Site maintenance  

Each site has a maintenance plan, which has been specifically developed in tandem with local wildlife trusts and ecological advisors to achieve the long term objectives for the site. In most cases, the key objective is for the land to remain essentially unchanged - this is typically the case where the area for burials is within an already established and important part of the landscape. The disturbance caused by forming new roads and car-parking areas is kept to a minimum, existing landscape features are preserved, and wildlife habitats are not harmed.

There are always some good opportunities for enhancements to be made, such as managing the grassland to encourage indigenous wild-flowers, allowing reeds and native wetland plants to become established in wet areas, and for tree-planting to form copses, increase woodland margins and regenerate ancient specimen trees. The maintenance plan will generally include for the land to be grazed by stock (as it previously had been); for mowing and weed-topping by tractor to keep down thistles, nettles and docks. New woodland areas will be brashed and thinned, as required until it becomes established woodland.

Our sites appeal specifically to people who wish to contribute to nature and the natural environment, and it is important to preserve the natural appearance of the land. Native Woodland has an obligation to those who choose to be buried on the site and to preserve the character of the site, and we therefore ask families not to detract from this by marking burial plots with surrounds, cut flowers, wind chimes, photographs and the like - information boards on the sites explain this to visitors. To maintain the natural appearance, old floral arrangements, and other mementos are removed during regular inspections.