The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust will be having to close one of its best-loved York reserves on August 8 and 9 in order to safely remove trees that were sadly killed by ash dieback disease.
It is asking members of the public to please stay away from the reserve so the works can be safely carried out.
Moorlands is a beautiful small woodland reserve to the north of York with a spectacular collection of rhododendrons and azaleas, a treehouse, wooden sculptures and a nature trail that make it particularly popular with young families.
It also has a wealth of wildlife including a number of different bat species and a great variety of woodland birds which rely on the unusual range of established trees on the reserve.
Sadly, a central group of ash trees on the reserve directly beside the path are now sadly dead or dying.
Ash dieback is a disease caused by a fungus which has been spreading for over 10 years across the UK.
The fungus kills off the canopy of the ash tree, preventing the tree from building energy from the leaves to grow, which causes the timber to become very brittle.
As a result, an infected tree is unlikely to fall like a traditional felled tree but instead can lose large limbs or fall entirely without warning.
Dave Powell, the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s reserve manager for Moorlands, said:“We are very sad to be felling what were once beautiful ash trees.
"However, safety is paramount to our visitors and colleagues, so we need to take down the dead and decaying wood closest to the path.
“We know what Moorlands means to our many visitors, so we want this to cause minimal disruption.
"People will notice the gaps in the canopy after the work has been completed but overtime the woodland will flourish and other wildlife in the understory will benefit.”
The Trust is keen to benefit the reserve’s wildlife as much as possible.
Timber from the felled trees will be left in-situ to rot naturally and provide habitat and food, and the material from the canopies in Moorlands will be used to create 'dead hedges' to line the footpath edges to keep people to the paths and protect the woodland floor.
The remaining trees further from the path will be left to die naturally and eventually fall safely so that visitors can continue to enjoy Moorlands’ unique woodland beauty.
Safely removing trees killed by ash dieback on reserves across Yorkshire costs the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust thousands every year. There is no funding available to help with the costs of ash dieback, and the Trust is facing increasing costs of safe removal, and the creation of new homes for wildlife on a number of reserves as the disease spreads.
You can help to support the Trust’s work by joining our 45,000-strong membership community or with a donation at www.ywt.org.uk.
Moorlands nature reserve
Moorlands is a small Edwardian woodland garden with a spectacular collection of rhododendrons and azaleas, some of which are very old, large and unusual. These provide a succession of flowers from March to the end of June accompanied by a carpet of snowdrop, bluebell, primrose and wood sorrel.
The wealth of trees and flowering plants in turn attract many species of bird and mammal, including pipistrelle and long-eared bats.
The woodland garden dates back to 1909, when Edward Grosvenor Tew bought Moorlands House and its estate and planted many of the rhododendrons and azaleas.
The estate was then acquired by the Retreat in York for use as a hospital in 1940, before it sold 17 acres to become the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust's second nature reserve in 1955. Management of the site aims to both preserve the special character of the garden and to encourage native wildlife within the nature reserve.
The reserve includes wooden sculptures, a nature trail, and a tree house, from which woodland birds - including great spotted woodpecker, nuthatch and a variety of tits - can be observed as they visit the feeders.
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