Catherine’s column Twenty - twenty
Spring finally arrived, as we celebrated the achievement of 20% forest cover throughout the 200 square miles of The National Forest, and the National Forest Company’s 20th birthday. We had said our fond and grateful farewells to Sophie Churchill before Christmas and welcomed John Everitt as the new Chief Executive in January. He quickly settled in and picked up where Sophie had left off. It was a somewhat quiet birthday because in 2016 we will be celebrating the first quarter century of The National Forest itself and that we plan to do in some style - more details to come later. To mark our two decades and as part of the build up to the first 25 years of the Forest we were pleased to welcome Lord Heseltine back to the Forest (see picture). He planted one of the first trees in the Forest in 1991 and planted another young oak on this return visit to Willesley Wood. On a whistle-stop tour of the Forest, he saw woodland management works at Grangewood, the substantial new tree planting at Netherseal and discussed the economics of woodland management with Andrew Kirkland, one of our early supporters. He paid tribute to the Forest as a visionary project that captured the imagination of so many members of the community who have supported it. He added: “I’ll be back in another quarter century to have another look!”
}
Community wood fuel
Leicestershire County Council’s Sarah’s Wood has been a hive of activity over the winter. As well as general woodland management work, a pilot Community Wood Fuel Group has been set up. As part of the trial scheme, the members have enjoyed thinning the woodland with hand tools and then were rewarded for their hard graft with a boot full of logs at the end of each day. Supported by training and expertise from woodland professionals, the group is made up of local people who have a variety of interests and backgrounds.
Support and advice for woodland management
A recent survey of the group revealed that although initial motivations had been to gather firewood for their own use, members’ interests also extended to wildlife conservation and woodland management.
The National Forest Company’s Woodland Management Programme continues to provide support and advice to woodland owners within The National Forest. As part of this programme a Woodland Management Grant (WMG) is offered to help actively manage these young sites.
Local resident Tracey Erving took part in the project. She said: “It was a great experience. I really enjoyed the sessions and look forward to being able to volunteer more in the future. The organisers made it such fun and really took care of us all!” Further training and tools will be provided to the group through the Heritage Lottery Funded Black to Green project. More events will soon be planned for the winter 2015/16.
The WMG was offered to 37 applicants from across the Forest last year, covering all aspects of woodland management including ride edge thinning and coppicing,
Grangewood is a 40 hectare Tender Scheme winner from 1997. The trees have been growing for 18 years and have reached the stage of first thinning. This is where up to 30% of the trees are removed to reduce competition and allow the remainder to capitalise on the extra light and nutrients to continue their successful development. Grangewood’s WMG application included thinning ride edges to improve access and to give the trees the space they need to continue to grow, pruning trees to facilitate access and promote good quality timber and the removal of redundant tree guards, which had now served their purpose and looked untidy in the woodland.
pond restoration, grey squirrel control, removal of redundant rabbit fencing and installation of bird, bat and owl boxes. The grant re-opened on 1 April 2015 for new applications.
Stoneywell, the National Trust’s exquisite Arts and Crafts cottage in The National Forest, is now open.
Ever more people are also getting out and about in the Forest in their leisure time. Having walked part of the National Forest Way, I can heartedly recommend it and plan to complete it later in the year. What better time of year to get out than over the coming months and what better way to get to know the Forest than on your feet. Whatever your preferred leisure activity, enjoy the summer and the autumn in the ever more wonderful National Forest.
Catherine Graham-Harrison OBE, Chair, National Forest Company.
Woody Tree
The National Forest’s own ‘Woody Tree’ sadly passed away last year. Terry Green, a local woodsman and wildlife enthusiast from Coleorton, was a keen supporter of The National Forest, and donned the costume of ‘Woody Tree’ to help promote the Forest in its early days. His family were invited to plant a tree to remember Terry and celebrate his contribution to the Forest (see right). They said The National Forest had been part of all of their lives, his daughter Victoria adding: "Planting a tree to remember Dad is a very fitting tribute to a true countryman and complete lover of nature. It is a fantastic opportunity for his grandchildren to carry on his love of The National Forest."
