Awards | Climate Emergency

Community Woodland of the Year Award 2024

Congratulations to Gold winner Astbury Mere Country Park and to Silver winner, Boston Woods Trust.

By Elle McAllister · October 25, 2024

This award encourages and rewards woodland projects that benefit communities. We are looking for woodland which has been established and managed in a way which is sustainable and beneficial to the landscape, the local people, biodiversity and the economy in the short and long term.

Gold winners: Astbury Mere Country Park

“The site is extremely well used as it has good accessibility with great benefits to people in Congleton... It is the most popular area of free open access countryside in East Cheshire, and includes an area for forest school activity as well as other active pursuits.”

EIF Judges Emma Dear & Hillary Allison

Gold for the Community Woodland of the Year Award went to Astbury Mere Country Park in Congleton, Cheshire, an ex-quarry that was originally intended for industrial use in the 1980s before local people came together to form a community group and fight the decision. In the end, half of the site was gifted to the trust and since then, it has become an important part of the local community.

Judges were impressed by the quality of the mostly broadleaved woodland which covers 17 Ha. Most of the site has been planted but there is also some natural regeneration. The area now covered by the mere was quarried for sand. Spoil from mere excavations created extensive spoil bunds around the edge of the site in steep slopes, creating a bowl effect.  Trees cover these areas and with the mere at the heart, it creates a very attractive landscape.

It, therefore, comes as no surprise that Astbury Mere Country Park is deemed the most popular area of free open access countryside in East Cheshire and includes an area for forest school activity as well as other active pursuits.”

“The site is extremely well used as it has good accessibility and great benefits for people in Congleton,” said Emma Dear and Hillary Allison.

Astbury Mere Trust added: “Through its commitment to sustainable management, educational outreach, and community involvement, Astbury Mere not only adheres to but also embodies the spirit of the Community Woodland of the Year Award’s criteria.

“Education and community engagement are at the heart of Astbury Mere’s ethos. The site is a vibrant hub for community activities that foster a deeper connection with nature and promote environmental stewardship.”

Award winner Astbury Mere Country Park, with judges Hilary Allison & Emma Dear, sponsors Martin Hügi (The Woodland Trust), RFS President Alison Field and CEO Christopher Williams.

Silver winners: Boston Woods Trust

“This is a really ambitious and longstanding successful project which has improved the quality of public green spaces in and around the town of Boston.”

EIF Judges Emma Dear & Hillary Allison

Silver was awarded to The Boston Woods Trust, an ambitious project that has vastly improved the quality of green space in and around the town of Boston. Other than allotments, nearby RSPB nature reserves and the cemetery there is very little other accessible greenspace in and around the town.

The judges praised the Trust for its dedication to creating an accessible space for local people to enjoy nature. Particular attention was given to the site’s infrastructure, biodiversity and extensive all-weather paths.

The landscape prior to the establishment of the woods from 2001 was inaccessible arable farmland. An attractive treed landscape with open areas of meadow now frames the northern and western edges and fringes of the town of Boston in what is otherwise a very flat intensively farmed and tree poor part of Lincolnshire.

Award winner The Boston Woods Trust, with judges Hilary Allison & Emma Dear, sponsors Martin Hügi (The Woodland Trust), RFS President Alison Field and CEO Christopher Williams.

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