Woodland Conservation Group (Tuesdays)

Shepherdleas Wood - Pathways and Ditches

28th April 2026

For many years, an area on the Green Chain Walk, close to the Falconwood entrance to Shepherdleas has been impassable in the winter.  Rainwater overflowed the collapsed bridge and ditch and flooded the path.  For the last three years we have carried out activities to improve this: we have cleared the drain, replaced the bridge edges, inserted a drainpipe, cleared the ditch, built a small dam, cleared mulch from the path and replaced it with MOT and Coxwell gravel! What an improvement all these things made to the experience of walkers but there was still more to do to fulfil our aim of retaining more water for wildlife in the woodlands. This Tuesday, with beautiful sunny weather, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for our seven volunteers to revisit the area and continue our work.

Water for Wildlife - Dams, Ditches and Drainpipes

Water courses need regular maintenance and, while we were delighted to see that our little dam had been retaining water in the woods, the pressure of the water flow from the heavy winter rainfall had broken through the top, enabling the water to race down to the bridge again.  We needed to slow it down to reduce this pressure! 

What we did

Firstly, volunteers dug a bigger and wider pool above the dam to hold more of the gathering rainwater.  This would also keep the water in the woods for longer, seeping into the surrounding woodland floor, hopefully helping restore the dormant wildflowers and other vegetation in the area and providing much-needed water for small mammals, birds and invertebrates.  This supports the natural flood management techniques being implemented in Oxleas Wood.

Holding water upstream of the dam.

Next, they rebuilt the dam itself more robustly, adding more logs and finishing with the clay removed from the ditch, ensuring any wildlife in the mud was retained within the ditch area itself.  They even planted some seedlings on top of the dam for a more natural look and to see if any would take!

Meanwhile, other volunteers cleared the pipe running under the bridge with the ultimate eco drain rod!  It’s great what you can do when you have no alternative! 

Eco-drain rod designed by FOW :)

Then, they dug out the mulch which had gathered from this winter’s leaf fall and deepened the ditch below the dam (but before the bridge) to try to keep the water level adjacent to the path as low as possible. Finally, they cleared brambles and other vegetation from within the ditch, to ensure the water flowed away from the bridge and pathway area as quickly as possible, to prevent pooling on the path.

Cleared ditches allowing water to flow quickly away from the bridge and path.

Fingers crossed that in the winter we will have both more pools of water in the woodlands, greater plant diversity, and a much drier path too.  Maybe the seedlings will have taken as well!