Woodland Conservation Group (Fridays)

Jack Wood

Friday, 14th August 2026

Another hot day meant, not surprisingly, a slightly smaller group – but we were delighted to see 12 volunteers turn up to help improve the woodlands. Sensibly, our plan was to take things at a steady pace, have plenty of hydration breaks, take our usual break a little earlier at 11 am, and finish at noon – an hour earlier than usual, before the heat really got going.

We returned to the protected area close to Castle Wood Meadow, where we could work in the dappled shade. There was even a welcome breeze, so conditions were rather better than we had anticipated. That said, we were all feeling a little sticky by the end!

Untangling the pile of holly!

Last session, we had split into two groups to tackle different jobs. One group, who would normally have been cutting and hedging, headed off to clear nearby bracken, while the second group continued with holly removal. Unfortunately, without our usual ‘hedgers’ to deal with the cut material, a rather enormous amount of holly was left on the woodland floor – definitely not our usual way of leaving things!

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So this time, we had a bit of a holly rescue mission. Everyone set to work collecting the cut holly, chopping it into metre-long lengths and knitting it into the existing side hedge. This not only cleared the woodland floor but also strengthened the barrier, helping to protect the area from trampling while the vegetation recovers.

Enjoying the break

It took us the whole session, but by the end the woodland floor was clear once again – thank goodness!

Two volunteers then stayed behind to block the upper access point and put up one of our signs asking visitors to stay out of the area and give the recovering vegetation a chance to grow.

It was a lovely, calm session, with everyone working together as a team and plenty of opportunities for a good chat as we worked. And, of course, there was one final bonus: thanks to our early finish, we all had an unexpected extra hour to ourselves. A very welcome reward for a hot morning’s work!