Shooters Hill Woodlands Working Party

Saturday 9th August 2025

Oxleas Wood

Twelve volunteers joined our Oxleas Wood session on Saturday to carry out more activities in the protected area close to Shooters Hill.

The bluebells have finished flowering and little is now visible to show their previous presence other than occasional papery remains.  The pollinated seeds have been dispersed and will lay dormant in the leaf litter until conditions are perfect for them to germinate (high summer temperature followed by a cooler autumn and winter).

The bluebells were allowed to die back naturally - very few are now visible.Photograph

Most volunteers spread throughout the area, both clearing the rampant brambles and repairing and topping up the dead hedges with waste.  This will enable more light and water to reach the woodland floor to assist germination, and to provide more space for the bluebells to spread - what a difference they have made already!

Other volunteers returned to our recently-dug rainwater pond below the bluebell slope, to dig it a little deeper, whilst the earth was damper and easier to manage following the recent rainfall.  They also took the opportunity of creating more shelves in the pond.  This will provide different zones and encourage greater diversity.

Creating a deeper pond with more levels to help encourage greater diversity.

It was lovely to be visited by some seven-spotted ladybirds - the most common ladybird in Europe - a beautiful creature and valuable to our ecology.

Wonderful weather, wonderful woodlands, wonderful volunteers! Thank you everyone.