The Hob Hey Wood Friends Group was set up in 2018 to maintain and improve this ancient semi-natural woodland. What is it that we’re actually doing? This blog details the various activities undertaken so far and plans for the next few years.
The group’s aim is to develop the woodland for the benefit of the wildlife that lives there and the local community. Activities cover five areas:
1) Local community involvement
2) Assist with the maintenance of the paths, boardwalks and footways
3) Habitat improvement
4) Set up a programme for monitoring the wood’s flora and fauna
5) Undertake fundraising activities to finance the group’s activities
1) Local community involvement
Hob Hey Wood has been in existence longer than the town of Frodsham so it’s surprising how many people have never heard of the beautiful woodland on their doorstep. The friends group has set up this website and a Facebook page to promote the wood and to assist people who want to visit.
This will hopefully increase the numbers of visitors and the number of volunteers to help maintain the wood.
2) Maintenance
The network of paths and bridges makes a real difference to walking through the wood. There is more to do, however, as some areas are still without proper paths and get very muddy in winter. The bridlepath from Townfield Lane could do with improvement, too.
The paths and boardwalks require upkeep so there’s always something to do!
3) Habitat improvement
Ancient semi-natural woodland is among the most important habitat in the UK and Britain hosts almost 50% of the world’s bluebell woods (Hob Hey Wood gives a fantastic display of these spring flowers!) The wood’s habitat has degraded somewhat with invasive species taking hold. The improvement work should increase numbers of the species of flowers and animals that make their home there.
4) Monitoring programme
So that we can understand just what’s living in our wood (and whether increasing or decreasing) we’re settting up a monitoring programme with RECORD, Cheshire's Local Biological Records Centre. Surveys of bats, trees and flowers, for example, will increase our knowledge of the wood and help us improve it for future generations.
5) Funding
All of this takes money! However, there are lots of funding sources out there, for groups like ours, and we’re currently very active in applying for funding. We’ve had some success, too, with more to come.
Hopefully, you can see from the above, that the Hob Hey Wood Friends Group is actively working to benefit the wood and community. Everyone is welcome to join the group, get involved in the volunteer days, post photos and stories to the Facebook page, and chat about this beautiful place. We look forward to hearing from you!
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