Tony Maskens takes the high road
Tony (left) meets the Duke of Gloucester on his visit to Broxbourne Wood NNR sculpture trail in March 2007
Over the past 33 years Tony has spent hundreds of hours leading volunteer tasks in the South East Herts area.
He has seen huge changes in the woodlands of what is now Broxbourne Woods National Nature Reserve. 30 years ago, Tony and CMS staff of the time had to cut their way in to Bencroft Wood which was fenced off to the public and hadn’t been managed since the start of World War 2. Similarly, Broxbourne Wood was closed to the public and was a commercial plantation of Christmas trees which were so small Tony remembers standing in what is now the West car park at Broxbourne Wood and being able to see across the top of the trees to the far end of the wood and beyond. Try doing that today!
Today both woods are owned and managed by Hertfordshire County Council and are open to the public with a series of well maintained trails, including the award winning Easy Access sculpture trail which Tony and the wood wardens were involved in. The woods have now been designated National Nature Reserve status and receive 100000 visitors a year.
Tony is moving to Scotland where he will be starting a new job and enjoying the amazing views from his new home in the Borders. He will be back, he says, to join in the odd Wood wardens task when he’s down South and is looking forward to joining his local ranger service in the Borders.
The good work of the Broxbourne wood wardens will continue. A programme of fortnightly practical Sunday tasks can be seen on Wood Wardens newsletter. We are always looking for new recruits to join the Wood Wardens, no previous experience required just come along, everyone welcome. If you are interested please call CMS on 01462 459395.
