Twelve thousand years ago (during the late glacial maximum) massive ice sheets and glaciers extended across much of the world. Then, the climate began to warm and about ten thousand years ago, our landscape started to look very different from today - not just because there were no roads, towns or cities but because the newly exposed land was being colonised by plants, trees, animals – and lastly by people.  The forests and woodlands that slowly developed in the post Ice Age period were different to the forests and woodlands that we see today. The land was colonised (at this time) by the plants and animals that lived on ‘the edge of the ice’. Read more...

The woodlands.co.uk blog has visited the topic of rewilding and reintroductions on a number of occasions; this Autumn will see a major conference in Stirling that will focus on that .   It is to be held at the University of Stirling on the 21st September - entitled The Big Picture Conference - bringing rewilding to life; further details can be accessed here.  A woodlands representative will attend the conference and report in due course. Quite what is meant by rewilding often depends on who is speaking or writing about it.  Dave Foreman is generally accredited with the introduction of the term and his focus was on the large scale rebuilding of ecosystems (and particularly the role of top predators); these could then sustain themselves with little further human intervention. Read more...

July and August can be difficult times to watch and appreciate woodland birds. With nesting coming to an end, there is little in the way of birds’ song, and the beginning of summer moult means that many birds prefer to hide away in dense foliage, not because of vanity but rather because they are at their most vulnerable to predation - their feathers are in poor condition during the moult, and their energy levels are lowered by the process. In spite of this, there is still plenty of interest to hear and see, but perhaps it takes a bit more time and effort than at other times of the year. Read more...

The myrtle family includes plants such as the bay rum tree, guava, all spice, eucalyptus and myrtle.  All are woody, with evergreen leaves and produce essential oils.  The Eucalypts are particularly associated with Australasia, with Eucalyptus regnans being the tallest flowering plant in the world (see featured image).  However, one particular genus that has come to prominence in recent years is Leptospermum, largely due to interest in L. scoparium - the Manuka or tea tree.  This grows uncultivated throughout New Zealand and south eastern Australia.  The common name of tea tree comes from the practice of early Australian settlers who infused the leaves in boiling water to make a herbal tea.  The honey produced from the nectar of these trees is much in demand and is being investigated for its anti-bacterial properties.  Manuka honey (as it is generally referred to after the Maori name for the tea tree) Read more...

We have now entered those glorious few weeks in the foragers’ yearbook when the proliferation of brambles across the country is at last yielding its fruits. For the bulk of the seasons, however, Rubus fruticosus can be viewed as little more than an annoyance, an invasive native with barbed, snaking canes that spread across pathways and woodland floors to form impenetrable thickets, snare up by passers-by and crowd out surrounding biodiversity (See ‘Native dominants or botanical ‘thugs’ in woodlands).  Or so it might seem. You will have probably noticed the tracks left by moth caterpillars munching on bramble leaves. Any blackberry-picker will also be well aware of the close association brambles seem to have with stinging nettles. Both attract a wide variety of insect life during their flowering months.  Deer and small mammals such as dormice, not to mention numerous bird species, are also the beneficiaries in terms of food and shelter of the bramble’s vigorous growth . Read more...

 Some years back, the blog talked about a 5000 year old ‘mummy’ - called Otzi.   Otzi was a Neolithic man, and was found frozen, high in the mountains between Austria and Italy.   Careful examination of his body, clothing and possessions gives us some insights into his daily life and diet.  Otzi and, we presume, his contemporaries made good use of the plants and natural materials around them. Thus,  His bow was made from Yew  Ash provided his dagger handle  Woven grass and bast for his cloak (bast is made from the fibres of the linden tree) goats hide for his leggings and jerkin,  bear skin for his cap deer skin for shoes  arrows from a wayfaring tree and dogwood Read more...