Lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 showed us how important Sydenham Hill Wood is for people in the local area. As restrictions were placed on everyday life, we saw people turning to nature for both their mental and physical health and exploring their local area more than usual. Sydenham Hill Wood provided a peaceful refuge for people in uncertain times – now it needs your help. 

We’re delighted to see so many of you enjoying the Wood, however, this increase in people has taken its toll on the species that rely on it, like robins, chiffchaffs, hedgehogs, voles, bluebells and wood anemone, as visitors have walked on areas that are outside of our paths. We’ve already seen a decline in birds in our monthly surveys, so we need to act now.  

Our goal is £50,000. Last year we raised £6000 via an appeal, and we recently raised £22,500 via The Big Give, including £5000 of match funding from The Dulwich Society. We also received £5000 in June from The John Horseman Trust to help us towards our goal.

This is ongoing work, so if we can raise more than our target all the better - it will all go towards Sydenham Hill Wood.

If we can’t protect the Wood from increased foot traffic, we could lose vulnerable species entirely, and this precious local space will become a shadow of its former self. 

We need your help to carry out vital work to restore, protect and recover this important reserve, primarily by improving the main path network through the Wood. 

If you’re enjoying Sydenham Hill Wood now, please consider donating to protect it for the future. 

All donations will go directly towards the upkeep of Sydenham Hill Wood. 

If you would prefer to give a regular donation, you can become a member of London Wildlife Trust (this donation will not be restricted to Sydenham Hill Wood) 

Join now

In 2020 Sydenham Hill Wood had 343,385 visits, an astonishing 81% increase on 2019. More visits meant that more people were walking off the main paths, trampling new ones, causing loss of ground vegetation that provides important habitat (above), and fragmenting the Wood, making it harder for wildlife to thrive. 

Birds and mammals require areas of undisturbed habitat in order to breed successfully and as footpaths increase in number the areas of undisturbed habitat are made smaller and smaller leading to declines in populations. 

We need to restore the network of paths to keep people from treading new ones, protecting this habitat and keep it joined up for species like: 

• Robins and chiffchaffs – which nest in the shrub layer 

• Hedgehogs and voles – the vegetation provides cover for small mammals, and joined up habitat allows them to move around and breed freely. We should have hedgehogs around the Wood but unfortunately aren’t seeing many lately.  

• Plants like wood anemone, sweet woodruff and wild garlic, ancient woodland indicator plants that are very sensitive to being trodden on 

We know many of you got a lot out of Sydenham Hill Wood during lockdown and beyond. Please, if you can, give back today by donating to protect it.