Wytham hedge and noticeboards restored

Volunteers have restored an overgrown section of hedge in the Wytham estate, which will maintain its biodiversity and ecological interest over the coming decades. The process of laying a hedge involves trimming excess growth, cutting the hedging shrubs’ main stems and bending them over to encourage dense new growth; if left unlaid, hedges lose their ability to contain livestock and eventually degenerate into rows of scrubby trees. The group are volunteer conservation workers who usually focus on Rushcliffe Country Park in Nottinghamshire but make two weeklong trips to Wytham every year. On their last visit they repaired a derelict bridge, and this time around they also helped revamp the visitor noticeboard at the Wytham Woods car park.