Why build a den?

It is fun to do

Why not?

You are disturbing a habitat

  • LOOK under, on, in and around logs and branches lying on the ground. What plants, fungi and insects can you find using them as a home?

Dens can be dangerous –

  • If dens are left they become unstable. Someone exploring them may be hurt
  • Dry, dead wood leaning against a tree is a FIRE! Hazard
  • The wood from dismantled dens can be used to build a new habitat for insects by stacking branches, twigs and dead leaves and building a “dead hedge”

The FIRST rule of being in the woods is “leave it as you found it”

  • So – best practice is to leave fallen wood lying on the ground

Remember

As long as the wood is damp there will be LIFE in the wood

  • Under it – slugs, woodlice, ants, snakes, fungi
  • On it – ferns moss, lichens
  • In it – beetles, bacteria, fungi

As soon as fallen wood is lifted and allowed to dry out, most life DIES

  • So – DRY wood really is DEAD wood!