Woodland culvert project

[awarner]

Not sure if this is of interest but he's a woodland project I've been working on. Due to questionable drainage from a local farm I have had a long standing issue with runoff causing the path to be constantly waterlogged with sewage rather than just rainwater. After proving to the National Trust that the water springs from selected parts of the area rather than all running off I was allowed to install two culverts to manage the runoff and rebuild the washed out footpath.

Over the last winter the path quadrupled in size where people had tried to avoid the mud, the worst part is that others added old branches to step over but this caused the runoff to backup and made the problem worse.


The one advantage with managing the woods it that I have access to everything I need except the six inch nails I needed.
First step was a proof of concept to demonstrate my knowledge of the problem and to show the main spring points.



The only problem I had was collecting the oak from the other end of the site, throwing it in the van to drive back and lug it all on a trolley to the site I'm working at.
The donor oak ready for planking.


Back to the first culvert, moving oak logs to the site and cutting a recess so the planks lie level to reduce trip hazards etc.
The top log was to aid the water channel.



Now for the second culvert at the other side of this section



And the finished product, still need to re-level the path by moving the washed out mud back up the path.

 

[awarner]

Within a few days the path has already dried out and passable without boots/wellingtons etc

 

[grip]

Great result there well done, i love doing stuff like this i would be happy to lend a hand if i were closer.

 

[woodspirits]

A good project and progress pics, well done.

 

[Drain Bamaged]

Just a thought but do you have anyone in the area that keeps/breeds/works Shire Horses, they may well be interested in helping out with that sort of thing. I know a few that struggle to find that sort of job were they can teach/train younger horses to do that kind of work. Horses can get in and do jobs that tractors and landrovers simply cannot do and it's surprising how nimble an apparently big clumsy horse can be.

D.B.

 

[awarner]

Many years ago when the a local trust were looking after the site on behalf of the NT they used horses when felling some trees. Some places are incredibly hard for a small horse as the site is generally made of narrow paths through the undergrowth.
One of the main reasons I took on the site was to repair the damage caused by certain individuals on mountain bikes who cannot read signs. Over the past year I have been deadhedging and fitting handrails (posted previously) in order to help people and the unwanted bikes keep to the paths. The damage caused when people try to avoid mud can be quite severe, just a single weekend in March, one part of the site, a load of ash saplings were crushed and the scar on the ground will take a long time to recover.
Casual walkers do not understand the impact that just one person can cause, so education is the key.

 

[Leshy]

Brilliant post and great pictures too!
Thanks for the share and keep up the awesome work!