It costs �25 to plant a tree in the forest

The National Forest is receiving almost �500,000 in lottery funding to help preserve the heritage in the areas it covers.

The Heritage Lottery Fund has announced more than �600,000 for the Derbyshire area, with most of the money going to the National Forest's Heritage in the Making project.

The project aims to celebrate the history of the forest.

The money will be used to create an oral history of the area as well as a website and exhibition.

Badly scarred

The National Forest covers 200 square miles of the Midlands, spanning parts of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire and includes the towns of Burton upon Trent, Coalville, Ashby de la Zouch and Swadlincote.

The National Forest Company was created in 1995 to encourage alternative land use by farmers and landowners, and to stimulate business, leisure, tourism and educational activity throughout the area.

The forest covers an area that was badly scarred by past mineral workings and is also one of the least wooded areas in the country.

People can pay �25 if they want to donate or plant a tree in the National Forest.