Highlight of the month was a complete restoration of the willow maze over two days, with the help of students from the Foundation Learning department of Canterbury College, who were using the task as a social action project to develop work skills and experience.
Several hundred willow stakes, a by-product of last winter’s coppicing task, were hammered in every two feet or so, then the one-year willow growth was woven around them and held down with hemp string. Previously the willow “walls” were about five feet high, which made trimming them quite difficult. As the maze is designed for young children, we decided to reduce the height of the walls to about three feet, which will make future management far easier. We are therefore hoping that it will now be possible to keep the maze going for years.
