Shrewsbury Town Council’s Countryside Team have completed a programme of improvement works at the Greenfields Countryside Site and the adjoining Greenfields Community Woodland, helping to enhance both the biodiversity of the woodland and improve access for local residents travelling around the site.
Earlier this year, the team completed tree thinning works in the Community Woodland part of the site with the objective to improve the long-term health and resilience of the woodland. Planted in the late 1990s, the woodland is largely made up of trees of a similar age. Over time, the tree canopy had become increasingly dense, limiting the amount of sunlight reaching the woodland floor. When this happens, ground flora struggles to grow and natural regeneration of young trees becomes difficult. Carefully removing approximately 30% of the trees across the site, the Countryside team opened up the canopy and created space for a wider range of plants and wildlife to thrive. Woodland thinning is recognised as best practice in proactive woodland management and is an important step to maintaining a resilient and diverse habitat.
As part of the works, the team also reduced the proportion of ash trees within the woodland. Many community woodlands have a high percentage of ash, and with the ongoing impact of ash dieback disease, relying too heavily on one species presents a significant risk. By encouraging a broader mix of species such as oak, lime and silver birch, the woodland will be better protected for the future.
Importantly, as much timber as possible has been retained within the woodland. Dead and decaying wood plays a crucial role in supporting biodiversity, providing habitat for fungi, insects, birds and small mammals.
The Town Council has also been working with local volunteers to make use of the materials generated during the woodland management works. Earlier this year, volunteers helped the Countryside Team construct a dead hedge using branches, twigs and small pieces of timber produced during the thinning. A dead hedge is an eco-friendly, sustainable structure made by layering woody material between two parallel rows of sturdy upright stakes. It creates valuable habitat and shelter for wildlife, including low-nesting birds such as robins and wrens.
A further volunteer activity took place on Tuesday 10 March 2026, when members of the Countryside Team worked alongside nine volunteers to spread tree bark along sections of the paths through Greenfields Countryside Site and within Greenfields Community Woodland. The paths had become particularly muddy and difficult to walk along following the wet weather earlier this year, and the bark surfacing will help improve access for visitors while also providing a natural, sustainable path surface.
Jim Goldsmith, Countryside and Greenspace Manager at Shrewsbury Town Council, said:
“Woodland thinning is an essential part of managing sites like Greenfields responsibly. By opening up the canopy and encouraging a greater mix of species, we’re helping to ensure the woodland remains healthy and resilient for the future. It’s also been fantastic to see volunteers getting involved, whether helping us build new wildlife habitats from the timber or improving paths so more people can enjoy the site.”
Ben Jephcott, local ward member for Bagley Ward, added:
“Greenfields Park with the community woodland on one side and the repurchased site on the other is a much-loved green lung for residents in Greenfields and Herongate. This work by the Town Council's countryside team and local volunteers has made a real difference, by enhancing the woodland habitats for wildlife and relaying the woodchip footpaths on both sites to a high standard so they are accessible to everyone. They have done a brilliant job."
Shrewsbury Town Council will continue to monitor the woodland over the coming seasons and looks forward to seeing the positive impact these improvements will have for both wildlife and visitors to Greenfields Community Woodland.
