The Mersey Forest at 25

Our Plan set out a long-term vision to transform Merseyside and North Cheshire through planting trees and encouraging communities to use these new woodlands on their doorstep. We began in the 1980s when the area was blighted by large scale derelict land. Today, much of that land has been transformed into community woodland, providing new areas of open access for hundreds of thousands of people.

Our biggest achievements

• We have planted over 9 million trees
• We have achieved three times more tree planting than the England average
• We have created over 3,000 hectares of woodland – that's the same as 4,322 full-sized football pitches, or 24,000 Olympic swimming pools
• We've worked with more than half the schools in Merseyside and North Cheshire
• 65% of people say their environment has improved because of our work
• The 9 million trees we have planted have absorbed 524,574 tonnes of carbon dioxide – a clear impact on climate change
• Our Partnership has survived changes to local and national structures. Over 25 years there has been nine governments and five prime ministers!

Our 25 year anniversary campaign will run throughout the rest of 2019. We will focus on raising awareness of the new woodlands on people's doorsteps – providing ways that people can visit and enjoy these spaces with their family over the coming summer months, and as the trees turn to autumn.

We will be encouraging people to go and find the 95 species of trees that we've planted, and we'll be aiming to gather 1000 stories of what The Mersey Forest has meant to people who live and work near to our trees.

What's next? Growing The Mersey Forest is even more important that it was 25 years ago. We've proved how planting trees benefits our economy, our health and wellbeing and our sense of community. Now, we also know how vital large-scale tree planting is to combating the climate emergency and securing a future for our children.

To do that, we need your help. There are three actions you can do to support us.