THE first of the Forest of Burnley's one million trees was planted by the mayor Coun Edin Tate at the opening of the Burnley Woodland Festival at Towneley Park.

The gingko, or maidenhair tree, was planted behind the hall.

Over the next five years, thanks to a lottery donation from the Millennium Commission, more than one million trees will be planted in Burnley in a £3.5 million project.

Every child between the ages of seven to eleven will be asked to plant a tree so a generation of youngsters will grow up having been involved in a project that will change their environment.

Coun Tate said the Forest of Burnley was something the town badly needed. Only three per cent of the Burnley area was covered in trees, compared to the national figure of ten per cent.

Other rare species were planted during the course of the festival which was opened by local television celebrity, John McArdle. The former star of Brookside and numerous television plays said what struck him when he came to Burnley 15 years ago was the beauty of the surrounding countryside.

"I didn't think you had any need for more trees, but then I come from Liverpool,'' he joked.

He opened the Festival by bursting through a mock tree stump to provide an entry to a marquee containing a giant woodland project set up by youngsters from the Hargher Clough and Stoops estates.

There was a host of woodland theme activities for people to see and take part in, including demonstrations of woodland crafts, basket making, willow sculpture, wood turning, charcoal making, wood carving.

Youngsters enjoyed the Ramshackle Theatre workshop, environmental games and a drumming workshop by Baba Yaga Global Percussion Arts.

There were dance group demonstrations, story telling, bug hunts, paper making and guided walks.

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