On 18th October Storm Babet caused a huge amount of damage across East Cork and West Waterford.
Glenbower Wood was badly affected, and the task now is to look at the best way to rebuild the network of bridges and trails in the wood so that all the community can enjoy the woods again.
In 2020/2021 we set up a gofundme page that raised approximately €5,000. For details on how that money was used, please read the Chairperson’s report here.
In order to help repair the damage done to the trails in the woods we have decided to open a new Gofundme page.
The purpose of the money raised will be to hire a contractor to replace the stone that was washed away from so many of the trails. Other work will involve clearing mudslides and general clearing of trails.
The bridges were installed by Cork County Council, and we are delighted that they have already lifted the bridges that were displaced out of the water. We hope to work with the Council to arrange for reinstatement of the bridges as soon as is practical.
One of the displaced bridges. As you can see, the bridges are extremely well made with high quality Reinforced Steel Joists as a base.
The site of the first bridge as you walk into the woods. This bridge was recently installed by Cork County Council. The Concrete blocks performed really well – they prevented any damage to the bank, and should make reinstallation of the bridge easier.
In this image you can clearly see the severity of damage by the power of the flood.
One of many instances of the trails being blocked by debris – either felled or washed up timber. Some of our volunteer members have already started work on clearing these trails.
By comparing the right and left sides of this image you can see just how much stone was washed away.
The small bridge here consisted of railway sleepers resting over what was a quiet stream. Some of the sleepers have been washed away. It will probably be necessary to buy a new set in order to safely reopen this section.
Here you can see just how far the erosion damaged the bank, as well as bringing down the tree on this bench. We are very fortunate that nobody was injured in the storm.
Another trail that has been severely damaged by the volume of floodwater.
One of the displaced bridges. It looks like the floods brought significant amounts of debris, and it is this debris that knocked out the bridges.
Some paths are partially blocked due to mudslips/landslips at various locations. Clearing this will require machinery such as a bobcat or mini-digger. (depending on access)
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