Restoring Hareswith Pond – an ancient woodland with young people at its heart

Hareswith Pond in Storrington has a rich social, cultural, and natural heritage.  Owned by the charity Croydon Old Town Youth Club, its volunteer custodians have looked after the woodland for decades so that young people living in built-up urban areas can enjoy and experience spending time in nature.

Ash dieback and invasive species now threaten the woodland, so the Lost Woods team have joined youth club volunteers to help revive Hareswith for the enjoyment of future generations, as Katie from the Lost Woods team explains:

Ask any of us in the Lost Woods team, and we’ll tell you that Hareswith Pond wood has a magical quality about it. It’s a beautiful ancient woodland, with a meandering stream, veteran Oak trees, rickety bridges, and a large pond that’s just deep enough to enjoy a spot of rowing or kayaking. It’s a place you can easily imagine lifting straight off the pages of a children’s storybook, and – in fact – it’s been a site for young people to enjoy for a century.

A rich history

The woodland is nestled in a sheltered spot on the outskirts of Storrington, West Sussex, and has a strong social heritage that continues to this day. It was bought for the Croydon Old Town Youth Club - once known as ‘The Lab’ - by the youth club founder and philanthropist Charles Major.  This act of generosity 100 years ago has enabled countless young people from southeast London to visit the woods for camping, adventures, and exploring. (In recent years, local children from schools in Storrington and scout groups have also been given the chance to enjoy the woods.)

The Major family were also firm friends with Cicely Mary Barker, the artist and author famous for her Flower Fairy illustrations.  Cicely would stay with the Major family at their small house Bartons next to the woods to escape Croydon during the Second World War.  In his Will, Charles Major left his little house to Cicely, who by this time in 1954 was already a published author.  We know that she stayed there for a time before moving to Storrington until her death in 1973. It’s not possible to know for sure, but perhaps the trees and plants of Hareswith Pond inspired some of her later illustrations.  

Restoring the woods

Today the Old Town Youth Club, which is a registered charity, still own and manage the woods thanks to a team of dedicated volunteers.  

The Lost Woods team got in touch with the youth club to offer our landowner support as part of our project to improve the condition and resilience of ancient woodlands in the Low Weald and Downs, made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

We got to work with an Ancient Woodland Restoration Survey to find out what species were in the woods and in what condition.  Bob Epsom, Outreach Advisor for the Lost Woods, said: “We were really pleased to find that there are many ancient woodland indicator species in the woods, such as Bluebells, Wild Garlic, Wild Cherry and Hornbeams.  Water voles and Dormice have been on the site, there’s a disused Badger set and good woodland bird community – with Kingfisher and waterfowl recorded.

“However sadly, but not unexpectedly, most of the Ash trees are suffering from Ash Dieback meaning these needed to be removed for safety reasons. There are also significant areas with invasive species, such as Cherry Laurel, Himalayan Balsam and Rhododendron. The Cherry Laurel and Rhododendron are fast-growing and shade the woodland floor, preventing native wildflowers and shrubs from growing.  Himalayan Balsam plays havoc in the waterways, growing on stream banks and shading native plants. These need to go to improve the biodiversity of the woods.”

We then organised an Ancient Woodland Restoration Plan to be drawn up, whcih would help the youth club in the years to come provide a safe and accessible woods, address tree health threats, and manage the woodlands for biodiversity.

The youth club were lucky enough to have volunteers who were already removing the diseased Ash trees, but it meant that the woods have needed to be closed to the youth club’s members until the site is made safe again.

Bringing in the local community to help

With a mammoth task ahead, Cathy and Liz from the Lost Woods Community Development team arranged for some local volunteer work parties to help remove the invasive species, starting with the Cherry Laurel.  

A popular garden plant that’s ideal for creating privacy quickly, Cherry Laurel is far from ideal in a British woodland. It outgrows native species; taking over an area with its thick evergreen leaves which shade the ground and stop any ground flora from coming through.  It’s also poisonous, containing cyanide.

Over the past few months, some 23 volunteers from the local community in Sussex and more from the youth club have cleared a huge area of this invasive species from Hareswith.  For some local volunteers, it was the first time they’d ever got involved in woodland conservation.

Liz Holmes, Lost Woods Volunteer Coordinator, said: “We were so delighted with the response from the community to come along and learn how to remove the cherry laurel, with some people having never used some of the tools before, but who came along willing to learn and have a go.

“Thanks to Cathy in the team for her excellent guidance and a lot of hard work from the volunteers, we were able to clear a large area of Cherry Laurel.

“It’s exciting to think that in the next few years this area might return to the carpets of Bluebells and Wild Garlic that we see in other areas of the woods; we can’t wait to see what regenerates.”

The youth club have been delighted to have the support of local volunteers. Andrew Patten, Chair of the Old Town Youth Club Board of Trustees, said: “Cathy, Liz and Karen have done a fantastic job along with the volunteers to carry out the Cherry Laurel work over the last few weeks and to coordinate the project. The difference it has made is astonishing - there is still work to do but all credit to the volunteers and all involved in the project.

“Over the course of the project we have met some fantastic and interesting people with the same vision to maintain and preserve the site, who have expressed their interest in being involved in future working parties to carry out the ongoing restoration and clearing work required.  We still have a mountain to climb with ongoing restoration and maintenance work on site, but with the help and commitment of all involved we are now in a very positive position to achieve this.”

Get involved

If you would like to join in efforts to restore Hareswith Pond, then we plan to return to help the youth club remove more invasive species over the course of the year. Please complete our volunteer form and Liz will be in touch.

If you would like to find out more about Croydon’s Old Town Youth Club, let us know and we can put you in touch.

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