A team of volunteers from the Leicester office of the law firm Howes Percival LLP got stuck into a particularly challenging job at Sence Valley Forest Park – using scythes, pickaxes, spades and crowbars to clear out-dated rabbit-proof fencing.
The team from Howes Percival, which included partners, solicitors and support staff, spent a Saturday on the physically demanding task of clearing the wire fencing and wooden posts which are no longer needed now the trees they were protecting have grown enough to resist being damaged by rabbits.
The task, a Leicestershire Cares Challenge, saw a dozen Howes Percival volunteers dig up the fencing, which runs under ground as well as over, and the posts – some of which are sunk two feet into the soil.
It was hard work, but rewarding, said associate solicitor Becky Hodgkins, who organised the team. Becky said: “The fencing was put up to protect young saplings from rabbits’ , which can cause significant damage. Now the trees are fully established the fencing can come down.”
Since 1998 the former opencast colliery has been transformed into a diverse wildlife haven, and is part of the National Forest.
Becky added: “The problem is, the fencing was put in very thoroughly and is hard to get out. But looking at the results of our work it was all worthwhile.”
Alan Dowell, the Forestry Commission’s Area Forester for the National Forest, said: “We were very impressed with the Howes Percival volunteers and with the standard of their work and the length of the fence removed. Thanks to their efforts, we now have no rabbit fencing along the whole length of our access road to the park, which makes the approach to the car park look fantastic.”
The day at Sence Valley, near Ibstock, is the latest of an ongoing series of volunteering events by Howes Percival in Leicestershire. It follows the winter’s planting of more than 2,000 bulbs on the banks of the Grand Union Canal in Leicester.