Our first job was to go and cut a path line through the woods - a 2m wide strip with all vegetation out of it. Whilst still quite destructive, we did it sensitively to wind around interesting trees and create nice curves to the path. At the end, with a bit of tidying up (e.g. stumps cut to the ground, herbaceous plants mown, etc) it looked like quite a nice path, and one that would be easy enough to walk on as is.
Whilst on annual leave, the works started. Apparently my colleagues were called in to cut more trees out of the way; these guys weren't with us when we did the initial work, so had no idea of the trees we were retaining and views we were trying to create. Then the contractors laid a 2m wide strip of asphalt-type material (I'm no civil engineer so can't say exactly), with about a 1.5m wide massive ditch on one side, and the spoil from excavation dumped the other side.
The result? A ridiculously wide, hard, completely artificial and out of place footpath through the woods, with a huge raw ditch to one side with severed roots of the trees right on the edge of the ditch exposed. Tree safety issues in the future..? And the trees on the other side of the path, covered with about 30cm or so of spoil above the depth at which they've rooted - again, the trees will die on their feet. The rubbish exposed by digging is still lying there next to the path.
Why oh why are we, supposedly the benchmark for the industry, treating the woods like this? Poor tree management on either side of the new footpath, with spoil heaps round them or damaged root systems. After this organisation provides training on urban woodland planning, with the emphasis on softer landscaping and features that blend in with the surrounding woodland, the managers who have attended this training decide the opposite. And spend more money on creating nasty, over-engineered features. We're here for tree and woodland health first and foremost. A small, simple track cut through the woods would suffice. If that's not enough, then a stone-built track like most nature reserve areas have would still be smaller, lighter and less intrusive. But it's hard to describe just how out of place this footpath is.
The woodland feels somewhat ruined now. An intrusive, artificial path, damaged trees to either side, and over-engineered features that have to fit a specification apparently required (instead of rustic, simple benches made from greenwood?) all take away from the mystique and wild atmosphere the woods once had. I must admit, I feel somewhat ashamed to be part of the organisation who decided that this is woodland management.
