Just a quick update. A few people have asked about what Robin from the Woodland Trust said on his visit. Well I didn’t include it in my post as it was a bunch of small specific issues that I didn’t think would be of sufficient interest for my readers. But I know some folks are just curious and it is a little bit frustrating for them not to know. Like dangling a carrot then pulling it away. So this is the gist of it. Firstly I wanted him to be able to see the progress I’d made based on his initial advice a year ago. He was pleased with my efforts, it’s not easy for one man on his own to make big steps forward and actually, from the start, his advice was do do things gradually. To make sweeping changes in a short time can be damaging to other things – eg removing too much canopy cover can destroy the delicate balance of light and shade that mosses, lichens and fungi might need.

We had a good walk about looking at certain areas. I showed him a few interesting things I had found, like a weird white fungi growing on a dead stump. As we explored I would ask if I should cut this or that tree down, how I might get a certain tree down without it getting hung up, what I should replant with, etc. He pointed out a small area where there were several hazel trees that had could be re-coppiced and benefit from a little sycamore thinning. I hadn’t noticed that one. It was just a general catch-up session and helpful for me to know I was not making any poor decisions or unfavourable changes to my woods.

I’m planning to go again tommorrow. I bought about 10 bare-rooted hazel saplings, so they need to go in as soon as possible. I’ll put some in the area I’ve just coppiced to fill in a few gaps and increase stock density and maybe a few down amongst the new oaks to add more diversity.