Park's bid to protect historic oak trees

A park trust in Leicestershire has built fencing around some of its historic oak trees in a bid to improve their health.

Bradgate Park Trust said it was taking special measures to stop soil compaction beneath the trees which can affect the main upper part of the tree, known as the crown.

Some of the 12 fenced-off trees are more than 400 years old and are believed to date back to when Lady Jane Grey, who was famously Queen for only nine days, lived at Bradgate House in the 16th Century.

Matt Molesdale, senior ranger on the park, said the project will help protect the trees from visitors and a changing climate.

It is hoped the project will prevent the soil surrounding the root systems from becoming compacted, which could cause the trees struggle to absorb water and nutrients.

Last month it was announced that the Major Oak in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, which is believed to be more than 1,200 years old, had died, due to a combination of soil compaction and high visitor numbers.

The Bradgate Park project also aims to protect visitors from the risk of falling branches from the old trees.

"With the many visitors we get, we have something called soil compaction.

"Where the soil becomes compacted, where we get lots of footfall around the tree, that does affect the health of the crown of the tree.

"It's even more pertinent at the moment because we're getting more extremes of weather, as everyone would have noticed.

"If the ground goes very hard, when it does rain, it just runs off.

"We're getting quite a lot more rainfall in the winter but then into summer we're facing droughts and have been out watering some of the trees," Molesdale said.

The area around the trees will be covered with a mulch which will help maintain moisture and take it to the tree roots.

As well as improving the health of the trees, Molesdale said the project will make the area safer for visitors.

"We're trying to discourage large groups of people spending a lot of time sat under a tree that is potentially centuries old," he said.

"Summer branch drop is something to be mindful of.

"But there are younger more suitable trees to sit under and that kids can mess about on and climb.

"That's certainly not something we're looking to discourage because kids want to come to the park and have fun."

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