Woodland is filled with new suprises
IF you go down to the woods today you're in for a real surprise.For among the trees in Ipswich's Pipers Vale woodland are snakes, newts, slowworms and a strange creature with books on its head.
IF you go down to the woods today you're in for a real surprise.
For among the trees in Ipswich's Pipers Vale woodland are snakes, newts, slowworms and a strange creature with books on its head.
The creations are part of the latest effort from rangers which aim to bring the woodland in Orwell Country Park to life.
The area has long been mostly forgotten by park users but now they have a wonderland of tree sculptures to inspect.
A team of four skilled chainsaw artists from the Hearts of Oak group took to the park for three-and-a-half days this week to make interesting sculptures out of tree trunks which would otherwise have been felled.
Ipswich Borough Council's rangers are aiming to make the woodland child-friendly and on Thursday students from Morland Road Primary in Ipswich were on hand to make sure that happened.
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Richard Sharp, Orwell Country Park ranger, said: “The woodland has been neglected for years. It's right next to the Gainsborough estate.
“We wanted to get people into the woods because the more people go in there the better it will be looked after.”
Soon the children from Morland Road Primary will help to plant broadleaf native trees in the woodland but the rangers had to fell some trees to let more light to the woodland floor first.
Then they came up with the idea of using some of the stumps to create an unusual form of natural art.
Mr Sharp said: “One of the reasons we've done it is to get the kids involved so they get out to use it in the future.
“I want them to use it a lot more and bring their parents in.
“The sculptures are great. The kids were reading things into them that I couldn't even see - it was sparking their imagination.”
