Group get their hands dirty maintaining area

Most people don’t, said Carol Behagg of Beauchief Environment Group.

A small group of explorers set out into the ancient woodlands of Beauchief on Monday morning, on a walk led by Carol and colleagues as part of Greenhill’s ‘Great Big Green Week’ organised by the Greener Greenhill network.

Beauchief Environment Group have been volunteering to improve access and protect nature for over 30 years in a landscape dating back to medieval times when the monks of Beauchief Abbey set up mills on the River Sheaf, which some argue were the origins of the city’s metalworking industries.

Since 1988 BEG have helped look after almost a square mile of Sheffield between Twentywell Lane, Greenhill and Bradway, Bocking Lane, Abbey Lane and Abbeydale Road South. With around 90 local households as members, the voluntary group lobby the council, carry out nature surveys and every Monday morning get their hands dirty maintaining the environment, often by improving and sometimes building pathways to help people explore the steep local woods, several of which are likely to have been woodlands since the last ice age 10,000 years ago, said Carol.

Over the last few lockdown years, many new people discovered the landscape of the Beauchief Abbey monks, including the well-known Ladies Spring Wood, and lesser-known High Wood, Park Bank Wood, Gulley's Wood and Old Park Wood.

“I’d meet dozens of people who said they were surprised how lovely it was when I was out, which was wonderful,” said Carol. “They said: ‘I never realised what we’ve got here.’ I live near the top of Old Park Wood, and even now I think half of my neighbours never go in at all!”

The walk on Monday included many of the spots BEG have helped restore or create over the years, including the Nature Park meadow and community orchard below Beauchief Hall, and the ancient ‘Gulley’s Meadow’ saved from minor building disturbance a few years ago thanks to a BEG survey noting rare or important wildflowers and plants including orchids, pignuts, red clover and yellow rattle.

The popular pathways through Ladies Spring Wood are there thanks to a grant won by the group nearly 20 years ago, along with hard work by volunteers building and maintaining the paths over the years. And Carol took the walkers to view (but not climb, many were relieved to hear) the steep wooden steps up the slope of Park Bank Wood built by early BEG members like Carol and colleagues 30 years ago.

The local ranger helps when he can, but council staff and resources are so limited these days that the essential maintenance of access to these landscapes across the city is often down to volunteers like BEG members. The work has to be planned carefully too, Carol noted, as although everyone is keen to improve access to local green spaces for more local people, there are ’tensions’ she says.

Bluebells for example, are prevalent in the ancient woodlands but if they’re trampled down they may never grow back, said Carol. So clear paths to follow can help encourage people to stay on track to reduce damage.

Lindy Stone is from the new Greener Greenhill group, which aims to help build networks and take local action about the global climate and nature emergency. This week sees events highlighting local projects and ideas in the Greenhill Great Big Green Week. There are promising signs that long established ‘Friends’ and similar groups can work well with somewhat younger organisations urgently pushing politicians and others for urgent action on climate and nature.

“We have strengths on both sides,” said Carol.

Lindy handed out a new walk map highlighting the pathways created by BEG.

“We can all walk through this area and say, ‘Oh, isn’t it great,'" Lindy said. “But that doesn't just happen when the council doesn’t have any resources. People need to make it happen.”

More info: https://beauchief-eg.co.uk

https://greenhill-library.org/gg/