15 December 2006

Local youths to give home to rare wildlife

Wirral's ' Local Mini Wardens' are to give sanctuary to hundreds of rare birds and insects this Sunday (December 17th) when they help plant a 100metre wildlife hedgerow at Bidston Moss - a new 68-hectare community woodland which has recently been developed as part of a multi-million pound land regeneration scheme.

Hedge Sparrows, Wrens and Goldfinches will all be given a new home on the former landfill site, with the aid of the Groundwork Wirral facilitated youth action group - BEANBAG (Bidston and North End Birkenhead Environmental Action Group) - for local children aged from 8 to 14 years old.

The children will plant up to nine assorted types of saplings, including Hawthorn, Wild Cherry and Holly to create the native North West hedgerow. And the new purpose built wildlife haven will also become a magnet for hedgehogs, voles, shrews and dormice as well as more than a hundred different species of moths. Local residents and members of the North End Café club, North Birkenhead Development Trust and Bidston Moss Multi-Use Steering Group will also be involved with the project.

Bidston Moss is owned by Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority and managed by the Forestry Commission.  It is currently in its final stages of a £2.7 million investment from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (under the Newlands programme) to transform undervalued land into much needed public green space.

Work will begin on early Sunday morning across the perimeter of the site from the footbridge entrance, along the cycle track and towards the fishing lake, and will form the first instalment of a wider hedgerow planting programme that will be finalised in early 2007.

In addition to creating a home for rare wildlife the hedges will also help shield the site from the noise and sight of traffic from the nearby M53 motorway to make Bidston Moss a tranquil haven for people and wildlife.

The project will also enable young people to start to engage with their local green space - teaching them valuable skills of environmental stewardship, and encouraging them to get out and exercising in natural surroundings.

The hedgerow planting project is also funded by Biffaward, a multi-million pound environment fund managed by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT), which utilises landfill tax credit donated by Biffa Waste Service.

ends

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: Wirral's keen and green will be braving the winter winds and rain this Sunday, December 17 at Bidston Moss' new community woodlands (near the footbridge entrance) to create a home for local and rare wildlife from 11.30am.

For more information please contact:
Claire Rajah or Faith Ashworth at Creative Concern
Tel: 0161 236 0600

Notes to editors:

- Newlands stands for New Economic Environments through Woodlands.
- Newlands sites will be transformed into community woodlands through a unique partnership of the NWDA and Forestry Commission as well as a range of delivery partners, which include MWDA, Wirral Council and Groundwork Wirral.
- A brownfield site is any land or premises that has previously been used and is not currently fully in use, although it may be partially occupied or utilised. It may also be vacant, derelict or contaminated. A brownfield site is not necessarily available for immediate use without intervention.
- Community Woodlands are multi-purpose open spaces that can be easily accessed by the local community, and can include a series of small woodlands, footpaths, cycle and bridleways, football pitches, wetland habitats and a wildflower meadow. Each site is designed in partnership with the local community to help improve and enhance the economic, environmental and social value of the local neighbourhood to work towards a sustainable environment for everyone.
- Using aerial photography, the National Land Use Database and/or Unitary Development Plans, the DUN Survey, which formed the basis for the selection of Newlands sites found an astonishing 3,800 DUN sites of more than one hectare across the Northwest and of this amount, 1,600 were highlighted as a brownfield sites.
- The Public Benefit Recording System (PBRS) uses a range of social, economic and environmental factors from proximity to a transport corridor or Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) to a sites location to schools. It has won widespread approval across wider government and has already been used to tackle a number of other regeneration or development challenges.
- The project has been part funded by Biffaward, a multi-million pound environment fund managed by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts  (RSWT), which utilises landfill tax credits donated by Biffa Waste Services.  This totalled £510,204.  In December 1997 Biffa Waste Services agreed to donate landfill tax credits to the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT) to administer under the fund name Biffaward. Grants made from the fund currently amount to more than £80 million, supporting many worthwhile environmental projects.
- £116,192 has been awarded to the project through the Integrated Countryside and Environment Plan, which is an Objective One Project part funded by the European Union. The Mersey Forest is working to deliver ICEP through Community Forestry.