon Swindell, its founder, planting many of the existing woodland.

Paul Bunton from the Woodland Trust said: “It will be really fitting to continue Gordon’s legacy by planting trees with the local community this autumn. The woodland will be named Swindells Wood in recognition of Gordon and the pioneering work he did for native woodland and the natural environment.”

Elizabeth Morgan, Fund Manager from Lancashire Environmental Fund, said: “The access improvements at Swindells Wood have been a great project for us to support. Now the entrance ways and bridge have been installed it will make it much easier for the local community to access the area for the tree planting and to enjoy the woodland as it matures over the coming years. It will be fantastic to see how the area develops in the years to some."For more information about the Woodland Trust and its activities, visit woodlandtrust.org.uk