Oak Hill Wood expansion
Project led by London Wildlife Trust.
London Urban Forest Plan (LUFP) aims Protecting and managing and Growing and expanding.
LUFP goals: 1 – Resilience and 4 – Protection.
Overview
In 2006, management at Oak Hill Wood nature reserve was relaxed, to allow the woodland to naturally expand into a nearby field. Since then, the woodland has expanded by 3,000 m2.
Natural regeneration can be an effective, low-cost and low-maintenance alternative to tree planting. It allows natural selection to improve woodland resilience to climate change, pests and diseases.
By allowing natural regeneration of woodland, this site supports Goals 1 and 4 of the London Urban Forest Plan. And shows an approach for expanding London woodland in a way that increases resilience.
Natural regeneration at Oak Hill Wood
About Oak Hill Wood
Oak Hill Wood is a 5.5-hectare woodland nature reserve within Oak Hill Park in East Barnet. Oak Hill Park is a 10-hectare public park, which is mostly amenity and grassland. Barnet Council own the park and London Wildlife Trust has managed Oak Hill Wood since the early 1990s. As an ancient woodland and local nature reserve, the area is significant for nature conservation in Barnet.
Oak Hill Wood has been managed mainly for biodiversity. Most active management involves removing non-native species such as cherry laurel and rhododendron. This was done by a local volunteer group. But when volunteer numbers started going down in the mid-2000s, the Trust decided to trial letting the woodland expand naturally into a neighbouring, species-poor field by relaxing management.
Why choose natural regeneration
Natural regeneration has many overlapping advantages to traditional tree planting for ensuring the resilience of urban woodlands. For example:
- It does not need seeds or trees from elsewhere, instead relying on existing trees reproducing. This reduces the risk of introducing pests and diseases.
- Saplings that may not be resilient are filtered out by natural selection. This results in trees that are more resilient to a changing climate and new pests and diseases.
- It avoids costs for buying trees, caring for and monitoring them while they establish, and replacing any that are unsuccessful. This makes natural regeneration a low-cost approach to woodland protection and expansion.
Results 20 years on
Since the natural regeneration approach started at Oak Hill Wood, the woodland has expanded by 3,000 m2. The new trees growing are mainly oak, hornbeam, and hawthorn. This is without any extra funding allocated for management or planting.
Oak Hill Wood shows that natural regeneration is a worthwhile strategy for ensuring the resilience of woodlands. It is very useful when less funding is available for tree planting and other management options.
Tips for future projects
- Engage the local community – Community engagement is critical in a natural regeneration project. Natural regeneration changes the look and feel of a site long term, which may have an effect on site users. Engaging with communities can help educate and improve public views on the project.
- Seek alternative funding sources – Natural regeneration projects are rarely funded by woodland creation grants. This may present a challenge for organisations considering natural regeneration. Especially if materials such as deer protection need to be purchased, or if associated work such as community consultation is required.
Find out more about Oak Hill Wood on Wild London or on Greenspace information for Greater London.
Learn more about urban forest projects across London.
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