Woody Week Ecowarriors Save Uckfield from Biblical Floods!
Two of the 106 leaky dams created at Wilderness Wood since 2020. Effective and aesthetically pleasing.
It's 9am on the first day of Woody Week at Wilderness Wood and the home team gather to finalise things ready for the arrival of over 100 guests.
By 9.30am guests and home team stand in a big circle as Emily explains a few housekeeping details before we all disperse to carry out our projects for the morning. I've been co-opted into being team leader of the small team of ‘Ecowarriors’. I thought I was just coming along for the ride, but official team leader Josh is stuck on his sick bed at his Mum's house in Essex (I reckon it he went home to watch the Lionesses on Sunday and decided to celebrate with them on the Mall this morning. Shocking! If true).
Our Ecowarriors team is dominated by mothers (3), under 10s (3) and 2 rather shaky gents in their 70s. Make of that what you will, but it reads like the ‘first into the lifeboats’ on the Titanic. Climate Crisis, what Climate Crisis?
We are nonetheless keen to do our bit by repairing, or replacing 2 of our 106 Wilderness Wood leaky dams. People of Uckfield and Lewes downstream of us should be thankful of our endeavours to save you from the next biblical flood that might come your way!
First off, the team visit two leaky dams built a couple of months ago, in the hope of inspiring them as to what they too might achieve today. Then we head down to Bat Park to fell a number of unwanted birch saplings and drag them down to Streamside. Here they are to be refashioned into our shiny new leaky dams over the next 2 hours.
The work is frenetic with one lifeless woven dam totally replaced, whilst the moribund log dam below it is given a good old-fashioned makeover.
Even the toddlers are gainfully employed digging dirt from the dry stream bed (kids love digging dirt, so it doesn't count as child slave labour).
Miraculously we conjure up two wonders of engineering and still make it back in time for lunch. The dams probably won't get tested properly until the next biblical flood comes in November or December.
Just keep your fingers crossed you downstreamers!
David Horne 29/7/25