WELCOME TO CHESHIRE BIODIVERSITY PART OF THE CHESHIRE REGION BIODIVERSITY PARTNERSHIP

Cheshire Landscape Trust is a non-membership registered charity established in 1981. We work at the grassroots level with community groups, including parish and town councils, schools and the Women's Institutes to promote landscape awareness and conservation through community action such as Local Agenda 21, Sustainable Development, the Cheshire Tree Warden Scheme, the Cheshire Orchard Project and practical projects including tree, hedgerow and orchard planting and the Cheshire Parish Tree and Hedgerow Surveys. The Hedgerow Survey is being undertaken as part of the Local Biodiversity Action Plan for Ancient and/or Species-Rich Hedgerows and has resulted in the hedgerows of 33 parishes being surveyed, which is over 80km of hedge. This project continues to grow with a wide range of individuals and community groups taking part.

We have our own tree nursery from which we annually supply over 2000 free native trees and shrubs to community groups. In addition, we have Cheshire varieties of apple trees, which we also supply to community groups; over the past few years we have planted over 30 community orchards throughout Cheshire. We also facilitate the Cheshire Orchard Project, which is encouraging community groups to plant Cheshire varieties of apple and damson trees and is promoting the importance of orchards and fruit growing. In seeking to achieve our aims we recognise that healthy communities are based on the concept of quality of life, of which the quality of environment is a part.

In partnership with the Cheshire Federation of Women's Institutes we have helped over 100 groups to produce Parish/Town Maps. In partnership with Borough and Parish Councils we are helping a number of parishes to produce their own Village Design Statements and to obtain Supplementary Planning Guidance for these documents. We have also worked very closely with a number of Cheshire Local Authorities and their communities, helping them to produce Local Agenda 21 strategies and action plans.

Cheshire Landscape Trust coordinates the Tree Warden Scheme and currently has 165 Tree Wardens in 138 parishes throughout the county. Tree Wardens are people who have an interest and concern for trees, woodlands and hedgerows in their area. They come from a wide variety of backgrounds and do not necessarily have any prior knowledge of trees. All give a little of their spare time to work as volunteers to help protect and enhance their environment. Tree Wardens receive regular newsletters, the opportunity to attend training events and 25 free trees per year to plant in their local community.

Since 1990 we have worked with Manchester Metropolitan University School of Landscape, the University of Manchester School of Landscape & Planning and selected local authorities and community groups to produce and implement 'Community Landscape Action Plans'.

We are members of the Sustainable Cheshire Forum, chairing the Land Task Group. We are also active participants in Cheshire County Council's Community Strategy Partnership. Regionally we sit on the North West Rural Forum. Nationally we have links with a number of organisations working in the field of sustainable development and landscape research and practice. Internationally we have worked in Greece and the Czech Republic.

Our funding comes from contracts (Service Level Agreements) with local authorities for specific work. Currently we have SLAs with Cheshire County Council, Halton Borough Council, Vale Royal Borough Council and Warrington Borough Council. We also receive core funding from WREN through Landfill Tax provisions and in the past have received donations from a number of charitable trusts.

WWW Cheshire Biodiversity Have you got a question about wildlife in the Cheshire region? If so, contact us on [email protected]!