Bear Wood, set in 7.5 acres of ancient woodland tells the story of our British woodlands, taking you through a journey starting 10,000 years ago to the present day. The exhibition has re-introduced native species who once roamed our woodlands including European brown bears, European grey wolves, Eurasian lynxes and wolverines.
Gripsure supplied over 17,000 ln/m of our Gripsure Classic product for the immersive boardwalk which puts visitors in the heart of the forest, giving panoramic views of the woodland and the unique species living in them by being elevated above the forest floor. We supplied our boards across a number of scheduled deliveries to Elmtree Garden Contractors so that they could keep to their construction programme and limit the amount of storage space required on site.
Gripsure took a brief from the zoo and we developed a specification to achieve:
- longevity in a wet and damp woodland environment by providing boards treated to Sector Scheme 4 treatment classification (30 years)
- longevity in a wet and damp woodland environment by providing boards treated to Sector Scheme 4 treatment classification (30 years)
- a low slip risk for the anticipated high volumes of visitors which was achieved by using three non-slip inserts which has been tried and tested at other attractions
- push chair and wheel chair friendly achieved through a smooth profile to avoid discomfort as well as being easy to maintain
- deck boards cross cut to the width of the boardwalk to minimise waste and speed up installation
If the large boardwalk isn’t impressive enough, we also supplied infographic boards to create time hop sections and an imitation of roots around ‘Steve the tree’ to help tell the story of our woodlands and the species and habitats within them. Our custom infill service has had great feedback at Bear Wood, as well as at the Botanical Gardens in Cambridge, where we have demonstrated how you can create any design using our non-slip aggregate to produce stunning designs on the deck.
Gripsure will be shortly developing a full case study with further details about the project. We are delighted to have been involved and it was a pleasure to have dealt with all parties involved. Bear Wood not only tells the story of our ancient woodlands but also what we can do to help protect what is left and the species that live within them. That is a story we can all get behind and the team at Gripsure are looking forward to visiting the site together at our team day in October where we hope to see the bears through the autumnal leaves.