South of the River Thames, an ancient landscape of woodland and wooded commons once covered the high ground between Deptford and Selhurst.
The Great North Wood is a sprawling ancient landscape that gradually became fragmented by the development of south London's suburbs – but whose name lives on in districts such as Norwood, Gipsy Hill, Forest Hill and Penge (‘edge of wood’).
Once stretching for several miles between the Thames and Croydon, today the Wood consists of a series of small woodlands, parks, cemeteries, sports grounds, railway embankments and gardens – all of which provide a home for nature within a modern urban landscape.
There are around 20 woodlands or wooded areas where you can still see green woodpeckers high in the trunks of oak trees and purple hairstreak butterflies floating among the leaves. As part of the Living Landscapes initiative, the Trust was awarded a grant of nearly £700,000 from National Lottery Heritage Fund to launch the Great North Wood project in June 2017.
Penny Dixie
Since 2017 the Trust has worked with volunteers, community groups, landowners, and local councils, in a collaborative project reviving and reimagining the Great North Wood as a home for nature and people – in a modern urban landscape. The project has raised awareness of this largely forgotten woodland, encouraging people to explore, enjoy and value the natural wealth on their doorsteps.
With strong community involvement, it has focused on resident woodland species such as woodpeckers, purple hairstreak butterflies, stag beetles, oak and hornbeam trees; with surveying, guided walks, and family activities such as minibeast hunts and teddy bear picnics. Conservation work will also enhance ancient woodland areas and help people discover them.
London Wildlife Trust has now secured £250,000 of funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) as part of the Green Recovery Challenge Fund.
This will help the Trust to build on the successes of its Great North Wood project, conserving this ancient landscape within South London and connecting people to it.
