New interactive walk set up in wood

Visitors to Burleigh Wood in Loughborough might notice a series of QR codes pinned to posts while the bluebells are in full bloom.

They have been put in place to form a new interactive woodland walk which provides people with information about the wood and biodiversity if they scan the code with a smartphone.

The 22-acre woodland is owned by Loughborough University, which restarted a programme of woodland management a number of years ago after acquiring the site from British Gas.

Rich Fenn Griffin, assistant gardens manager at the university, said staff used to run guided walks around the wood, but set up the QR code trail so the information could be accessed by anyone at any time.

"I think we tend to think woodlands are this natural space that has never been managed before or that humans haven't ever touched it, and we want to dispel that myth," he said.

"We have edited nature in a positive way and increase biodiversity due to our presence here over the last millennia and actually the risk to this woodland is not managing it and losing those spaces."

The woodland is accessible to the public and the walk takes about an hour to complete.

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