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Pole Lathe Turning

Pole Lathe Turning

by Angus and Joe, 7 November, 2008, 1 comments

If you’ve ever wanted to see a demonstration of pole-lathe turning you can see a good one on www.woodlandstv.co.uk.  Read more...
Foraging for Sweet Chestnuts

Foraging for Sweet Chestnuts

by catherine, 24 October, 2008, 140 comments

Now is the time to be collecting your sweet chestnuts.As the October winds get going, there will plenty more of them to collect from under the trees.    Don’t confuse them with horse chestnuts (conkers), which are inedible. You can see pictures of the sweet chestnut tree in the Woodlands.co.uk Tree Identification Guide.The hedgehog-like cases are covered in long, pliable, green spikes.  Split open, they contain 2-3 shiny, roughly triangular nuts with a distinctive tuft on the end. Read more...
great tit

Feed The Birds?

by Chris, 10 October, 2008, 1 comments

Whilst it always good to see wildlife in a natural setting, such as a woodland, it is also good to encourage wildlife in our gardens. The woodland blog last year listed some of the strategies that might encourage insects and invertebrates in our gardens.  It is also possible to encourage birds into our gardens, just as Catherine wrote about managing woodlands for birds.  Many ‘everyday’ urban species of bird populations have declined in recent times: house sparrows by approximately 60% and starlings perhaps by 75%.  Read more...
How to Lay a Hedge

How to Lay a Hedge

by Angus, 25 September, 2008, 114 comments

Hedges are an important part of our countryside, yet they are functional too.   The use of hedges goes back hundreds of years (perhaps more) and is an effective way to keep in livestock and mark boundaries.  They also have very important benefits for wildlife as they are home to many nesting birds, small mammals and many insects.   Apart from being a habitat they also provide a corridor for the movement of animals across field systems and between woodland areas.   Landowners need to maintain them but sometimes they get out of control (the hedges rather than the land owners) and once they reach over 4 metres in height they start to encroach upon fields and become “gappy” at the base.  It is at this point that they need to be laid - ideally by an experienced hedge layer. Read more...
What is Treen?

What is Treen?

by catherine, 25 September, 2008, 1 comments

Treen is literally “of the tree”, objects made of wood.  In the days before plastic, wood was the commonest and most inexpensive material for all the small household items we take for granted – bowls, spoons, boxes etc.  Also wooden-handled tools and implements.  Collectively, these came to be known as “treen”.  In these days of mass production, there isn’t much reason to spend time carving these items except for the pleasure of working wood and the creative satisfaction of making something.  Nevertheless, it is an increasingly popular craft and beautiful treen items are often for sale at craft and wood fairs. Read more...
Rosehip Syrup

Rosehip Syrup

by Jade, 19 September, 2008, 23 comments

After a pretty dull and rainy summer, the woodlands and hedgerows  are glowing with colour as berries ripen and mushrooms spring up overnight. Autumn is my favourite time of year in the woods and already I'm looking to experiment with a little more than the usual blackberries, which, as always, are juicy and plentiful. Read more...
Festival of the Tree 2008, Westonbirt Arboretum

Festival of the Tree 2008, Westonbirt Arboretum

by Richard, 29 August, 2008, 4 comments

Once again it was a pleasure to meet everyone who called in at the Woodlands.co.uk  stand at Westonbirt over the August Bank Holiday weekend. Read more...
Sheds in Woodlands

Sheds in Woodlands

by Angus, 29 August, 2008, 23 comments

We did a survey on sheds for storage amongst woodland owners and although the sample is small, the results were nevertheless interesting .   We had responses for 27 woods; 14 had no shed and 13 woods already had a shed in use. The woods were mostly between 5 and 14 acres in area. The prime use for a shed is storage. All of the respondents quoted forestry tools and materials; all but three quoted camping kit, tables, chairs, kettles, Read more...

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