Summary
HBUF comprises both woodland and open fields. It is not our intention to create parkland, where ivy is not welcome, but woodland, where ivy is both welcome and beneficial.
Ivy benefits birds, bats, insects, small mammals and bees, both on the ground and on the trees. It offers protection as well as food at different times of the year.
Ivy can damage the crown of the tree, acting as a sail, leading to wind damage.
We recognise that it is the balance with the environment that counts. There are times when ivy needs to be removed, but the way in which it is done is crucial for the well-being of the tree.
When ivy grows up the trunk of a tree, no damage is done to that tree or to the bark. The ivy grows by attaching itself to the bark and, if it is pulled or stripped away, the bark comes away with it and the tree dies. There are trees in our woodland where the ivy has been pulled away and those trees have died.
To remove ivy, we cut the ivy stems carefully from round the base of the tree. The ivy will then die slowly, without causing the death of the tree, and still providing shelter for some time for birds, insects and small mammals. There is also continued protection for the tree from wind chill. It won’t look beautiful, but neither will it be dead.
Our Policy
We will remove ivy from trees on a case-by-case basis
The group will decide when and where to remove ivy
Where ivy needs to be removed from several trees in one area, the removal will be done on rotation i.e. not all trees in that area at once