The Brookside Restoration volunteers have been hard at work the last few months! We've made a fantastic start to the Hazel coppicing work that needs to be done around site.
Coppicing is a traditional form of woodland management that involves cutting down multi-stemmed trees back to a 'stool', regrowth is then encouraged so that new shoots grow tall and straight, eventually providing an abundance of usable material. Hazel is a species of tree which responds well to being coppiced, prolonging it's longevity indefinitely.
Standard coppicing practice for Hazel would have it coppiced every 7 years, and some of the stools are well above that timeframe!
Volunteers dawned their hard hats and bow saws and took readily to this age old practice! Creating an abundance of usable materials! Some material has been used for crafting activities, some has been put into 'habitat piles' (piles of dead material that provide habitat for small mammals and insects), and some has been used to create 'dragon's nests' (structures created around Hazel coppice stools to prevent deer from eating the new growth shoots).
Volunteers made some amazing looking dragon's nests! The area we were working in already had some deer fencing (in a few styles!) so we looked to continue this and create a variety of styles, both for experimental and aesthetic purposes!
If you would like to get involved with the Brookside Restoration project, please email brandon.cherry@prospectsfoundation.org.uk for more information
As always, thank you to our volunteers and to our funders for making it all possible!
