Look Out – Nature at Work!

We know it has not been the most attractive of sights whilst there were huge swathes of Heras fencing around the old site, but it was necessary to keep everyone safe whilst our contractors were on-site taking down the old buildings, taking up the hard surfacing and taking out many, many tons of concrete.

With the heavy work now done, we are able to exchange the metal grills for post and rail fencing, similar to that used in other sensitive areas of the forest. This is thanks to funding from the Viridor Credits scheme, which has given us £44,666 funding!  Some of this will help to pay for the fencing work and some to continue the work being done at Budby South Forest to improve the heathland habitat there.

The fencing means visitors will be able to see what is going on more easily, without posing any threat to the new shoots which are gradually starting to come through and without putting any further pressure on the roots of some of the magnificent ancient oaks which stand watch over that area.

We’ve written previously about the reasons behind the need to move the old centre, and we know it was a place many of you will remember with great fondness.

Looking ahead to the future, we now have four extra hectares – that’s about the size of six football pitches – of forest to restore and enjoy!

This means lots of new homes for wildlife and the chance to see how the forest develops habitats similar to what was around during the time Robin Hood walked through these trees!

For now, the ancient oak trees on the old site – which are all around 500 years old – need a little peace after all the works and the years of activity before that, as does the forest floor. So the fencing will allow visitors to watch the restoration at close quarters, without impacting on it.

Some of the regeneration will be done naturally, and our team will be monitoring what grows and naturally develops here. Plus there are plans to use some of the soil scrapings from the heathland at Budby, created as part of its Baring All project. This type of heathland was once widespread in Nottinghamshire but is now extremely rare – and a precious home for many species.

We’ll keep you updated with the ongoing work here, but hope you’ll be able to come and see the site for yourselves soon, and watch it change and restore a little more each time you visit.