Coppicing is a woodland management method in which the wood from a tree is harvested by cutting a suitable tree near ground level.  It subsequently regrows over a period of years without needing to be replanted. This technique is different from pollarding, in which branches are cut at, or above, head height, leaving the possibility of grazing underneath the growing branches. Coppicing is done on rotation: small areas of a woodland are cut each year in sequence leaving the areas not being cut to grow on for between 15 and 20 years for chestnut, and about 7 years for hazel. When an area of coppice is cut, it is all cut down, and creates a clearing. This periodic coppicing encourages the individual trees to live for up to hundreds of years. If the coppice cycle is managed correctly it can increase biodiversity in the woodland because of the beneficial effects of varying light levels reaching the woodland floor, and the range of different aged trees and stools in the woodland. The best time to coppice chestnut is well after the autumn leaf fall when the sap has gone down, and certainly well before the sap rises in the spring. The basic procedure for coppicing chestnut is as follows: Clear out all leaves and other debris around the base of the stool. Cut and clear away any dead or dying stems. Progressively cut each stem starting with the most accessible sections and working in to the centre of the stool. Ideally one cut should be made about 1-2 inches above where the branch grows out of the stool. That cut should be angled some 15 to 20 degrees from horizontal with the lowest point facing outwards from the centre of the stool. In some cases it maybe necessary to make a first cut higher and then trim back as above. Remember to: Fell away from the wind and fell all the poles in one direction. Make sure you are working upwind of any campfire Always leave a fire in a safe condition when leaving the woodland. Once cut, the poles produced are usually processed to some extent in the woodland: they are often cut to length, and perhaps de-barked. In many cases the coppicer will process further and create spiles (stakes or strong fencing posts), or will split the chestnut into various sizes for fencing. Some even make hurdles for keeping sheep in pens. An approximate guide the diameter of felled coppice for further processing is: Lathes: 1” to 1½” Tree stakes: 1½” to 2” Fencing Stakes: 2” to 3” Straining posts: 4” to 5” Post and Rails for cleaving: 6” to 8” In the UK the main trees that are coppiced are sweet chestnut, hazel and hornbeam. Chestnut has traditionally been used for fencing whereas hazel is more likely to have been used for thatching, hedge-laying spars and hurdle making. Hornbeam was used for charcoal making. Historically chestnut coppice growing has been strongest in the south East of England, especially Kent and East Sussex. Although it is said that the Romans introduced it, there is some evidence that coppicing was practised in England in Neolithic times. There are many areas of the UK where hazel and hornbeam have been grown, but the Midlands and Devon still have much hazel woodland useful for the remaining thatchers.

An old map lets you take a step back in time, revealing features of your woodland that might otherwise have been overlooked and explaining those mysterious lumps, bumps and hollows. Old maps can give tantalising glimpses into the history of the local landscape – water courses which have moved over the years, ponds which have been filled in, old roads, old paths and boundaries, agricultural and industrial buildings which now only exist as ruins. Read more...

The first shoots of young nettles, Urtica dioica, are very good for cooking both soups (see recipe in wild food post) and tea. According to several sources it is also good nutritionally: a source of iron, calcium and folic acid. Read more...

There can be much free food to be found in your woodlands, and the menu could be augmented with fresh fish, if you can master the art of trout tickling! When you are walking along the banks of a stream or small river you will often startle a trout and it is likely to swim underneath the bank. If you lie, face down Read more...

Preparation, preparation, preparation! Before any attempt at lighting a fire takes place, you would be wise to prepare all your materials first. When I light a fire I always follow these steps, which have never failed me yet. Read more...

This is fun and useful – a nice project that can involve outdoor and indoor work. It combines interest in birds and with practical use of woodwork skills. Which birds are your boxes for? Think about which birds you are likely to attract and build your boxes accordingly. Different designs and strategies are likely to attract different birds – Read more...

We often make a new nature trail for our visitors. It encourages them to go off on their own into the woods, and makes sure they know the way back to base! It possibly gives them some new information, and certainly they have a lot of fun. They set off with a quiz sheet, and a plastic bag, and a map. The trail is marked by numbers tied to trees or posts, and Read more...

Horse logging is the removal of felled timber using horses. Horse-logging, or snigging, has grown very popular in recent years and for good reason: using horses in woodlands is traditional, eco-friendly and the horses can work in steep conditions where machinery would often get stuck. Horses can get to areas that machinery can’t get into and they Read more...