Sustainable Warwickshire

The village of Radford Semele will soon be a little greener as a new 4-acre Children’s Forest is set to be created thanks to Warwickshire County Council’s Green Shoots Community Climate Change Fund.

The Children's Forest project will establish a new 4-acre woodland at Leasowe Farm in Radford Semele. The initiative will see local children planting and maintaining a “Children’s Forest” for future generations to enjoy.

The Project will also raise awareness of climate change with the children and their families, to inspire and empower them to take action to reduce their carbon footprints and leave a positive impact on the environment. The Children’s Forest will include:

• The planting of 2,600 trees on 4 acres of land;
• Engaging 350 people (of which at least 70% will be children and young people) over 2 years to create the forest; and
• Maintenance of this new woodland for many generations to come. 

The project is managed by Achieving Results in Communities (ARC), a local community organisation that has been working for 10 years to enhance access to, and management of, the natural environment to benefit the physical and mental health and wellbeing of local people in Warwick District and surrounding areas.

The project is guided by the Leasowe Land Regeneration Project Steering Group, whose vision is to engage the local community in a transition from farmland to woodland for a total of 12 acres, thus creating longer term connections to the land, woods and nature.

It is expected that planting of the Children’s Forest will be completed in the 2023 planting season (November ‘22 – March ‘23) and it is hoped will be open to its first visitors in the same year.

In terms of positive impact on the environment, the children’s forest, when fully grown will:

• Extract an average of 67, 700Kg of CO2 from the atmosphere per year;
• Produce an average of 88,400Kg of Oxygen per year; and
• Capture an average of 67,600Kg of harmful particulate matter from the atmosphere per year.

Find out more about Achieving Results in Communities (ARC) CIC and their other projects around Warwick District.

Find out more about Children’s Forests.