Sydenham Hill Wood Work

  Protecting our Wood The trees making up our woodland are a mixture of native species and garden survivors from Victorian development. Before the expansion of London, the Wood was used extensively to provide raw materials for ship-building on the Thames and timber for general building in domestic and agricultural use. As such, many species were coppiced to maintain a steady and reliable supply of wood. Species suitable for this type of woodland management include ash, hornbeam and hazel. When a tree is coppiced, its main trunk is cut down to the ground and soon new side shoots will emerge to grow upwards. Depending on the size and age of this growth, the shoots can be harvested for various uses such as canes, posts and palings. Coppicing can extend the life of the tree enormously and the resulting patchwork of light and dark increases biodiversity. Without coppicing, the woodland will grow old and degenerate, species diversity declines and ecological health suffers. Unfortunately,...

 The Oaks and the campaign to save them. In December 2018, planning notices appeared near the entrances to the wood, informing people that they had a couple of weeks to respond to the intention of Southwark Council to repair Cox's Walk footbridge. The planning application was for the felling of two mature oak trees to  enable these repairs to take place. Over time, structural deterioration had become evident, most especially the main timbers rotting and moving their positions. However, although visible, this was a minor structural issue and timbers have been replaced three times since 2000. The most expensive element of the repair is the rebuilding of the abutment walls at each end of the bridge. The footbridge provides a major routeway into the wood and helps to conserve the ecologically sensitive cutting beneath it. In this cutting, amongst other species,  sweet woodruff can be found and this is rare in the Southwark/Lewisham area. Also. it was from this bridge that Cam...

Working in the Woods Why this blog? Sydenham Hill Wood is a nature reserve managed by the London Wildlife Trust on behalf of Southwark Council. It adjoins Dulwich Wood which, in turn,  is managed by the Dulwich Estate. To the visitor, there seems to be no distinction between them,  however, careful observation will reveal a line of green wooden posts which mark the boundary between the two ownerships. Whereas Dulwich Wood is maintained by the Dulwich Estate, Sydenham Hill Wood is managed by a conservation officer, aided by a groups of volunteers who help to carry out the work necessary to keep the woods in good condition.  The aim of this blog is to keep a record of what is done and why is is done, as  visitors often ask exactly those questions.  This is not an official blog of the London Wildlife Trust.  You can view their website here https://www.wildlondon.org.uk/ . Also , more specific to Sydenham Hill and the Great North Wood; https://www.wildlondon.or...