'Improvements'

It’s sometimes called Strawberry Lee Plantation, though within it the trees and shrubs planted are well outnumbered by those that have grown from wild seed. It has been an excellent case of rewilding which has taken the neglected interventions of previous years and turned them into something special of its own. For many years nothing was done to this woodland and it has been much the better for it.  Near the main road it was at some time in the distant past the site of a house of some sort. Rhododendron  was planted in the gardens plus Sycamore and Scots Pine. The Sycamore is mostly fringing the road, the Pine fairly well scattered and the Rhododendron has managed to circle the whole woodland enclosing the wilder inner parts of it in a protective shelter from wind and noise.  This inner part is a delightful unmanaged mix of alder, pine and birch underlaid with bilberry, grassy area and bramble and at this time of year plenty of wood sorrel. In some places the bilberry can be seen growing in alder crevices 6 feet from the ground. 

How long it has gone its own way is not known. It is part wild and part secret garden a haven for wildlife who seek out its spaces within the shelter belt of rhododendron when the cold winds blow. Undeniably the rhododendron spreads and would continue to do so. But its value is also immense to the area. Having lived this way for many years it has become an established network of wildlife links with foxes, deer and unusual bird species patronising its environs and enjoying the encircling shelter belt it provides. 

There have been some magical moments when wildlife has been seen through the writhing boughs of trees that could have come from a story by Grimm or an illustration by Rackham.

Only the most sensitive and imaginative people should be trusted with the management of this site and true to form and expectation we’ve got anything but that. The sensible approach would be to declare ‘as far as this and no further’, firmly stopping the spread of rhododendron and checking it once a year. Instead SWT have done the opposite. Tempted by seeing pound signs flashing and the prospect of grants and the needs of their organisation they decided to go to war laying waste to large sections of the growth. The mess and the devastation has managed to destroy the magic of yet another special place. And the debris has been left around in many places for over a year. It’s enough to make you wonder if we belong to the same species when you read the words ‘it will take some time to recover’.

Meanwhile in fine woods further east there are several  rhododendron shrubs which ought to be dealt with before they spread any further.  Nobody would have complained. But it’s too small a job. It is typical of the way that SWT operate that they respond to grants rather than consider priorities or the appearance and character of the site they’ve been given to manage.