A NEW 17.22 HA WOODLAND (42.5 ACRES) FuNDED THROuGH THE NATIONAL FOREST CHANGING LANDSCAPES SCHEME IS TAKING SHAPE AT BRANSTON LEAS, ALONGSIDE THE RIVER TRENT, JuST SOuTH OF BuRTON uPON TRENT. Nearly 20,000 trees have been planted, with seven acres of wetland for wetland bird species and grazing livestock that will help manage and increase the biodiversity of the site. St Modwen, a development and regeneration company, successfully applied to the NFC’s CLS scheme in partnership with Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and the Woodland Trust. Several community events have already taken place on the site, with local residents and schools invited to ‘plant a tree at Branston Leas’. Simon West, Head of Forestry for the NFC, said: “Branston Leas Wood will be a valuable addition to the Forest habitats south of Burton upon Trent, for both the people and the wildlife that live there. The transport corridor between the A38 and the railway line is surprisingly rich in wildlife.” Following a school planting event, one of the teachers said: “The students had a great time planting at Branston Leas – I know that some of them would love to repeat the experience and may now even consider gardening and wildlife work as a career!”
>> >> page 2
[
NFC sponsor Lex Autolease employees undertook 80 hours of woodland management at New Lount with the help of Leicestershire County Council rangers.
Forest cover reaches 20%
From 6% in the early 1990s, and over 8 million trees later, The National Forest has achieved 20% forest cover. Thank you to all our many partners and supporters – we couldn’t have done it without you!
>> page 3
]
Terry describes himself as an obsessive dendrophile, having planted trees from an early age and gaining a diploma in timber technology as part of his shipyard apprenticeship in Edinburgh. Beverly Fairbrother at the National Forest Company prepared a certificate to mark Terry’s ten years of involvement with Grow a Tree from Seed (see photo). Find out more about Grow a Tree from Seed at www.nationalforest.org /involved/seed.php
>>
TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE FOR THE NATIONAL FOREST WOOD FAIR ON BANK HOLIDAy MONDAy 31 AuGuST. Buy IN ADVANCE AND SAVE MONEy!
Join us for a brilliant day out for all the family – there’ll be lumberjacks, chainsaw carving, horse logging demonstrations, pole lathe turning and greenwood crafts. Children will love the tree climbing and the coracle pool, the eco-art and the stories and songs from the Wild Man of the Woods. Enjoy woodcraft masterclasses, delicious locally-sourced food and drink, and listen to live music during this great day out for Sponsored by everyone who loves trees, timber and woodland. See more at www.nationalforestwoodfair.co.uk
[
Monitoring bank voles
PHS Direct supports woodland discovery
The National Forest Way has been open for a whole year and walkers – and runners – have been telling us what they think of the new 75-mile trail.
Terry McGuire is a stalwart supporter of the National Forest Company’s Grow a Tree from Seed campaign. He lives with his family in Coventry and has been growing trees in pots and planting them in The National Forest for ten years. He told Forest Scene: “I’ve watched the development of The National Forest from the very beginnings. At one stage it may have been nearer us in Warwickshire, but when this area was chosen that was fine too. It’s a thrilling thing to do, to plant a forest using the old brownfield sites and on the old pits and open cast mines. We needed a large lung in the Midlands.” Terry’s lost count of the number of trees his family have grown from seed and planted in the Forest, but at the most recent event they planted 14 oaks, two beech and one rowan. Over the years they have planted oak, ash, walnut, holly, hazel, field maple, rowan and beech trees.
Sam Lattaway, Head of Landscape, Biodiversity and Recreation for the NFC, said: “As part of this national study, The National Forest will help The National Forest Company is determine what makes woodlands a partner in a national research enrich a wider landscape, looking project to investigate what makes at the small mammals, birds, woodlands function well as part of a invertebrates and plant life that live resilient, wildlife-friendly landscape. here. The information gathered will WrEN (Woodland creation and demonstrate not only what makes Ecological Networks) is a a woodland work as a wildlife collaborative project led by the habitat, but also, on a wider scale, University of Stirling, Forest how woodlands interact with each Research and Natural England, to other to allow plants and animals to look at how changes in land use move between them and indeed, over time impact on wildlife and across a whole varied landscape. ecological networks, using woodland as an example habitat. “The findings of the WrEN research will advance the The National Forest is perfect for thinking on woodland creation this study, an ideal example of lowland English woodland, much of and management for the it created relatively recently on land benefit of healthy wildlife, resilient ecosystems and formerly used for agriculture, diverse landscapes.” mineral extraction and other uses.
