Published February 3, 2021 at 8:32
During late December, amidst the cold weather and harsh local lockdown, a team of local volunteers from ‘WHITWORTH IN BLOOM’ planted an Orchard in the village. With funding from Lancashire Environmental fund a large variety of apple, plum, and cherry trees now adorn the council owned area of Waingap woods, additional trees have been planted in Britannia and Healey corner to ensure that the fruit will be accessible to all for years to come.
The team from Whitworth in bloom followed the national guidelines given for tree planting considering the current Coronavirus pandemic. Timed slots were allocated to members of the community who wanted to dedicate a tree to someone to allow for safe distancing. Small wooden circles of wood with the tree type pyrographed on one side were available for the planters to write their dedication on. The volunteers have plans to involve many more community groups in the development, maintenance and harvesting of the trees – something to look forward to on the other side of covid.
The Lancashire Environmental Fund (LEF) is a partnership between Suez Recycling and Recovery Ltd. Lancashire county council, the wildlife trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Mersyside and community futures. The fund is financed by landfill communities fund donations from Suez Recycling and Recovery Ltd together with a contribution from Lancashire county council.
Organisations can apply for funding for environmental and community initiatives which benefit the environment and people of Lancashire. Projects to date have included improvement to community facilities, environmental education, general environmental improvements, creation and management of habitats, improvements to parks, gardens, open spaces, play areas, recreational facilities, canals and rivers and biodiversity.