Students at Wildgoose Rural Training have been working with the Trust at Monkwood nature reserve to gain experience in practical conservation. Using hazel that they have coppiced at Monkwood, they have been learning to craft hurdles with professional hurdle maker Alistair Hayhurst. The hurdles will be installed at Monkwood to protect apple trees that were recently planted as part of the Trust’s ongoing restoration project.
Communities learning new skills with local conservation charity
Finish hurdle at Wildgoose
With the help of Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, community groups have been learning new skills and supporting wildlife.
Apple tree planting with Wildgoose
Julie Grainger, engagement officer for the Green Farm restoration project, commented “It’s fantastic to get students from Wildgoose on site and involved in a project from start to finish - from planting trees, coppicing hazel to making the hurdles that they’ll then take back to Monkwood to protect the trees they planted.
“We hope that students can return later in the year to plant more trees in our orchard and to build more hurdles to protect them.
“This is just one of the groups that we are working with in the local area. In an effort to connect young people with nature, we have also been tree and hedge planting on site with nearby schools.”
These site visits are part of an ongoing collaboration with Wildgoose Rural Training, an organisation located just outside of Hallow that offers land-based activities to groups with learning disabilities, autism and mental health issues, as well as managing their own nature reserve.
Coppicing at Monkwood with Wildgoose
Roger Bates, wildlife reserve manager and senior tutor at Wildgoose Rural Training, commented on the activities at Monkwood:
“The students have all enjoyed the experience, learnt some new skills and we’re also using the products of the coppicing back at the training centre to make hazel hurdles and stakes. It has been a really positive connection for all involved.”
Working with local communities forms part of the Trust’s wider project to restore land and increase woodland cover at Green Farm, which is adjacent to Monkwood nature reserve. The project to restore this historic landscape has been made possible by funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Severn Waste Services and The Banister Charitable Trust as well as generous donations following a public appeal.
