Charity urges dog walkers to protect ancient woodland

The Parks Trust, a charity that looks after parks and green spaces in Milton Keynes, is calling on dog walkers to keep dogs on leads at all times when walking in Howe Park Wood.

The woodland, located on the west of the city, is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest’ Natural England. It provides a safe home to many endangered animal and plant species – including bats, rare black hairstreak butterfly, and great crested newts – and also has veteran trees, including a crab apple and oaks over 400 years old.

The Parks Trust is having to take extra measures to ensure that this critical habitat is protected from permanent damage caused by ever-increasing footfall.

It says having dogs on leads will protect any ground-nesting animals from being injured or disturbed by dogs. The scent left by dogs can also have a negative effect on the behaviour of other animals, so it is important that they stay on the main designated paths and do not enter the woodland undergrowth.

In addition, the trust is asking walkers to stick to the designated pathways and refraining from damaging any plants or building shelters. The charity has blocked some of the undesignated trails through the scrubland, which have been created by years of visitors trampling plants and creating

The Parks Trust said: “We’d like to thank all of our park users in advance for their understanding of the changes and for helping us protect this incredibly important woodland.”