New 8,500 tree woodland created to attract birds

A new woodland of more than 8,500 trees has been created in Lancashire to attract wildlife and protect land around a reservoir.

A mixture of native trees and shrubs including oak, downy birch, hawthorn, hornbeam, white willow, blackthorn and Scots pine have been planted on a six-hectare (15 acre) site adjacent to the Spade Mill Reservoir near Longridge.

The new woodland will also play an important role in improving water quality by stabilising the embankment and reducing run-off from the land into the water.

It was funded through the Forestry Commission's England Woodland Creation Offer.

The project has been overseen by United Utilities' woodland project officer Michael Bullivant as part of the water company's pledge to plant one million trees by 2030.

"This piece of land sits alongside an existing woodland which is mainly made up of coniferous trees," he said.

"There are buzzards nesting there already, and by introducing new tree species we hope to increase the biodiversity and create more habitat for different species, especially woodland birds."

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