Oaks and hedgerows

-
New Hedgerows at Highbury

 The wooded fabric of the Rea Valley was once again enhanced THANKS  to the support of 'Forest School Birmingham', 'Trees For Cities' and our WOODLAND WEDNESDAY VOLUNTEERS, on this occasion at Highbury Park, with the planting of 600 hedgerow trees/shrubs including HAWTHORN, HAZEL, APPLE, ROWAN, GUELDER ROSE, DOG ROSE, FIELD MAPLE, ELM and ALDER BUCKTHORN.



Check out alcoa.com to see more about the 10,000,000 trees project and http://forestschoolsbirmingham.com to whom we owe gratitude for establishing this project.

The Highbury planting followed consultation between the Rangers and the 'Working Party' to establish the lines on which the new hedges should follow.

The 1904 OS map of the park shows old hedge lines within the grounds of Highbury, although many had been 'grubbed' out during the Chamberlain landscaping era.
Highbury Park - ORDNANCE SURVEY 2nd edition 25" MAP, 1904

Four lines were proposed, two to the south of the long pool and two to the north. One of the factors was the 'Great Oak' to the north. This two, once three limbed specimen is under scrutiny from Tree Officers to ensure prolonged life for this important veteran. Popular opinion is against pollarding the tree, so other means of keeping the majority of people at bay was considered. Hence - hedgerow, scrub development and a dead hedging combo was decided.
The Great Oak (circa 1700) is highlighted on the map above with the hedgerow to the west. These were then chosen to 1. reinstate a former hedge and 2. protect the Great Oak.

Mary and Ben from Forest Schools Birmingham reinstating an old hedge

Oaks along the old hedge line at Highbury


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Brockley Grove - then and now

-
Image
Holders Woods and Fields east of centre with Brockley Grove to the south, road and turning circle Article from Birmingham Forum website -  My old mum and I moved into a prefab on Brockley grove just off dog pool lane (dads lane) in moseley in about 1959 and my old mum thought it was heaven, it had a "fitted kitchen" i.e a built in washing machine, she'd always had to do her washing by hand before and in both bedrooms were "metal" fitted wardrobes. As it was detached, standing surounded with a nice little garden we both loved it. unfortunatly it' now been demolished and  Brockley grove is now unsign posted and is a dog walking area but I will always have very fond memories of mom's little "bungalow". This map shows the layout of the Brockley Grove prefabs
Read more

Lifford - William Dargue - A History of BIRMINGHAM Places & Placenames

-
Image
Lifford Woods An area of land bordering the River Rea at Allens Croft, with a pathway to Lifford Reservoir and Lifford Hall. The linear woodland runs either side of the river with willows and alders thriving. The site is little used today, with most people passing along the walkway, whilst much of the area is out of the public domain, cut off by railway embankment and the river.  In terms of wildlife, I guess this is under recorded, as are most sites, all records should be submitted to EcoRecord and twitter is a good way of doing this.  Lifford Woods and surrounds The account below is taken from "Lifford - William Dargue - A History of BIRMINGHAM Places & Placenames" B30 - Grid reference SP055796 la Ford: first record 1250 Lifford stands close to the ford across the River Rea. As the red clay on the east side of Birmingham became slimy and slippery in wet weather, a place where the river ran over a firmer bed would have been a draw ...
Read more

New Trees - Woodland Wednesdays at Highbury

-
Image
Highbury Park and neighbours - wooded Wooded Highbury The term 'replete' has recently been used in reference to the wildlife provision at Highbury, and whilst the park can boast a healthy list of trees and bird life and perhaps reasonable opportunity for invertebrates, there is certainly room for enhancement and improvement in this regard. The park is jealously viewed and guarded by its regular visitors and protest quickly develops as changes occur - for example recently planted hedges were met with anxiety and vandalism, new desire lines are seen as trespass and the recently announced proposal to improve the tarmac surfacing for cyclists was greeted with the following- https://www.birminghambeheard.org.uk/place/bcr3-highbury-park-walking-and-cycling-route Consultation  Politics aside, if that's possible, an overview of the wooded fabric of the park would probably indicate a net loss of timber over the past 5 years due to ageing, and the need to 'mak...
Read more