A long-awaited meeting will take place to provide research to demonstrate the effectiveness of hedging to reduce vehicle pollution by 60%, with potential for further ecological research.

In 2019, when the Friends of Maghull and District (FOMD) was seeking a grant from The Tree Council (national charity based in London) for 1400 mixed wildlife friendly perimeter hedge whips for Bobby’s Wood/Woodend (junction of Liverpool Road South & Northway) we explained that we wanted to achieve several objectives.

Our objectives for the wildlife friendly hedge was to: provide habitat & food for wildlife, create a beautiful safe perimeter barrier to prevent children & pets directly accessing the roads, provide a barrier to noise, and provide further evidence (1) to demonstrate that 60% of vehicle pollution can be reduced from the neighbouring 20,000 plus vehicles (2) that pass through the stop/start junction at Liverpool Road South and Northway.

Consequently, we were put in contact with a Professor in ecology from a local university who was really keen to be involved, but only now following the pandemic restrictions and the start of the new academic year, has he been able to start exploring the feasibility of supporting some of his Ph.D. students towards mutually beneficial research goals that will hopefully impact on local and national decision-making. Experts have been enlisted from Sefton and Maghull Councils and we look forward to sharing the potential plans in the near future, once we know what can realistically be achieved.

In the meantime, we have started a fresh appeal for unwanted woodland themed plants between October 2021 and March 2022, to be planted in the Bobby’s Wood/Woodend border or the refresh of our first project (2018) in Parkbourn, Maghull. For plant donations please contact: woodendcwp@gmail.com and for continued updates check out: www.spacehive.com/woodend.

Local Climate change action has never been more important: If you would like to express an interest in local tree planting events (between November 2021- March 2022), as many of you did last year when you helped to plant 8,000 in Maghull (!), please contact us on woodendcwp@gmail.com Some people came for one hour, others brought young families, others stayed longer, but every little bit helped and really made a difference.

Best Wishes,

FOMD CIC

(1) https://treecouncil.org.uk/2020-is-year-of-the-tree-but…/

(2) http://breathingspace.sefton.gov.uk/Default.aspx