Wigan Greenheart Landscape Recovery
The Wigan Greenheart Landscape Recovery scheme covers a combined area of over 1,400 hectares, including the Flashes of Wigan and Leigh National Nature Reserve. We are working together with partners, making connections for nature's recovery.
The Wigan Greenheart Landscape Recovery Scheme covers a combined area of over 1,400 hectares, including the Flashes of Wigan and Leigh National Nature Reserve. GM Wetlands partners are working together, making connections for nature's recovery. The Landscape Recovery Scheme is one of 22 in the first round of pilots for this Environmental Land Management scheme throughout England.
The landscape created by the flooding of subsided deep coal mine workings, has developed into a connected wetland mosaic of open water, swamp, reedbed, tall herb fen, wet marshy grassland, meadows and wet woodland.
The peri-urban setting makes our project truly special, with green space surrounded closely by residential and urban developments.
Wigan Greenheart Landscape Recovery Scheme (https://youtu.be/Ea7mvaCAWO0?si=56CFmUObMTiTO-tJ )
The Wigan Greenheart Landscape Recovery Scheme
What are we doing?
The Wigan Greenheart Landscape Recovery Scheme is building on half a century of post-industrial restoration in this unique and inspiring environment, creating and restoring habitats on the areas once dominated by mining and other industry. Wigan Council’s Greenheart provides thriving habitats for wildlife and beautiful spaces for people to explore.
The scheme incorporates the Flashes of Wigan and Leigh National Nature Reserve, sitting at the heart of the Great Manchester Wetlands Nature Improvement Area. The project, led by Lancashire Wildlife Trust is a partnership involving Wigan Council and Forestry England along with Natural England .
Our aims
This project will prioritise:
- The recovery and protection of threatened species such as the willow tit and bittern, while benefiting many other important native species.
- Increasing opportunities for access and engagement with wilder nature for local people
- Using nature-based solutions to counter the impacts of climate change for the wider benefit of society and nature
- Improving and developing the interconnectivity between greenspaces, at a landscape scale, providing more natural corridors for wildlife and people
- Creating a blended public-private financing model
- Developing Wigan’s Greenheart as an exemplar to extend multi-benefit, natural capital approaches to demonstrate how the post-industrial landscape can be re-imagined.
Wigan Greenheart Landscape News
A big thank you to everyone who participated in any of our Walking and Talking events, attended our Community Workshops or completed our user survey. Your feedback is vital in planning the next phase of the Wigan Greenheart Landscape Recovery scheme.
Infographic: Wigan Greenheart LRS Community Feedback
Links to future events will be posted here.
If you have any further questions or comments, please drop us an email at chouse@lancswt.org.uk
