The setting and landscape of a holiday park or glamping site often provides the frame for a picture-postcard holiday. Keeping on top of the site’s surroundings will provide great aesthetic benefits, but woodland maintenance shouldn’t be forgotten on the list of landscaping tasks, explains Martin Lucas of British-manufactured woodchippers, GreenMech Ltd.
The benefits of a striking first-impression continue to be a key driver behind keeping on top of site maintenance. The look and feel of a site should be fitting within its surroundings – a dense tree belt for example may be fitting for a countryside venue, but less so in an open landscape.
Trees present a fantastic way to integrate or soften the appearance of ancillary buildings and other site facilities but also have the functional benefit of creating boundaries, shelter and screening between public and private areas. However, while most park owners will keep on top of soft landscaping, such as maintaining flowerbeds and mowing regularly to keep them aesthetically pleasing, maintaining trees, hedges and shrubs can slip down the task list. Treatment of these areas can enhance more than just visual appeal.
Key woodland management tasks could include, but aren’t limited to:
- Regular examination of tree roots and overhanging branches as these can quickly cause problems overhead or underground, as well as pose health and safety risks to guests.
- Removing density in the upper and lower canopies to promote better flow of air and light to site which, in turn, will optimise the health of any turf.
- Pruning and thinning of brash
- Disposing of any dead, damaged or diseased wood or brash
The Environmental Protection Act, along with the Clean Air Act, considers the burning of waste as inappropriate. Anyone found improperly disposing of waste risks being prosecuted by The Environment Agency, Local Council or Police – with a typical fine likely to be in the region of £2000. This amount would go a long way towards the cost of hiring or even buying the equipment necessary to deal with woody waste.
GreenMech have a woodchipper portfolio that spans 20 models of various sizes and chipping capacities, with a pedestrian range built with the professional landscaper and parks manager in mind. Chippers such as the CS80 and CS100 are idea for jobs in small spaces, such as those around building perimeters or between caravans. With working widths of just 760mm, they are small, yet mighty, workhorses – powered by either a 12hp, 16hp or 18hp petrol engine. Their wide, open design in-feed chute enable large volumes of bushy material or timber of up to 100mm to be processed. This impressive chipping ability is provided by two high grade steel, long-life reversible blades that are easily re-sharpened thus ensuring low running costs.
Chipping is a fantastic way to quickly and easily remove unwanted material. The chip that is produced can then be used in other beneficial ways – as a weed suppressant on pathways and in flowers beds or scattered around trees to help with moisture retention in the summer months.
To find out more, head over to greenmech.co.uk.
