Charity seeks memories of beauty spots in Wigan

Lancashire Wildlife Trust wants to hear about the places where people played as children or that offered vital respite, which have vanished or been left to go to waste.

They could be fond memories of watching butterflies dance from flower to flower in a meadow, listening to birds singing heartily in a wood or watching herons hunt from behind the reeds in a stream.

Campaigns manager Alan Wright said: “I remember there were loads of places to explore as a child. There were woods and ponds, where you could see all kinds of wildlife. All that is now housing.

“Of course, in that area there were railway lines and the remnants of coal mining, which have been changed into corridors for wildlife, which proves that we can work alongside development.”

Lancashire Wildlife Trust has a vision for a wilder future, where 30 per cent of nature will recover by 2030.

It will need the protection of a “wild belt”, creating and protecting a nature recovery network across the UK where wild things can flourish and recover.

The charity fears the removal of safeguards in the Government’s planning reforms will lead to an increase in nature’s decline and put an end to the wonderful love affairs people have had with wildlife on their doorsteps.

To support the campaign and ensure the Government listens to these concerns, the charity wants to gather stories to show the value of the natural places that have been lost and that we stand to lose.

People are being asked to share stories of childhood places that no longer exist or secret places that could be threatened by a wave of development, which will highlight the importance of these spaces for wildlife.

They can be sent to [email protected] and should be marked Lost Landscapes.

Some of the stories will be published as blogs on Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s website and details used to discuss planning reforms with the Government in the future.

To find out more about the campaign, go to www.lancswt.org.uk/news/we-need-wildbelt-allow-natures-recovery

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