Richmond Park, Hazel Tree Hunt, Sunday January 26th, 2014

Despite the approaching storming weather, a few hardy souls ventured into Sidmouth Wood to plant hazel trees. Unfortunately, despite finding tree guards and stakes, the trees themselves were nowhere to be seen. To cut a long story short, after an hour of phone calls, and trekking from pillar to post, it turned out the trees were simply underneath the piles of guards - doh! Eventually, we got planting, as the rain came down, again, and planted a good number of hazel trees amongst the tall oaks. This is the culmination of several years of clearing invasive rhododendron from the wood. In 7-10 years time, we'll be back to help coppice the hazel, by which time the nature of this lovely woodland will be very different and hopefully a much better place for wildlife.

Thanks, in part, to heavy vehicles, the woodland track has become a quagmire. 

Inside Sidmouth Wood, volunteers plant hazel whips amongst the tall oaks. 

A sign explains the process of rhododendron clearance and burning.