New life is being breathed into the ancient woodlands in Smithills as a restoration project gets underway this autumn.
The work will brighten up the Smithills Estate by improving the woodland structure, ensuring it gets enough sun, alongside 180,000 new trees to help wildlife.
This project thins trees by ring barking, or taking branches off the treetops, ensuring native wildlife can thrive.
Oliver Stainthorpe, the Smithills Estate Site Manager, said: "Growing up near Smithills, these woods were a magical, irreplaceable part of my childhood.
"These ancient woodlands connect the rocky, dramatic uplands to our urban lowlands which makes these woodland so important to people and wildlife."
(Image: Woodland Trust)
Interestingly, standing tree trunks left over would be valuable deadwood habitats for fungi and birds such as woodpeckers and bats.
Smithills Estate is home to walking routes and panoramic views over Bolton, and features grassland, moorland, woodland, ravines and bog habitats.
(Image: Woodland Trust)
This is all being led by the Woodland Trust, a conservation charity who owns more than 1,000 woodland sites- with Smithills being the biggest.
Mr Stainthorpe added: "Increasing light levels allows recovery of native species and will make a big difference for the ecological function of Smithills.
READ MORE:
"This restoration is more than just forestry; it's about honouring the land's history, connecting habitats and fighting to save our most threatened species."
The Government fund is the Species Survival Fund, which allows the Woodland Trust and other organisations to lead the Species Survival Fund- and the Smithills Estate benefits from that.
To get involved, the Woodland Trust invites people to visit their website or email them.