After a short winter break, Sarah has produced another great newsletter.  Lots of articles to get your teeth into as well as the usual round of news and events and a look at who’s posting what on the blogs.

Follow the link below to read or save the newsletter.

SWOG Newsletter February 2012

West Sussex Count Council in conjunction with the Forestry Commission are holding a series of ‘woodfuel’ events.  Aimed at  woodland and land owners in West Sussex, these meetings are for those interested in learning more about the industry, the government incentives and what support is on offer to help develop the industry.

There are three different locations across West Sussex taking place in the first half of February.  You can download more details from the flier.

Here’s a  chance to add to the growing evidence that  woodland ownership, being in a woodland, talking to the trees, communing with nature….. is GOOD for us!

Last spring SWOG members contributed so some  valuable research about why people buy and how they manage their woodland, (downloadable from http://www.woodlands.co.uk/about-us/articles/woodland-owner-survey-report.pdf).  Following on from that, woodlands.co.uk are looking into some very interesting research into the effects on our wellbeing  of owning or being in a woodland.  As someone who has used woodland conservation projects as a theraputic tool for recovery in pychiatric patients, I can guess the outcomes, but how does it effect you?

The suvey will only take a couple of minutes and you’ll be adding to an important body of knowledge.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6P3YDGD

Please be assured that this work is completely confidential and once the results have been written up the original data will be destroyed. If you would like to receive a personal copy of the report that is created (in the form of a pdf) please do say (in the final text box) and we will email you a copy as soon as it is published.

Many thanks once again for your support and involvement.

Two adjacent parts of Hendall Wood are open, courtesy of Duncan & Bridget Ferns and Penny and Rich Hare.

Duncan & Bridget Ferns family bought their 52 acres in two-halves, the first in 2004 and the second in 2006.   It is Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland (ASNW) with a seasonal stream, carpets of anemones and bluebells, areas of orchids and many archaeological features surveyed by Wealden Iron Research Group (8 pits, 15 or so charcoal platforms and a couple of likely sawpits). The east end of the wood is coppiced sweet chestnut, split into 8 cants.

“We are now in the fourth year of coppicing cants of 0.5-1 acre.  Extraction has been by the low-impact ‘Iron Horse’ machine with caterpillar tracks, and mowing we use a BSC power-scythe, both of which we hope will be demonstrated.   Deer browsing is a serious issue, despite fencing, and deer management has started during 2011-12.   The majority of the woodland is being left as ‘wildwood’ of mature ash, hornbeam with beech and oak standards”.

Richard and Penny’s adjacent wood is the northern spur of Hendall wood and about 11 acres in size. The woodland shares a lot of the features and history of the main part of the wood (charcoal platforms and a sawpit) and is slowly being restored to a working wood.

“We have found mention of the wood as far back as the 1500’s, Hendall was one of the gateways to the Ashdown Forest, and derived from the word for a ‘hind’ presumably a hind deer.

We have been actively managing the wood for about 4 years now, coppicing and opening up a ride.  The main problem as with anywhere close to the Ashdown Forest is the pressure of deer numbers.  These have proved almost impossible to keep out of the newly coppiced cants, however they definitely have an order of preference for certain species.  Oak, hornbeam and hazel tends to get browsed the hardest, whilst chestnut and alder is left relatively unscathed”.

If you would like to attend the meeting, please email: tracy@woodlands.co.uk , full details will be sent out nearer the time.

A selection of 'Naturescraft'

Andy Noble of Naturescraft is offering some excellent deals on his bushcraft courses this year.

“For the whole of 2012, and not just for a limited period, we have reduced all our 2 and 3 day courses for this year to just £100.”

He ran a special SWOG introductory day back in September 2010 which enthused and inspired everyone who went along.  See the report here

http://www.swog.org.uk/articles/natures-craft-bushcraft-day/

Here’s the latest Newsletter with contact details for those wishing to book on  a course:

Hey there.

We hope that you all had an enjoyable Christmas and are now taking a well earned rest.

We have taken a mini break from Natures Craft over the last 6 months, and during that time I have added a son to my family – Oliver Rowan Noble.

During the break I have decided to make a bold move in order to make quality bushcraft courses available to as many people as possible during such a difficult financial period.  As such we have decided to slash up to 50% off ALL our weekend courses to offer them at just £100.  This by no means affects the quality, or the content or format, of the courses we offer and therefore, in our opinion, makes our weekend courses the best value for money of any Bushcraft course provider in the UK.  (Everyone who has already booked for 2012 will also receive this revised price)

Unfortunately we have had to cancel the Primative skills course we had planned for April, however all other courses which had previously been advertised as running will still be run as planned, and now at our new lower price.

Also don’t forget we are still offering a £50 Natures Craft voucher for every friend you recommend who then books a course and mentions your name during =ooking.

Thank you for your support and interest in Natures Craft, we truely appreciate it, and we look forward to hearing from some of you soon and hopefully seeing you around a campfire in 2012.

We sincerely hope that everyone has an enjoyable new year and has some great adventures.

Best wishes

Andy Noble & the Natures craft team.

We would love to hear from you too. Let us know what you think, what your up to, or just say ‘hello’. Remember you can not only drop us a note by email but also find us on our Facebook page

Andy Noble
Natures Craft
07825 313 432
andy@naturescraft.co.uk

The new SEWAF website

David Brown from SEWAF, that’s the South East Archaeology Forum has written to us with news of their  updated website.  There’s now lots of new material, videos, places to visit, help with surveying, diary of events, the latest newsletter – it’s all there, visit www.sewaf.org.uk

He continues:
…and while you’re there, if you can you make it to a meeting we’re having in north Kent on 29th January 2012 you will pick up some useful tips from us and local woodland owners. We’re running a day course in the village of Bredhurst for a group who have taken on their local woodland. They’ve invited SEWAF members to join them for the day. Full details are on the website.

