-


 Fences and Paths

As work days gear up, much of the effort is being put into protecting vulnerable parts of the Wood from trampling.
 
Most of the Wood is open to free access but approximately 10% has been fenced off to allow regeneration of the woodland undergrowth. The difference this makes can be seen clearly in the fenced area next to the railway where wild garlic and bluebells are part of the dense ground cover. The areas where free access is allowed often are devoid of, or have intermittent patches of ground cover.
 
Map showing the two areas fenced off to allow regeneration of the woodland.
 
The largest area of regeneration is bounded by the paths radiating from the Crescent Wood Rd. entrance and extends as far as the folly.  This area has had its fencing enhanced to protect the plants but also the ground nesting birds and the mammals in the Wood. It is hoped that this will help to provide a safe area for hedgehogs to re-colonise.

Using two fence posts to carry a heavy 9m roll of chestnut palings from the tunnel, up the path to the top by the Crescent Wood Rd entrance. This had to be done four times.

The fencing encloses the area for regeneration.

Finishing a day of hard work

Final section of fencing is complete

This photo shows the necessity of fencing off some areas. Compare the dense vegetation in this photo with the badly damaged trampled areas in the wood; areas where the clay soil has been compacted into a hard impenetrable surface on which nothing can grow.    

 

In the smaller protected area, which has been fenced for a few years now, ground cover including bluebells and wild garlic has re-established itself.
 

Along the main path which follows the route of the old railway line, dead hedging has been used to encourage regrowth of ground cover and protect the stag beetle loggery.


This is only one strategy to mange the Wood. Another is to improve sections of the paths to encourage people to say on the designated routes. More about this in the next post.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

-
Image
  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,...
Read more
-
Image
Drains and More Steps   The drainage system on Crescent Wood Road has been causing big problems for the Wood. When there is heavy rain and especially during a thunder storm, polluted water overflows from the drain covers in the road and cascades into the Wood. This has caused damage to the newly improved section of path and steps near the tunnel mouth. It seems Thames Water thinks it has done everything it needs to do, however, the problem remains.  Consequently, the Wood's volunteers have started to put in place mitigation to help tackle this.  Slowly but surely, new steps are being added to the main path down from the Crescent Wood Road entrance. These should help where heavy footfall and water damage have eroded the path to make it uneven. The new steps use materials from the Wood such as branches as well as recycled material such as scaffolding and decking boards. The steps are backfilled with crushed concrete and then topped with li...
Read more
-
Image
Finding the Villas....Part 3 Fairwood Of all the villas along Sydenham Hill, Fairwood has left the best-known relic, the folly and its accompanying cascade. However , the re are other clues as to its existance. Just inside the fence along Sydenham Hill, there is a gate-post complete with ironwork, there are footings for greenhouses and, against the wall separating it from Beechgrove, there is lead flashing suggesting a hot house of some sort. There are also the remains of the main terrace and its cellars.     Remains of Fairwood.   Gate post for Fairwood's drive. Fairwood's cellar wall, in the background, a chute, perhaps for coal deliveries? Steps leading down from the terrace to the garden. The wall between Fairwood and Beechgrove. What was once a lean-to greenhouse, note remnants of a plaster coating and eyes in the brickwork for training vines.  O.S. maps show terraces in Fairwood's garden. The sudden change in level suggests this is one of them. Half way down f...
Read more