Green Infrastructure

The three Forests are working to deliver green infrastructure across the North West
and improve people’s lives, but what is green infrastructure?

Green Infrastructure is the region’s life support system – the network of natural environmental components and green and blue spaces that lies within and between the cities, towns and
villages which provides multiple social, economic and environmental benefits.

For more detail on Green Infrastructure please visit www.greeninfrastructurenw.org.uk

Climate Change

“As climate change looms, the business case for improving our environment has never
been stronger nor more urgent and the work of the Forests is something I will continue
to support” Lord Terry Thomas of Macclesfield CBE

Trees and woodlands have an important role in protecting our future homes and lives from likely climate change. The Forests are delivering key aspects of the North West Climate Change Action Plan. Climate change means just that – change. The Forests are therefore working with partners to see how we need to alter the way we plan and maintain our green infrastructure to ensure that local trees can contribute more to a stable and liveable environment in the years to come.

The Forests are also actively involved in Green Infrastructure/Climate Change research projects such as i-trees (a Red Rose Forest project focussing on measuring the impact of trees on climate change) and ForeStClim (www.forestclim.eu a Mersey Forest project working with European partners to develop forest management strategies in response to regional climate change impacts).

For more detail on these and other Forest projects please visit the Forest websites:

The work of the Forests contributes to both climate change mitigation and adaptation in a
number of ways including through the creation of woodlands, green spaces, trees and other
habitats – increasingly referred to as green infrastructure. These activities have an impact
on carbon capture and storage, and on flood risk and water management.