Walk the Way
Terry’s trees from seed
Schools planting event at Branston Leas
Owners of trees planted more than 15 years ago, supported by us, have also started to undertake serious woodland management work: clearing woodland rides, thinning and coppicing and clearing out old tree tubes.
Branston Leas
} WrEN RESEARCH
National Forest Wood Fair
Presented as it was lived in during the 1950s, it is the first National Trust house to open in Leicestershire. Designed and built in 1898-99 by Leicester-born designerarchitect Ernest Gimson, as the summer residence for his brother Sydney’s family, the cottage almost appears to grow out of the Charnwood landscape. Visitors can wander through four acres of beautiful gardens, full of heathers and seasonal flowers, and venture into parts of the 11 acres of SSSI woodlands, purchased by the National Trust with the help of the National Forest Company. Visitors must pre-book in advance. www.nationaltrust.org.uk/stoneywell or call 01530 248040
There are other things to celebrate too after a busy start to the year for John and the NFC team. We are delighted to share the good news that we have been awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £770,000 for the Black to Green project and we have also completed the purchase of Hanging Hill Farm in the heart of the Forest. This gives us an important missing piece of the land jigsaw and also buildings with potential for development for the benefit of everyone in The National Forest. These are great milestones for us and, at the same time, we continue to plant trees with more landowners coming forward for our Changing Landscapes Scheme; with the support of one of our local sponsors, PHS Direct, enabling local schoolchildren to plant trees; and over 1,000 people joining us for our Plant a Tree events. Over the last year, Plant a Tree was supported by people from every county in England, as well as from Wales and Scotland: we can truly say we have become The National Forest!
The owner decided to invest further in these woodland operations and thin the remainder of the compartment (not just the first 6m covered by the grant scheme). This has meant that 5 ha of young woodland has now been thinned within this attractive woodland. The timber was sold to a local firewood contractor (just five miles away), with some of the brash (branches) going to Twycross Zoo to satisfy the browsing needs of the giraffes and elephants. For more information on the Woodland Management Programme and the WMG please contact Charles Robinson, Woodland Management Officer at: cerobinson@nationalforest.org or call 01283 551211
Over 2,000 children from 30 schools have planted trees and learnt about the environment, trees and wildlife since the start of 2014, thanks to National Forest sponsor PHS Direct’s support of the woodland discovery programme in The National Forest.
Local blogger Hazel McDowell said there were so many highlights along the Way it was hard to choose: the lush green oasis of Dimminsdale woods, crossing the river plain between Branston and Walton on Trent “brimful of butterflies, bees and wildflowers”, or the magnificent Battlestead Hill.
My family and I really enjoyed the whole day out. Forest, family, food and fun: it all made it special for us, and the addition of my little great granddaughter attending as well completed the whole experience.
With much mud and many smiling faces, the staff and children really enjoyed the experience. “It’s the doing, the getting involved that’s so brilliant,” commented one of the teachers. James Clark, Managing Director of PHS Direct, said: “Tree planting with these young children has been a refreshing contrast to the immediacy of our day to day business. In tree terms these kids are mere saplings. And as the trees we’re planting now won’t be harvested for 35 years, it is the children’s generation, not ours, who will reap the benefit. These events put PHS Direct’s contribution into a much longer-term perspective.”
Fisher German has supported the creation of the National Forest Way and the staff were eager to get to know the trail first-hand. Andrew Bridge, the company’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “The National Forest Way allows you to experience the diversity of the countryside and ecology on your doorstep. As a business Fisher German walked the Way as two groups, one starting at the National Memorial Arboretum and the other starting at Beacon Hill, in July 2014. Blessed with beautiful weather the walk provided a fantastic opportunity for colleagues in the business to catch up and build friendships that will last for years to come. We all have memories of the natural beauty that exists around every twist and turn of the Way.” Caroline Scothern is the new Recreation and Sport Development Officer with the NFC and is the main point of contact for the National Forest Way.
You can become a Friend of The National Forest. Help us look after the woodlands, improve access to the Forest and provide inspiring environmental education projects for young people.
>> page 4
]
>>
[
Leave a legacy to The National Forest and create a green and living memory. See www.nationalforest.org/sponsor/legacy/
]