Covid memorial woodland thriving five years on
A memorial woodland set up on a farm in memory of people who died of coronavirus is flourishing five years on from the first lockdown.
More than 1,200 trees were planted in the Remembrance Woods at Blackburns Farm in Wrea Green, Lancashire, to help people pay tribute to a loved one at a time when groups were not permitted gather together and attendance at funerals was restricted.
Farm manager Kirsty Cropper said it had become a special place for families and friends to get together.
"They still visit those trees now and it was kind of a place to remember but also celebrate life," she said.
She told BBC North West Tonight: "We are not a graveyard - it is more a space to come and think about the people you have love and lost."
Bernard Pendleton, chairman of the RHS North West in Bloom competition, volunteered to plant some of the trees at Blackburns Farm during lockdown.
He said it was a long-lasting tribute and would be a "wildlife oasis" in years to come.
"As the trees continue to grow and develop the whole green space and the nature areas and habitats will be absolutely superb," Mr Pendleton said.
Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
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