Volunteers helping to keep Belhus woods accessible

Earlier this week the dedicated Thames Chase Conservation Volunteers started work in the Oakwood and Ask Plantation in Belhus helping to clear and tidy footpaths through the woods.

The volunteer team will cut back thick blackthorn hedges, slash long grass and clear brambles from obstructing the path.

The Thames Chase Conservation Volunteers are organised by the Thames Chase Forest Centre. They meet every Tuesday and Thursday and spend their free time working across the 98 square mile Thames Chase Community Forest to complete a variety of tasks from footpath maintenance, woodland management, work in schools and tree planting.

The Thames Chase Trust received funding as a legacy of the Land of the Fanns Landscape Partnership.

The Land of the Fanns is a low-lying area to the north of the river Thames, including parts of Greater London, Essex and Thurrock. It has been reinvigorated thanks to a Heritage Lottery Fund award given to the Land of the Fanns Landscape Partnership in 2016.

The partnership completed their work in September 2022, handing over maintenance of the footpaths and access within the Land of the Fanns area to the Thames Chase Trust.