YOU WRITE

On Sunday afternoon 28 June with the sun shining we decided to take our exercise in the fresh air on our mobility scooters. However on our return at the junction of Aylesbury Rd & Halton Lane, my husband’s scooter froze and refused to budge, the alarm sounding very loudly.

I had already crossed the junction and worried, seeing his distress in my mirror.

Many people passed by, some asking, “Is everything alright?” then passing on. Eventually a young woman walking her dog stopped and offered assistance, ringing recovery & insurance offices.

As it was clear they could not help for some time and not wishing to abandon the scooter, she then rang her partner who appeared almost by magic.

He pushed my husband seated on his scooter all the way home! - a mammoth task as scooter + rider are heavy. His partner + children + dog escorted us as I led the way home. A huge thank you to them all - Rozanne, Keiron & boys.

Ursula Coles

Dayla & James Pettit would like to thank everyone from Wendover and beyond that supported us with our Home Delivery Drinks Service during the last 4 months. The community support has been absolutely incredible.

Now back up and running and supplying many of our local cafes, bars, pubs and restaurants we urge you all to once again visit our great selection of hospitality venues… though safely of course. We are truly blessed with some fantastic independently run establishments all of which deserve our support and custom. Eat Out To Help Out!

Thank you once again from the Dayla family. Wishing you all well in the coming months.

Tim Cooper, Managing Director Dayla Drinks

Lowland woodlands are important to the public, not only for their recreation but for the environment and biodiversity, so particularly now as there is a forestry consultation that closes on 17 September, I think the public would welcome the Wildlife Trust’s input in highlighting the issues.

Everyone cares about the planet and many, inspired by David Attenborough - like the Chancellor Rishi Sunak who said in his very first Budget he wanted to see 30,000 hectares of trees planted to capture climate heating carbon and boost wildlife. However, in global terms, this is only a well meaning but misplaced gesture because it is the loss of tropical forests, those of the great taiga near the top of the Northern hemisphere and the illegal logging in parts of Europe like Romania, where 2 hectares of forest is disappearing every hour, that is a major cause of climate change.

Public money for forests can do a lot of good locally in the country, if it is targeted to local woodlands all over Lowland Britain firstly to meet the minimum criteria of reduction of deer numbers by at least half. The effect of deer on the ecology of woodlands is extensive. Understories are decimated and the ground flora often denuded, which has huge effect on the habitat and so the numbers of animals, birds and insects too. This has been recorded in numerous scientific studies but is easily demonstrated visually wherever deer have been fenced off. For a thriving variety of flora and fauna, the size of most lowland woodlands should be increased to at least 3 hectares (7:4 acres). Fortunately this is also the minimum size to apply proper woodland management to produce timber to when deer and grey squirrel numbers are reduced.

Unfortunately bureaucracy favours simple felling and restocking for grants whilst ignoring professional foresters’ skills to progressively optimize timber production of woodlands over a number of years towards a system called ‘Continuous Cover Forestry’ (CCF). CCF has tremendous benefits for wildlife and ultimately produces greater timber increment with larger trees and overall, for less cost in the longer term. CCF does not mimic natural woodlands exactly but aims to make the best use of natural processes so can (and in my opinion, should) include suitable exotic conifers to yield productive, delightful mixed woodlands to enjoy as they have for nearly a century in Switzerland. CCF is no fad. It is increasingly used in Northern Europe, particularly in response to climate change problems and The Forestry Commission has already done its own experiments to confirm these results.

The control of deer and squirrel is vital for success in any forestry enterprise hence the system of financial support needs thorough re-examination to get the best outcome. At present, a lot of up-front cost is met by grants, yet often, as trees are a long term undertaking beyond one owner’s lifetime, the management falters so any expected quality timber is not produced. This wastes precious public money whilst providing inheritance tax avoidance assistance for a succession of owners. The best structure would be some sort of local group woodland ownership co-operatives or investment trusts, dedicated to ensuring continuous woodland cover management providing a continuous supply of timber and income to meet the costs and a small profit.

With 40% of English woodlands unmanaged, it is likely this present forestry consultation expects only to have input from the usual people for similar continuing results. That is, unless there is wider input which Wildlife Trusts might inspire from the ordinary public and other groups concerned with their local environment in which woods are important.

Personally I have recently been alerted to the increasing planting of eucalyptus for firewood – which would do little to reduce Britain’s demand for timber! As the Woodland Trust has already pointed out, eucalyptus plantations damage both the environment and the habitat for thousands of species yet these monoculture plantations are supported by the current grants and Tax Avoidance schemes. New ways, as outlined above, are needed to optimize the benefits of our woodlands in our crowded island, especially in England.

Merelene Davis FLS