"Setting up our own business has been one steep learning curve after another," says Mark Oakden, whose background is in construction and surveying.  "When we opened to the public in May this year, we expected to be immediately overwhelmed by customers but it's taken some time to build up.  Now, 4 months on, it's going really well and we sometimes have 60 people in the wood climbing at the same time.  The most satisfying for me is working with kids who have disabilities or troubled backgrounds.  To be able to do something like this gives them huge self-confidence as well as a thrill." Mark and his business partner Dave lease two acres of oak woodland at Bentley in East Sussex (near Lewes) and have invested over £300,000 to set up their high walkways, giant swing, climbing wall and zip wire.  Read more...

The worst thing about cutting logs with a chainsaw is all the bending down and picking up, stacking and generally time spent not actually cutting. Richard Bowness and Steve Tonkin have solved the problem - they make a sawhorse with a set of ingenious "cups" that space out branches for cutting and holding the cut logs. There is a hinge so that the cut logs can then be tipped into a wheelbarrow. "Actually," explains Steve, "the name 'truncator' was suggested by our patent agent but it describes well what this device does - helps to cut up trunks and also truncates the task. We make the cups out of recycled plastic from old car batteries: this sort of plastic is particularly strong and doesn't splinter if it gets caught by a chainsaw." Read more...

Yew woodland (in Southern England) tends to develop on the thin soils that form over chalk, often on the sides of dry valleys . They can be found along the North Downs, and in West Sussex on parts of the South Downs. Yew woodlands can also be found in the Cotswolds and in the Wye Valley (on limestone). In Ireland, there is a significant Yew wood near Killarney, again growing on top of limestone. Yew woodland may develop from chalk grassland, when grazing by sheep or rabbits is removed. With no grazing, Juniper and / or Hawthorn start to grow.  Then, between these, shade-tolerant Yew seedlings begin to grow.   Eventually, the Yew will overtake the Juniper / Hawthorn, and shade them out. The dead remains of juniper and hawthorn sometimes may be seen on the floor of a Yew woodland. Read more...

Italy has a long tradition of forestry management going back before Roman times, and ancient traditions very much influence Italy's woodlands today.  For example, 40% of Italian wood production is chestnut or beech which, along with oak, would have been dominant species for the Romans.  There are also lots of non-timber forest products that are important to Italians such as mushrooms, wild boar and firewood.  Indeed compared to the UK, Italy gets a large proportion of its energy from woodfuel with almost 60% of cut wood being used for domestic heating. Read more...

It a previous post about climatic debt, it was reported that some butterfly species (e.g. the peacock)  might be able to 'offset' some of the effects of climate change - by "moving north' i.e. changing their geographical distribution.  Now workers at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (Wallingford), Natural England and Butterfly Conservation have looked at the effects of extreme weather, specifically drought, on butterfly populations.  Butterflies are valuable indicators of change in natural populations, and there is a 'bank' of long term data on butterflies. Read more...

Compared to conventional petrol-driven chainsaws the electric versions have great advantages - they are lighter, don't give off fumes and are much quieter.  This top-of-the-range electric chainsaw is made by Stihl with the catchy name MSA160 and has a 12 inch blade. Stihl also makes it with a 14 inch blade (the MSA200).  The batteries are 36 volt, Lithium-Ion and give up to 45 minutes of cutting time so they are useful but not yet capable of doing heavy professional forestry work. Andrew Peskell, product executive at Stihl UK, explains: "These are ideal for small clearing jobs, cutting logs or even hedge-laying. Cordless electric saws have been very popular with wood carvers as they value the low-profile chain which allows a good progressive cut.  These cordless saws are also very well balanced." Read more...