Brickhill Parish Council, Bedford

Park Wood Nature Reserve

News - 20th April 2015

It has been a busy year on the reserve and anyone who has had a stroll around this north Brickhill site since last July will, I hope, have been impressed by the new carved oak feature bench. It is sited to give a panoramic view over the school fields to the horse paddocks beyond. This, together with the new bridge over the stream was funded by a National Lottery award.

This spring we are beginning to see the rewards of our wild flower planting. Wild daffodils are flowering in the community orchard and the snowdrop display is improving each year. As I write, lesser celandines and primroses are in bloom, soon to be followed by bluebells and wild garlic. In the wild flower mini-meadow below the orchard, yellow rattle has been planted. This is a partial parasite of grass and should, over coming years, help other flowers establish themselves.

The Friends Group spent a couple of mornings in February pruning the apple and pear trees in the orchard area. The orchard contains many varieties that are not easily obtained elsewhere. It is managed for the benefit of human visitors as well as for wildlife. Information boards are now in place and soon a Facebook page will be available for people to find out more about the orchard and the rest of the reserve.