On the home page click on TRAINING DAY AT BREDHURST (under Upcoming Events) and there you can download a pdf of the day’s programme.
To keep in touch with events or find out more about the group, get in touch via the  ‘contact‘ page of their website.

2nd Phase of coppicing at Clan Wood - Nov 2011.

Many thanks Howard and Shirley Symonds of  Clan Wood, who have kindly offered to host a meeting at their wood in April.  They first mooted the  idea whilst attending a meeting last year at Julian Evans’ wood in Hampshire.  Howard has sent us a nice  introducton to the wood and some great photos. Don’t the bluebells seem a long way off, but actually it’s been such a strange mild winter, some of ours are already poking their tips through the leaf litter!

Please contact tracy@woodlands.co.uk if you would like to attend, detailed instructions will be sent out nearer the time.

Clan Wood is part of the East Hyden Wood and is part of a range of woodlands which is now in the South Downs National Park. It slopes gently to the south and is on clay with flint over chalk.  The wood contains hazel, ash and some mixed broadleaves.  The west side consists of a grass valley which has in the past been used as a shooting ride. The remainder of the wood is oak plantation and unthinned mixed broadleaves.  The area we are currently coppicing and forms part of our Management Plan is part of an area totalling 1.5ha. It is seriously overstood hazel and ash coppice with too many hazel, ash and birch standards and is being restored and managed on traditional lines.   The objective is to maintain the valley as grassland, bring the coppice into rotation and thin the plantation to improve the mix of trees. Some mature beech trees will be retained to become veterans.

Clan Wood - October 2011

View of the valley - Dec 2011

Bluebells at the top of the wood - May 2009

The UK’s woodlands have been threatened in recent years by a range of exotic pests and diseases.  Here’s an excellent article from Dr John Morgan, head of the Forestry Commission’s Plant Health Service, including a handy  chart to help you identify them and what to do if you find them.

Download the full article here.

Ysgol Syr Thomas Jones pupils Thomas Hughes, Rhodri Morgan Hughes and Ifan Hughes plant a tree in their new woodland.

Happy New Year to everyone! Maybe the  excesses of the festive period are waring off by now and minds are turning to your woodlands and all those winter jobs.  You might be  coppicing, cutting firewood, clearing glades and rides, laying a hedge?  There are plenty of  jobs to keep us  busy this time of year, the story below is what some school children are up to in North Wales.

School children create Plant! site with a difference
A new woodland with a difference is growing on Anglesey – it was designed and planted by school pupils.
Children from Ysgol Syr Thomas Jones Secondary School in Amlwch spent last week (December 5 to 9) planting around 10,500 trees on the woodland, which will become the newest Plant! site when it’s established.

Launched in December 2007, Plant! is a Welsh Government project which seeks to give children and young people a sense of ownership of the natural environment.

The project, which has five other sites throughout Wales, also aims to encourage them and their families to enjoy the outdoors and learn a range of skills, as well as improving their physical and mental health.

The new woodland is called Coed y Felin (Wood by the Mill, in recognition of the mill beside the school) and was named by pupils Llinos Evans and her brother Llyr, who won a school competition.

It has been planted on 4.2 hectares of land which backs on to the school and is owned by Anglesey Council’s education department.

Pupils from Year 12 (aged 17) and Year 10 (aged 16) spent a day with Coed Cymru Officer Simon Hunt, Forestry Commission Wales Education Officer Nicky Maysmor and Plant! Project Officer Lajla Cash learning about the site and the importance of trees to the environment before sharing their knowledge with the whole school.

The children then marked out the woodland area and designed the footpaths, a bike trail, benches and interpretation materials which will be added at a later date.

Last week, the school’s 650 pupils planted between 10 and 20 trees each, accompanied by school staff, during a planting day co-ordinated by teacher Tracey Stretton.

Local MP Albert Owen also came along to lend a hand, along with Coed Cymru Director David Jenkins and Roger Thomas, chief executive of the Countryside Council for Wales.

Nicky said, “Planting the woodland themselves will give the children a real sense of ownership, and planting more trees will help us to tackle climate change as well as provide other benefits both now and in the future.”

Local businesses who supported the initiative were Huws Gray, who supplied wellies at cost price and Charter Services, who supplied waterproofs and embroidered the school’s logo on the jackets, free of charge.

The pupils’ involvement in creating the new woodland is being used to fulfil elements of their Welsh Baccalaureate qualification.

Year 10 used the planting as part of their awareness of the importance of sustainability, as well as taking the opportunity to gain hours for their community participation element of the Welsh Bacc.

Meanwhile, the Year 12s developed ideas to encourage people to visit the woodland as part of their enterprise activity for the Welsh Bacc. They then presented their ideas to a Dragon’s Den-style panel of local business owners and staff from Menter Mon, who selected the best business plan and ideas in a mock exercise.

The Plant! scheme is being delivered on the Welsh Government’s behalf by Forestry Commission Wales, in partnership with Coed Cadw (Woodland Trust).

By planting more trees, the Welsh Government aims to create a Welsh National Forest which will help to fight climate change as the trees will act as a carbon sink.

The other Plant! sites are in Coed Ysgubor Wen near Tywyn, at Coed Bryn Oer, near Tredegar, Cefn Ila, near Usk, at Caia Park, Wrexham and the soon-to-be launched Coedwig y Plant, Cwm Garw, near Bridgend.

Here’s a great idea from Rod & Heather, instead of spending a small fortune on a christmas tree, they’ve decorated one of there own.  Rod was cutting some birch so it was probably headed for the brash pile anyway.  They  think it must have been an old tradition in Sussex as one of their friends remembered her father always brought  birch in to decorate at Christmas.