Respecting Conservation
A lot of hard work goes into making the wood safe for visitors to enjoy. The previous post explained why some areas have been enclosed by fencing and dead-hedges have been built along paths. These measures help to protect the ecology of the wood and allow people to enjoy a great deal of unrestricted access to the less sensitive areas. Feedback from visitors is very positive as people appreciate the effort to keep the wood in good condition.
Sadly, however, there are times when a tiny minority cause damage, whether deliberately or through not understanding.
Vandalism to fencing
Recently, there have been cases of fences being smashed down and dead hedges uprooted. This not only causes damage to the protected areas but also cancels out the efforts of the staff and volunteers who have worked hard to protect those areas. Furthermore, some of the repairs made necessary will be a drain on the very tight finances of the Trust.
Recently a section of long established fencing was removed by someone. This opened up the cutting, an area of high ecological value. | |
Further damage was done to fencing on the path down from Crescent Wood Road to the tunnel, again opening up a protected area. This will take time and resources to repair.
For some years there has been a wooden handrail next to the steps leading down to the kissing gate on the eastern (Forest Hill) side of Cox's Walk bridge. In wet weather, these steps can be slippery so the handrail is a great help. Furthermore, the rail protects a steep slope on which grows the wood's only example of wild broom. So it was hugely disappointing to see that someone has pulled up the whole length of rail and thrown it onto the fenced off bridge. Wanton vandalism like this helps no-one and it has exposed another area of the wood to trampling. Again it will take both time and money to restore this.
Tearing up the handrail has exposed to erosion, the steep slope to the right. |
The handrail ran up the full length of the steps, and helped when wet weather has made the surface slippery. |
Whoever tore up the handrail, threw the posts and rails into the compound created by the fenced off footbridge. It is clear that this was a deliberate act of vandalism. |
Attack on the mulberry
Unfortunately, the wood is subject other acts of vandalism besides damage to fencing and dead-hedging.
The mulberry has suffered a recent attack where most of the branches were ripped off. |
The Black Mulberry (Morus nigra) is a survival from the garden of Lapse Wood Cottage which stood on Cox's Walk just down hill from Lapsewood. This was the large villa built in 1861 by the architect Charles Barry Jr., who lived there until the 1870's. It was Charles Barry who had a great influence on the appearance of Victorian Dulwich.
It is heartbreaking to see this tree being vandalised. From the signs of a fire near its base, the branches were probably torn off for firewood, making this act even more mindless and futile. It is hoped that the tree can survive this attack.
By matching the 1951 survey with satellite imagery, the exact position of the mulberry can be superimposed. |
Repairs
After a day of hard work, repairs to the fencing bordering the path coming down from the Crescent Wood Road entrance have been completed. The area is fenced off to allow for regeneration of the area and, it is hoped, to encourage the return of hedgehogs.
The following photo shows how restricting access to some areas can help those to regenerate. The thick layer of leaf litter will rot down returning nutrients to the soil so encouraging healthy growth of undergrowth as well as the trees.
It is a stark contrast to some areas of the wood where there is little more than mud between the trees.
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