Pitshanger Park Life

It was a chilly day in Ealing, but that did not deter the 9 volunteers and 4 Thames21 crew who all turned up eager to get into the a day’s work last Thursday. The task was to clear away some of the undergrowth in a wooded area of the park to give the older trees a bit more room and light to develop into strong, healthy trees.

This was just one early step in a long-term project to create  a diverse woodland habitat , with layered growth, which would in turn,support a greater diversity of wildlife.

 Armed with saws, loppers, and pruning shears, we set to our task. The event was a great opportunity for me to meet some of the Waterways and Wellbeing project’sregular volunteers, and I was inspired by their dedication to all tasks, big and small, to improve London’s waterways.

As we worked,  weidentified our surroundings using The Woodland Trust’s handy ‘Winter Twig’ guide. I am proud to say that I can now identify an Elm in winter. I am really looking forward to next month’s event where I hope to be able to learn how to identify more trees.

By Vicki, Thames21 Monitoring & Marketing Assistant