A NEW project to protect and conserve plants and wildlife for future generations has been launched at Glazebury.

The Greater Manchester Biodiversity Project was unveiled at a special event at Windy Bank, where 47-hectares of former farmland is being transformed by the Forestry Commission into a community woodland.

It will launch The Greater Manchester Biodiversity Action Plan, which highlights the priorities for the conservation of Greater Manchester's wildlife.

Windy Bank was chosen as the venue for the launch as it already supports important areas of woodland, grassland and ponds and lies next to the Astley and Bedford Mosses Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Schoolchildren from Glazebury CE Primary celebrated the occasion by planting trees on the site.

The launch will be attended by representatives from the local authorities in Greater Manchester, organisations and individuals involved in nature conservation, as well as other partners involved in the Greater Manchester Biodiversity Project.

Tabatha Boniface, Biodiversity project officer for the Greater Manchester Biodiversity Project, said: "This is a super opportunity to show how much can be achieved in Greater Manchester. We are working closely with a number

of partners including the Forestry Commission and English Nature to ensure that our conservation efforts are successful.

"Everyone is looking forward to the day where we will celebrate our efforts so far and look forward to the future for biodiversity in this part of the country."

She added: "Windy Bank is one of a number of community woodlands they're working on throughout the region and it demonstrates exactly the type of work we're hoping to encourage by working in partnership throughout Greater Manchester.

Funding for the development of the Windy Bank site is coming from a £9 million grant from the Government's Capital Modernisation Fund (CMF). Part of this grant is being used to create recreation and conservation facilities across 1,000 hectares of urban fringe land in The Mersey and Red Rose Forests in the North West of

England and Thames Chase Forest in the South.

The Northwest Development Agency (NWDA) is also supporting the community woodland initiative by making £2.8 million available so the partnership can extend its initiative and provide an additional 212 hectares of community woodland in the Mersey Belt.