Broomfield Wetlands Tree Removal
Maintaining and Preserving the Wetlands in Broomfield Park
Enfield Council, Thames21 and Friends of Broomfield Park are glad to announce a major tree removal initiative in Broomfield Park Wetlands this winter. This is necessary to preserve the wetlands for the future.
There are numerous willow trees on the wetlands banks and islands, growing only 40–60cm apart. They are up to 12m tall, with trunks up to 25cm thick, and are having the following undesirable effects:
- Shading out the reeds, hence inhibiting the wetlands’ water-cleaning function.
- Shading out marginal wildflowers, reducing the wetlands’ public amenity and wildlife value.
- Drying out the wetlands, threatening its long-term viability.
The plan is to remove nearly all of these willows (which can still grow even bigger), while retaining other trees such as hazels and alders, which are slower-growing and more manageable.
Excavating trees with machinery would damage the banks and surrounding areas, so we have decided instead to use ‘eco-plugs’ (weedkiller capsules) to kill them. The procedure is to cut the tree down and insert the plug into the stump. This is environmentally safe as the toxic effect is limited to the target trees.
We will start work in January 2026. Please get in touch if you have any questions.
