Exploring Worcester Woods
Nick Cripps
CONCLUSION
The Winter chapter concludes our resume of Worcester Woods Country Park. As we have seen, the Park is a mosaic of wildlife habitats providing homes for countless varieties of animals and plants. The question remains: how best to preserve it, alongside the needs of tourism, education and recreation?
As visitors and custodians we need to value the Park as a wildlife sanctuary. We must guard against litter. Stop the small-scale destruction and removal of wildflowers and grasses. And avoid serious damage to animal habitats from needless noise and disturbance to the undergrowth. The future of the Park as a wildlife retreat depends greatly upon the care and protection we afford it. Without our vigilance the nature that surrounds us will not survive our demands!
Acknowledgements:
Pete Beddows on Butterflies, Ray Hume on Birds, Dave Entwistle for his expertise, Will Watson on Reptiles and Amphibians, Phil Williams on the Flora and Fauna of Perry Wood, Martin Smith on Birds, John Meiklejohn on Flora, Tim and Di Bateman on fungi. Angela Lanyon and Penny Gill for editing the text. Gloria Blann for the location plan.
Many thanks to Edgar Powell, Tim Bridges at the Commandery, and all at St Helen's Archive Office. Hilary White Archeological officer, and Margaret Goodrich on the Nuns of Whiteladies. Not forgetting Maddie Price and Chris for the coffee! Special thanks to, George Atkins, Toni Baxter, Bill Cullis, Mrs Littlebury, Chris Monkhouse, Mr Jones, and of course all my family and friends.
References and recommended reading:
Historical Interpreting the Landscape, by Michael Aston (Batsford, 1985)
The lookers-out of Worcestershire, by Mary Jones. Worc. Naturalists Club1980
Nunnery & Perry Woods, Worcester: Historical Ecology and Land-Use Changes, by John Kingsbury. TWAS Third Series Vol 9 (1984)
Saxon Charters of Worcester, by G B Grungy, Archaeological Society 1929
The Botany of Worcestershire, by Amphlett & Rea (Cornish Brothers, 1909)
The Making of the English Landscape, by W G Hoskins (Faber, 1988)
Transactions of the Worcestershire Natural History Society
Transactions of the Worcestershire Archeological Society
Trees & Woodland in the British Landscape, by 0. Rackham (Dent,1990)
Warndon Parish, by Jeff Carpenter
Worcester: People and Places, in 2 volumes, by H W Gwillam
Natural History British Butterflies, by Brooks and Knight (J. Cape, 1985)
Dragonflies and Damselflies, by Bob Gibbons (Country Life, 1986)
Grasses, Ferns, Mosses & Lichens, by Roger Phillips (Pan, 1980)
Insects, by Michael Chinery (Collins, 1986)
Lichens, by K Broad A Forestry Commission Handbook (HMSO, 1989)
Mushrooms, by Roger Phillips (Pan, 1981)
New Concise British Flora, by W. Keble Martin (Mermaid Books, 1986)
The tree Key, by Herbert L. Edlin (Warne, 1978)
Weasels, stoats and other cunning things, by Nigel Richards & Paul Wyatt
(N.Z. Press, 1991)
Wild Flowers, by R Fitter, A Fitter, & M Blamey (Collins, 1974)
Worcester Woods Title Page
Worcestershire History Encyclopaedia