Essex woodland replenished in earnest

Historic Hainault Forest has gradually diminished over the centuries, but over the last two weeks, Year 3 pupils from Thomas Willingale School in Loughton and Woodford Green Primary School have been doing their best to replenish the forest. They joined forces with the Woodland Trust and the Muslim Cemetery Trust on Elmbridge Road in Hainault to plant more than 100 trees in the Gardens of Peace Muslim Cemetery, which was once part of Hainault Forest.

Tony Chadwick, the Woodland Trust’s development officer for Hainault Forest said: “This Muslim Cemetery is the largest in Europe. It stands within the footprint of what was Hainault Forest, which covered 4,900 acres but was broken up after 1851.

“We’ll never be able to re-create Hainault’s ancient woodland here, but we can still create a haven for wildlife and people,” he said. “It’s really exciting to be working with the Muslim Cemetery Trust, teaching primary school children how to plant trees and introducing the idea of respect for nature, which is a part of all religions.”

In the Islamic faith, the prophet Mohammad said: “Anyone who plants a tree under which people seek shade or shelter from the sun will have his reward with Allah.”

The children explored similarities and differences between Muslim cemeteries and other cemeteries they had seen or visited. The sessions ended with a series of nature games designed to be fun and educational.

Farouk Ismail of the Muslim Cemetery Trust said: “The two school sessions were a great start to what we hope will be a much longer partnership with the Woodland Trust and the local community. We have been delighted to support the project with our own funds and with the involvement of our staff and network of volunteers.”

Notes to editors

For media enquiries contact:

The Woodland Trust Press Office on 01476 581121, email: media@woodlandtrust.org.uk

The Woodland Trust:

The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. It has 300,000 members and supporters. The Trust has four key aims: i) No further loss of ancient woodland; ii) Restoring and improving the biodiversity of woods; iii) Increasing new native woodland; iv) Increasing people’s understanding and enjoyment of woodland.

Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,000 sites in its care covering approximately 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres). Access to its sites is free.

The Gardens of Peace Muslim Cemetery is located on Elmbridge Rd, Hainault, Ilford  IG6 3SW

Hainault Forest:

Until 1851 Hainault Forest was an extensive area of common land with ancient pasture woodland covering some 4,900 acres/1984 hectares. In 1851 Hainault Forest was disafforested by Act of Parliament. Most of the pasture woodland of Hainault Forest was destroyed very soon after the 1851 Act by being converted to arable use and in 1900, only 300 acres out of the original 4900 acres were left.

Essex County Council now owns almost the entire remaining ancient pasture woodland habitat. Most remnants of Hainault Forest are now included within the Hainault Forest Country Park owned by Essex County Council and London Borough of Redbridge. The Country Park was created in 1906 following the acquisition of what was left of Hainault Forest by Essex and London Councils, which were galvanised into action by Edward North Buxton. An act of Parliament in 1906 laid down the agreement for the Forest to be managed for the public forever. In 1998, the Woodland Trust leased 319 acres/129 hectares of relict ancient pasture woodland of Hainault Forest from Essex County Council and manages it on its behalf.

The Woodland Trust’s Hainault Forest Project receives grant aid from the following:

Biffaward:

Is a multi-million pound environment fund managed by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT), which utilises landfill tax credits donated by Biffa Waste Services. In December 1997, Biffa Waste Services agreed to donate landfill tax credits to the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT) to administer under the fund name Biffaward. Grants made from the fund currently amount to more than £70 million, supporting many worthwhile environmental projects.

Biffa is a part of Severn Trent Plc and is one of the largest single suppliers of waste management services in the UK. It collects, treats, recovers and disposes of municipal, commercial and industrial waste nationwide and in Belgium.

Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF):

Enables communities to celebrate, look after and learn more about the nation’s diverse heritage. From great museums and historic buildings to local parks and beauty spots, or recording and celebrating traditions, customs and history, HLF grants open up the nation’s heritage for everyone to enjoy. It has supported more than 16,500 projects, allocating over £3.3 billion across the UK.

For more information contact Vicky Wilford tel 0207 591 6046, Email vickyw@hlf.org.uk website www.hlf.org.uk  

GrantScape:

Is an environmental grant-making charity. Its aim is to work with communities nationwide in funding projects that have benefit to the local environment. While GrantScape is a new organisation, its heritage lies in the eight years of experience it has with smaller grant-making organisations, which have been consolidated under the one GrantScape name. As a result, staff at GrantScape have been involved with grant-making since 1997 and to date have been responsible for the management and administration of over £60 million in grants throughout England and Wales. www.grantscape.org.uk 

WREN:

Distributes landfill tax money to community and environmental projects within 10 miles of landfill sites owned and operated by Waste Recycling Group Ltd. Projects applying for grants from WREN are assessed by an individual panel of locally based experts for their suitability, sustainability and community benefit. www.wren.org.uk