Our Estates Officer has been working hard with the young people at Culverhill School, to build ‘dead hedging’ at Wapley Woods. Dead hedges offer great habitats for wildlife and are a sustainable way of managing green, woodland waste. We use these natural materials to create a barrier that helps define the pathways.
We often use them in places where it’s important that people stay on the pathways, because straying off into the woods would be unsafe, due to undulating ground, or would disturb wildlife nests and sets that we know are present, or where plants like bluebells grow and would be damaged if they were trampled over.
Unfortunately, last week a member of the public destroyed one of our dead hedges and trampled over it. Vandalism is always disappointing, but it really stings when the vandalism is caused to a project worked upon by young people. We understand that people may not know what a ‘dead hedge’ is, but if you come across one of these structures whilst out on your Christmas walks, please:
- Admire it
- Stay on the path
- Respect the woodland
Thank you.
