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New Forest
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The Woodland Trust is to plant more than 600,000 native trees on 850 acres of land it is planning to buy near Sandridge. This will create a forest area larger than Whipsnade Zoo which covers only 600 acres. It will also be the single largest native woodland site owned in England by the Trust and will be open to the public. The woodland Trust estimate that two million people live within 15 miles of Sandridge - the new wood will provide them with a large and accessible space.
The cost of buying the site, planting and management for the first 5 years will be £8.5 million. The Trust is confident that the full amount will be found in time for the purchase date of 30th September 2008.
The land, currently farmland, has pockets of irreplaceable ancient woodland providing precious wildlife habitat. The new forest will join these woods together providing wildlife with a unique habitat - a newly planted broadleaved wood containing native species of tree. A continuous new native forest of this size has never been created in England before.
The Trust's vision involves communities and children in planting trees to
create new woodland wildlife
habitat.
The first trees may be planted as early as this winter.
For the latest information take a look at the Woodland Trust website
www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/appeals
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