England Returns to Its Forested Past
Something beautiful is happening in Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire in England.
The country used to be covered in forests, filled with a whole variety of animals including wolves, bears and wild boar.
Now, due to the expansion of housing and agricultural land, a lot of this woodland has disappeared, being replaced by fields of crops or estates.
Other areas have been removed for different reasons, such as timber or firewood over the centuries.
Now, however, the forests are sweeping across the English landscape again, like the Ents attacking Isengard, thanks to the National Forest Company.
The aim of this group is to convert a third of the area of the National Forest to woodland.
This will eventually result in a forest covered area interspersed with agricultural land, towns, villages and meadows.
The idea is to fill in the gaps between the forests of Needwood and Charnwood, both ancient forests (meaning they have been in existence for so long that they have developed their own ecological characteristics).
The planting is to be a mix of English Oaks, Ash, Poplar, Corsican and Scots Pine, but will mostly lean towards the broadleaf varieties.
This mix will create a stable environment within the woodland and provide enough variety to support all manner of wildlife.
A visitor centre exists in the very centre of the forest, designed to educate people about the environment and wildlife, particularly that pertaining to forestry and the woodland of England.
One of the main objectives of the project is to educate people about how necessary woodland is, and the reforestation project relies on the co-operation of land owners in the area, especially farmers, to convert their land into somewhere that can support woodland growth as well as still providing them with agricultural land.
As yet, there are no plans to start reintroducing bears or wolves to the area, but wildlife has been spreading throughout the newly grown trees, and with there already existing populations of wild boar around England due to break outs from various boar farms across the country, it's perfectly possible that the National Forest will not only spread, but also begin to pick up some of the animals that it formerly contained as well.
The country used to be covered in forests, filled with a whole variety of animals including wolves, bears and wild boar.
Now, due to the expansion of housing and agricultural land, a lot of this woodland has disappeared, being replaced by fields of crops or estates.
Other areas have been removed for different reasons, such as timber or firewood over the centuries.
Now, however, the forests are sweeping across the English landscape again, like the Ents attacking Isengard, thanks to the National Forest Company.
The aim of this group is to convert a third of the area of the National Forest to woodland.
This will eventually result in a forest covered area interspersed with agricultural land, towns, villages and meadows.
The idea is to fill in the gaps between the forests of Needwood and Charnwood, both ancient forests (meaning they have been in existence for so long that they have developed their own ecological characteristics).
The planting is to be a mix of English Oaks, Ash, Poplar, Corsican and Scots Pine, but will mostly lean towards the broadleaf varieties.
This mix will create a stable environment within the woodland and provide enough variety to support all manner of wildlife.
A visitor centre exists in the very centre of the forest, designed to educate people about the environment and wildlife, particularly that pertaining to forestry and the woodland of England.
One of the main objectives of the project is to educate people about how necessary woodland is, and the reforestation project relies on the co-operation of land owners in the area, especially farmers, to convert their land into somewhere that can support woodland growth as well as still providing them with agricultural land.
As yet, there are no plans to start reintroducing bears or wolves to the area, but wildlife has been spreading throughout the newly grown trees, and with there already existing populations of wild boar around England due to break outs from various boar farms across the country, it's perfectly possible that the National Forest will not only spread, but also begin to pick up some of the animals that it formerly contained as well.
Source...