Ramsey Forest Project moves forward with purchase of Crossags Coppice

The Crossags Coppice will allow biodiversity to thrive, the MWT said

A plan to create a new forest in the north of the Isle of Man has been boosted by the purchase of a wood.

Since 2013, Manx Wildlife Trust (MWT) has been creating the 5,000-acre Ramsey Forest Project, which aims to increase woodland in the area from 20% to 30%.

A spokesman said the five-acre Crossags Coppice will provide a "wildlife corridor" and allow biodiversity to "thrive".

Chief executive Tim Graham said it will "show the benefits of a wilder future".

MWT said there were more than one million bluebells in the area

Saplings were first planted on the land near Ramsey, which links three other sections of woodland, in 2015 and it is now home to more than 1,000 hazel, oak and birch trees.

It will be managed by the MWT as a traditional coppice woodland with trees felled regularly "to harvest posts" and promote the growth of bluebells.

It is also hoped it will encourage animal such as birds, bats and butterflies into the area.

Conservation officer Andree Dubbeldam said it could become "a great habitat in as little as six years".