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Stick and flick, a possible solution to dog mess in woodlands?

Stick and flick, a possible solution to dog mess in woodlands?

by Angus, 13 December, 2013, 25 comments

Dog mess has been a long-term problem in woodlands. As dog owners have been forced to clean up after their dogs in parks and streets over the last 15 years or so they have not always been so good at "picking up" in public woodlands or on footpaths in private woodlands. This could be because dog owners don't feel a need to clear up in "the great outdoors" or it could be that some people feel they are not being watched and can "get away with" leaving the dog's doings. A more charitable view is that in woodlands people leave their dogs to roam more widely and dog mess * left without the owner seeing what has been done or indeed exactly where it was done. Read more...
Autumnal colours and leaves of gold.

Autumnal colours and leaves of gold.

by Chris, 27 October, 2013, 1 comments

At this time of year, the pigments (xanthopylls, anthocyanins and carotenoids) in the leaves of deciduous plants break down giving the colours of the Fall.  These colours are particularly obvious in trees (like the Maples) in New England, on the East Coast of America – and they attract many vistors . However, our trees and woods also offer impressive displays of colour and you can find your nearest wood (for autumnal colour) by visiting the Forestry Commission website.  Read more...
What's happening in the market for commercial woodlands?

What’s happening in the market for commercial woodlands?

by Angus, 6 December, 2012, 2 comments

Every year Tilhill produce a report on the state of the forestry market and this was just launched. What their Forest Market Report 2012 shows is that UK forestry is dominated by Scotland where about 3/4 of transactions by value take place and the market is currently very buoyant - so much so that the average selling price in 2012 was almost double the average guide price. Even for these larger conifer woodlands the price reached about £6,500 per hectare. According to the Tilhill figures the average size of woods that come to the forestry market in Scotland is 157 acres (387 acres) whereas in Wales it is much smaller at only 66 hectares (163 acres). The report calculates that over the last 10 years average forestry values have gone up steeply and have increased by almost 17% per year. Read more...
Ash dieback - what to do? Pre-empt, plant, persevere, keep calm and carry on.

Ash dieback – what to do? Pre-empt, plant, persevere, keep calm and carry on.

by Richard, 30 October, 2012, 5 comments

The last ice age endured for about 100,000 yrs.  Some 18,000 yrs ago, mammoths, sabre-toothed tiger and woolly rhino (preyed on by prehistoric man) roamed our land.  Thick ice sheets lay to the North, whilst to the South was tundra - much like that now seen in Northern Siberia. Then 10,000 years later, the ice sheets started to melt and the tundra receded; sea levels rose and low lying areas were flooded.   The North Sea and English Channel formed, cutting us off from mainland Europe. This was a gradual process (in our terms) and as Europe warmed,  trees migrated northwards - some reaching the UK before we were cut off from the rest of Europe.  Most plant colonisation was by seed and spores, animals followed bringing with them other taxa. Read more...
John Seymour’s 'The Lore of the Land'

John Seymour’s ‘The Lore of the Land’

by Angus, 25 October, 2012, 4 comments

Have you ever wanted to know how to stop fence posts rotting, how to choose which trees to plant, or how to build a pond so that it holds water?  This guidebook, originally written in the early 1980s, is packed with tips and explanations based on John Seymour’s own experience of improving his wooded smallholding in Pembrokeshire.  Lazy readers like me can follow the explanations through the drawings that Seymour’s wife, Sally, has scattered through the book.  But it’s not just a guide on how to manage woodlands and improve a smallholding – it’s also a whole philosophy of life……. “The reason”, says Seymour, “why our land is so desperately badly husbanded now is that it is held in too large units.”  Read more...
Deer populations - the muntjac menace

Deer populations – the muntjac menace

by Angus, 1 June, 2012, 0 comments

Muntjac deer ("Muntiacus reeves") are small but they reproduce quickly.  They are fast becoming a major threat to wildlife.  Because they tend not to eat agricultural crops, they are not controlled by farmers so they are in danger of 'eating out' the floors of English deciduous woodlands - which are so important to biodiversity.  These deer were originally introduced into this country by mistake after they escaped from Woburn Safari park in about 1925, and since then they have spread through most of England but are concentrated south of the M62 motorway (Hull to Manchester). Read more...
Bluebells and boars

Bluebells and boars

by Lewis, 9 April, 2012, 2 comments

Wild boar became extinct in the U.K. in the thirteenth century –so we have been ‘boar free’ for circa 700 years.  However, towards the end of the last century commercial pig farming developed; seemingly some escaped and have established free living and breeding populations. Attitudes to these pigs / boars fall into two broad categories : those who welcome the return / reintroduction of a missing species and its ecological impact those who have a more negative perception of the boar – in that, they do damage, have the potential to harbour disease and can cause direct damage to people. Read more...
Renewable energy from solar energy and woodfuel

Renewable energy from solar energy and woodfuel

by Angus, 5 April, 2012, 17 comments

People respond emotionally to wind turbines but seem happy to see their neighbours installing solar panels. This acceptance of solar made me keen to install solar panels at home, which we have just done. The process has taught me a lot, not least because it showed me how ignorant I was about the economics of domestic energy use - whilst we all know the cost of petrol few of us are aware of the price of a unit of domestic electricity - maybe physical volumes are easier to understand than something that goes down wires and is measured in confusing units. Our 19 solar panels produce about 3.5 kilowatts, so if our annual production is about 1,000 hours we should produce 3,500 kwH of energy which turns out to be a high proportion of our domestic useage. Many British homes consume about this amount each year, so if I am able keep our consumption down we might even become net exporters. Read more...

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