Woodland Conservation Group (Fridays)

Jack Wood

Friday 6 February 2026

Another 57 hours of Habitat Restoration Completed!

Twenty-one stoic volunteers, including two new recruits, turned up for this session in the apparently relentless drizzle…but it was not in vain!  By our 10 am start, the rain had stopped, the sun came out, and it was dry for the full 3 hours!  That’s another 57 hours of habitat restoration completed.

Topping up the dead hedges protects the area and is good habitat too

Protected Area Alongside the Green Chain Walk

Most volunteers revisited this area to continue our habitat restoration which began 4/5 years ago and was revisited in 2023.  Now, the hedges had collapsed, helped by the removal of posts by den-building enthusiasts; brambles and ivy had spread throughout the area, preventing the growth of other woodland vegetation; and, as usual, there was still a mass of holly (a highly competitive tree) which required reducing.  Three hours later, a wonderful team effort left the area clearer, with a lighter woodland floor, and topped up hedges on two of the sides. (And the den building materials were now back where they started - in the hedge).

 Working hard to remove holly, process the products and remove into the dead hedging.

Opening to Lower Path from Oxleas Meadow

Meanwhile, a handful of volunteers erected a small stretch of woven fencing at the point where the lower path emerges from Jack Wood onto the edge of Oxleas Meadow.  One stretch of fencing had already been constructed in the previous session; this second stretch was to match it on the other side of the path.  Both sections aim to prevent the ground either side of the path from being trampled and eroded, allowing the fresh growth of grasses, other woodland vegetation and, hopefully, some wildflowers, to provide habitat for diverse insects and other small creatures.

An excellent job by our team to protect the verges from erosion.

What a muddy activity it turned out to be – each bash, driving the stakes into the muddy clay sent sprays of mud in all directions, coating our volunteers.  However, the result was well worth it, both an improvement on the first fence and a pleasing site.  Hopefully, it will also protect the ground, its vegetation, and the wildlife either side of the path as it meets the edge of the meadow.  

Watch out for a Blog giving details of how we went about this new fencing process.

Another successful Woodland Conservation Session!