Colleagues from local employer British Gypsum swapped logistics expertise for woodland management skills for a day; learning the ancient craft of hedge laying in Bunny Wood*.
The company’s distribution team spent the day volunteering under the expert guidance of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust (NWT) who manage this nature reserve.
One of the volunteering team, British Gypsum’s Distribution Improvement Manager, Kirk Ennis said: “Our company has had a long-standing partnership with the Wildlife Trust and Bunny Wood is located close to our head office site at East Leake. In addition, the reserve is based on land donated by British Gypsum to the Trust. So, it made sense for us to work with them on a project in Bunny Woods.
“It was fascinating learning about how to lay hedges and the benefits they bring in terms of wildlife and supporting the eco-system in the Woods.”
The hedge laying involved bending and splicing the stems of shrubs and small trees, historically to form livestock proof barriers, but more often today to provide a growing habitat for wildlife.
NWT’s Southern Reserves Manager, Chris Kennedy added: “ The team worked very hard and were rewarded with a professional and expertly laid hedge, which in time will benefit all sorts of wildlife from toads and frogs, to mice and voles and hedge nesting birds. A thoroughly enjoyable day and I look forward to welcoming the team back next year.”
*Bunny Wood is referred to in the Domesday Book and was probably used by Saxon settlers as a source of wood. In 1487, Henry VII and his army camped nearby on their way to the Battle of East Stoke. Coppiced ash is very common here and field maple is widespread. Great and lesser spotted woodpeckers are amongst the 50 bird species recorded.