Trees and woodlands in parks

Manchester is home to 160 parks, open spaces and river valley sites covering approximatley 1270 hectares. Within these green spaces, more than 50 woodlands cover 190 hectares and range in scope from ancient semi-natural woodland to mature woodlands and young plantations.

Parks and green spaces offer people the opportunity to interact with the outdoor and natural world, and Manchester works to manage its parks sustainably and in line with the needs of people and wildlife.

Manchester Leisure's Parks Service has broad tree management experience and expertise ranging from training - Parkside is an accredited training assessment centre for the National Proficiency Test Council and LANTRA arboriculture courses - to species identification, surveying, mapping, planning and operational works.

Sustainable woodland management practices applied in the city's parks include:

• thinning cycles
• wood product recycling
• encouraging natural regeneration
• leaving standing decaying wood and fallen timber on site where appropriate to provide a habitat and food source for wildlife
• encouraging the well-being of desired native species through removal of undesired competing specimens
• woodland wildflower planting when and where appropriate
• removal of invasive, non-native species encouraging ground flora
• promoting accessible and networked green spaces
• promotion of biodiversity and environmental education.

The Park Warden Service plays an inspirational and proactive role by using trees and woodland as an important educational resource for local communities and children.