June 3, 2005.

COMMUNITY FORESTS NORTH WEST
FATHER’S DAY PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES.

Event: Leading North West environmental charity, Community Forest North West, is teaming up with Hope hospital to deliver 10 dedicated trees to newborns and their dads, just in time for Father’s Day.

Date/Time: Please book in both Wednesday, June 8, 2005/ Thursday, June 9 in your diaries. This way we can guarantee you the maximum number of babies! We WILL telephone you on Wednesday to say whether we have enough dads and babies available. Obviously, if there are no babies available on Wednesday we’ll work out a time for Thursday, instead, so you only have to come down once.

Meet: Maternity Ward, Hope Hospital, Salford.

Contact: Rebecca Calvert at Community Forests North West on 01618721660/ 07887760335 or Chris Johnstone on 01618721660.

TEN newborn babies at a Salford hospital are being delivered the gift of a lifetime, when they each receive a dedicated tree in honour of their dads this week.

Leading environmental charity Community Forests North West (CFNW), the charity that supports the Mersey and Red Rose Forests, will be dedicating 10 trees in their community woodland, to dads and their newborns on Wednesday June 8 and Thursday June 9 at Hope Hospital in Salford.

CFNW, which has 16 Dedicate a Tree sites throughout the North West, is allowing the dads to dedicate a tree on any of their sites for free. Each dad and baby will receive a certificate showing that a recently planted native tree has been dedicated in their name, with an individually tailored message, just in time for Father’s Day.

The Dedicate a Tree scheme has been running since 2001 and already over 6000 trees have been dedicated by members of the public. The project aims to get the people of the North West involved in and take ownership of their green spaces.

Hope Hospital’s Amanda Thomas, said: "We're very happy to be involved with Community Forests Northwest and think the Dedicate a Tree scheme is a great idea. We are sure new fathers, whose babies are born here at Hope Hospital, will be delighted to have such a great gift that they can share with their child forever.”

Rebecca Calvert from Community Forests North West, said: “This giveaway is going a small way to providing a better environment for the people of Salford and the North West. Our region is one of the least wooded areas in Europe so it’s vital that tree planting in the North West continues apace.”

For as little as £10 pounds people can dedicate a native tree in one of the eight Dedicate a Tree woodlands in the North West. They too will receive a certificate with their individual message on it. CFNW also offers fund packages for larger donations, £20 gets a tree package of 50 recently planted trees and £1,500 dedicates an acre of newly established woodland, choosing from a list of selected sites.

If you are interested in making a donation to the Dedicate a Tree scheme or want to find out about more about other Dedicate a Tree sites in the North West, please call Jessica Boyle at Community Forests North West on 0161 872 1660 or email Jessica@cfnw.org

Notes to Editors:
Red Rose Forest is an environmental regeneration initiative in Greater Manchester and one of 12 Community Forests being developed in England. We are a partnership of the Countryside Agency, the Forestry Commission and six Greater Manchester authorities. Over 40 years we will plant over 25 million trees, across 292 square miles of the area, as the framework for a programme of regeneration and renewal that will make Greater Manchester a greener and more satisfying place to live. At the heart of our strategy is the involvement of local people and local businesses in the social, economic and environmental of the area through land development and enhancement for the enjoyment of communities and individuals.

Dedicate a Tree Facts

The scheme has been hugely successful with over 6000 trees dedicated to loved ones so far. Half the £8000 proceeds go towards Red Rose and the Mersey forest and the other half goes to the Forestry Commission who helps to maintain them.

The woodlands that are associated with the Dedicate a Tree scheme are in Bury, Bolton, Wigan in Lancashire, Burtonwood, Northwich and Delamere in Cheshire and Maghull and Whiston in Merseyside.

Community Forests Northwest was created in 2001, to support the work of the Northwest region’s two Community Forests – Red Rose Forest in Greater Manchester and The Mersey Forest in Merseyside and North Cheshire. Community Forests Northwest generates funding and raises awareness of the two Forests – enabling them to continue their vital work, increasing tree cover across the Northwest region and creating attractive environments in which businesses and local communities can thrive.

Community Forests Northwest is supporting Red Rose Forest and The Mersey Forest as they see over 50 million trees planted in the region over 40 years and offers businesses and individuals many opportunities to get involved in this valuable project.

Community Forests Northwest (through Red Rose Forest and The Mersey Forest) has planted 3693 hectares or around 8,300,000 trees since the Forests’ began.

Since the Forests began, woodland cover over the two Forest areas has increased by 54%

Of the region’s land area, 30% is built up and only 3.8% is wooded. The national average for woodland cover is 8% and the European average woodland cover is 33% - meaning that the Northwest region is severely lagging behind!

Over 70% of land in the Northwest is suitable for woodland planting

Energy consumption can be 10 per cent lower in buildings sheltered by trees. A large beech tree can provide enough oxygen for the daily requirement of ten people.
ENDS