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Removing tree guards at Hythe Lagoons

An activity with Essex Biodiversity Action Team (Weekend Only)

Activity date: Sunday 1st March 2026

Start time: 10:15
Finish time: 15:00

Activity description

Tree guards are used extensively to protect saplings from deer and rabbits which like to chew the bark of young trees, which can weaken or kill the trees. It is recommended by the Forestry Commission that tree guards are removed after 7-10 years, to prevent plastic pollution of the environment. We will be removing tree guards at the Hythe Lagoons nature reserve and hope to send the used tubes to a recycling centre.

Meeting place

Pick up outside the Sixth Form College on North Hill at 10 a.m. or meet on Haven Road beyond Silverton's yard.

what3words meeting point: ///soil.stow.cake

Activity location

Hythe Lagoons Local Nature Reserve, The Hythe Haven Road Colchester,

Site description

Site of Nature Conservation Importance, lies within the Salary Brook and Lower Colne Valley Countryside Conservation Area, and Essex Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA).

Supports habitats of national importance, three nationally scarce plants, four Essex biodiversity Action Plan species and a number of priority bird species. Adjacent to the Upper Colne Marshes Site of Special Scientific Interest.
The site lies on the south side of the former floodplain of the River Colne to the south of
Colchesters' former harbour. It comprises three former dredging lagoons (operations effectively ceased in the mid 1970s) and surrounding grassland, ditches and a length of sea wall. The lagoons are in various stages of in-fill, providing a mix of shallow open brackish water, bare mud and salt marsh, grassland and ruderal communities. Raised earth banks surround each lagoon. The ditches are not maintained, with the result that they are silted up and dry out during the summer. The lagoons are fed only by rainwater and have piped outfalls that maintain maximum water levels. They dry out through the summer. Site boundaries are delineated by embankments and fences.
Since the mid 1970s the lagoons have been part of a larger, single grazing unit, grazed all year by a mixed-age herd of cattle.

Contact

Michael Padmore

Telephone: 07764655682
Email: michael.padmore@tcv.org.uk
Website: https://www.tcv.org.uk/essex

Please bring

  • packed lunch
  • suitable outdoor clothes
  • suitable outdoor footwear

Further info

For further information about tree guards, see https://forestrycommission.blog.gov.uk/2024/04/22/tackling-plastics-in-woodland-creation/

Site Facilities

  • Nearest Toilets - Tesco at the Hythe

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