Happy environment for happy kids
A lot of you may have seen our new play area, maybe your little ones have enjoyed a clamber on it this year.
What you may not realise is the play area is constructed from sweet chestnut trees from the estate and local woodlands, making the play area a completely sustainable and environmentally friendly project from start to finish!
The sweet chestnut timber is a product of a historic woodland management practice called coppicing, its sustainable practice which has been carried out for hundreds of years, now this practice generally carried out to benefit wildlife.
By cutting the sweet chestnut trees at their base in the Autumn and winter it produces new stems the following spring this forms a coppice stool. This is done every 20 years or so reinvigorating the tree each time and extending its lifespan whilst encouraging the light to the woodland floor where it supports a diverse array of flora and fauna.
Carl and Adam, who you may see around the estate either up trees, in ponds or even on the ground; designed, sourced, cut and assembled the structure.
Due to Carl and Adams careful design, your children have a number of routes as they traverse the posts, there’s actually an easier route for young ones and a harder route for those bigger little ones.
As the structure becomes more established the meadow grasses and wildflowers will re establish around the play equipment, making it even more fitting to the ethos and feel of the Herstmonceux Castle grounds.
