SAMUEL PEPYS was not the only man to write a diary about 17th century England. A naturalist called John Evelyn wrote in 1666 that England would be far better off without gold than to be without trees.

This is as true now as it was then and yet apart from National Tree Week in November nobody seems to worry about whether a tree falls or grows.

All naturalists and lovers of our green countryside should welcome the development of the Community Forest projects and there are two based in and around the old county of Lancashire.

There is the Red Rise Forest around Manchester and the Mersey Forest. Karen Jones is the go-ahead marketing officer of the latter and she made the point to me that by 2025 the woodland cover in her patch will have been increased from a rather pathetic four per cent to a target of 30 per cent.

The word forest does not mean huge solid banks of trees but clumps of little woods linked by hedges and footpaths. This provides a reservoir for wildlife and allows plenty of space for people to enjoy the countryside. This newspaper in particular has to welcome this massive initiative as the Evening Telegraph's Grimewatch project has over a number of years encouraged the reclamation of derelict land and the cleaning up of industrial eyesores.

This column will keep in close touch with these forest developments. We need to report problems but we should also give credit where credit is due.

Look what the community forests are actually achieving:

Woodland planting began with over 200 acres a year but in 1995/96 this was doubled. The increase is set to continue well into the next century.

In the Mersey area alone 150 new jobs will be created and this too will rise.

The trees will be managed so that some felling can take place to produce much needed timber. This will not happen, however, until replanting programmes are well in hand. We do need to produce our own timber rather than relying on expensive imports.

Karen Jones and people like her throughout the country have at last been given the resources they need and show every sign of creating a community forest for the use of all of us and especially the wildlife.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.