Birchanger Wood trustees issue plea to stop picking bluebells and tearing down ivy

People who are picking bluebells and ripping ivy off trees in Birchanger Wood are committing crimes, trustees have warned.

The Birchanger Wood Trust, which owns and manages the 69-acre woodland on the north-eastern edge of Bishop's Stortford, has issued pleas for the criminal acts to stop and for users to stick to the paths.

A statement from the trustees says: "While the vast majority of people enjoy Birchanger Wood’s springtime carpet of bluebells on their walks through our woodland, some visitors are picking large numbers of them and trampling them by straying off paths."

Picking wild flowers and plants in Birchanger Wood is a criminal offence. According to the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 it is illegal to “uproot any wild plant without permission from the landowner or occupier” or to pick flowers from a special conservation site or reserve.

The trustees say: "Bluebells are fragile flowers that don’t like change or disturbance, preferring ancient woods like Birchanger Wood, where the ground has lain undisturbed for years."

Bluebell colonies take around five to seven years to establish, from seed to flower.

"The flowers can take years to recover after footfall damage. If a bluebell’s leaves are crushed, they die back from lack of food as the leaves cannot photosynthesise. As such, it is essential to stick to the paths.

"In Birchanger Wood you will see how narrow tracks made by one person soon become wider and the bluebells end up in island-like patches instead of a woodland-wide blue carpet that we all love.

"Another reason to stick to designated paths in bluebell woods is that the bulbs become damaged when the soil is compacted from the weight of footfall. The situation has become so critical in popular bluebell areas that woodland owners like the National Trust and the Woodland Trust have taken measures to control the numbers of people and where they walk, simply to preserve the flowers so that future generations can enjoy them."

Despite notices and publicity in the Stortford Indie, members of the public have also been ripping ivy off trees, perhaps under the false assumption that they are helping the trees – but destroying ivy in Birchanger Wood without the trust's permission is also a criminal offence.

The trustees say: "Healthy trees are not harmed by ivy. Nectar, pollen and berries of ivy are an essential food source for insects and birds during autumn and winter when little else is about. It also provides shelter for insects, birds, bats and other small mammals.

The Birchanger Wood trustees are dedicated to conserving and protecting woodland habitat, and volunteers work tirelessly to look after the wood. Our work is undermined by damage to our woodland flora, whether bluebells or ivy, which are essential parts of the woodland ecology. Please respect the efforts we go to in order to ensure there is a thriving woodland habitat on our doorstep, open to the public without charge, all year round."

Birchanger Wood consists of 69 acres of ancient coppiced woodland – hornbeam, hazel, ash, birch, oak, sweet chestnut, cherry and holly – and a wide range of flora including English bluebells, wood anemones and golden saxifrages.

It is maintained entirely by volunteers in accordance with a management plan drawn up by professional ecologists and the Forestry Commission for the benefit of the local community and visitors, and supported by donations from a wide range of organisations and individuals.

It has 5.3 kilometres (3.29 miles) of winding all-weather, wheelchair-friendly path.

If you would like to contribute to the trust's work, as a volunteer or to help the work, please go to the contact section of the website.