Clayton Forest Park
Clayton Forest Park, an oasis of woodland in the heart of Clayton-le-Moors, surrounding Wilson’s Playing Fields, has seen some interesting innovations, helping to raise awareness of the value of positive woodland management.
Horse logging extracted timber from the woodland management, which also gently manipulates the ground surface to encourage the regrowth of woodland flowers. Restoration of an old hazel coppice produced material suitable for woodland crafts such as hedge-laying and yurt-making and is a sustainable form of woodland resource.
Community woodland days have included a host of activities to get people involved, including seeing chainsaw carvings being made, making charcoal with a traditional kiln, and watching a mobile sawmill planking timber from the woodlands to make bird boxes and benches.
An earlier phase of work by the Parks Service and local volunteers at The Woodlands won the gold first prize in the Royal Forestry Society, Excellence in Forestry Awards 2013-2014 and silver in 2014-2015 best of the best awards.