A Source of Inspiration

Recently we attended  a party to celebrate the projects funded in 2017 by Sussex Lund, including the planting of a loose wildlife hedge at our roadside boundary. The Fund, set up in 2016,  aims to  'support small-scale practical projects that improve the ecology and landscape of the High Weald'. A list of projects funded (including Old Copse) can he found here. Guests at the party were an interesting mix  of people devoted to  the preservation and restoration of the High Weald landscape.  Statutory and voluntary organisations, also  private owners of  large and small pieces of Wealden landscape were well represented. We talked to many people with expertise in countryside ecology and conservation.  We are sure they will prove to be valuable contacts in our continuing work at Old Copse.  The celebration was at Wadhurst Park, whose restoration and management  is an inspiring example of what can be achieved. The Park covers 1,703 acres (689 hectares) of ancient Sussex landscape within the High Weald AONB. It was dark when we arrived at Wadhurst Park for the party, so we look forward to returning next year to explore the estate.

Underland Wood, Wadhurst Park Estate

Here is an extract from 'Wadhurst Park Estate History and Progress:'

 'When we came' (in the mid seventies)  ' almost all the fields were intensively managed pasture or ex-arable.The old coppice woods were unmanaged, and hedgerows had been grubbed out. We converted the fields to organic grassland; we created hay meadows;  fenced wood edges out of fields; re-established coppicing; and planted or naturally regenerated broadleaf woodlands. We developed wetlands; planted,laid and widened hedgerows; made glades and rides in our woods ; and opened up overshadowed ponds'  

'Since the beginning we have seen nature respond. Butterflies thrive in the floriferous meadows and along woodland rides and glades. Our amphibians are prospering in the chemical free environment , while small mammals flourish in the long grass and shrubby hedgerows. Between 2011 and 2016 , the number of bird species on the estate rose by 37%, from 52 to 71 . We have rare dingy and grizzled skipper butterflies , spotted flycatchers, nightingales, turtle doves, and lesser spotted woodpeckers. We also have ten species of bat , a thriving population of dormice and many other small mammals that support breeding raptors , such as kestrels and buzzards.'

 Old Copse is only a tiny fraction of the size of  Wadhurst Park, but our overall aim - to manage for conservation - is really no different at all, just on a much smaller scale. At Wadhurst Park they can make positive changes on a truly landscape scale, linking together and improving all of the varied habitats in the 1,700 acres. So I've been thinking about what difference the much smaller projects make - ours and the other 28 modest projects given money by the Sussex Lund: a hedge here, some laurel removal there, a new fence or an access path. We are all dotted about in the High Weald, reflecting that both land ownership and interests in conservation are fragmented. The RSPB can recreate hundreds of acres of heathland, as they did in West Sussex. The Woodland Trust can take over large swathes of ancient woodland - as when they purchased Brede High Woods in 2007. So can our smaller projects make any difference beyond our own boundaries? Do we make any difference on a wider landscape scale?

At Old Copse we've only got control over 30 acres. Yet Old Copse is important to a lot more people than just us: the fishermen, the dog walkers, the deer stalkers, all the people who live round about who are familiar with the wood or who just pass through. England, especially the South East,  is a small crowded country and there is always someone keeping an eye on what's going on. And they're all interested in what's happening at Old Copse. In a small and local way we can show that improving a wood for conservation is possible without being a big organisation or having loads of dosh. And I suppose that's the spirit of funding the other 28 small projects. They show the people connected to them that improvements are possible. At Old Copse we don't have control of 1,700 acres, so we have to work by example -showing what can be done on a small plot and trying to influence and encourage our neighbours to join us in our efforts.

Grant Aid

Earlier this year we put in an application for funding for a roadside hedge which will run about 625 metres from the northern end of Old Copse. We have just heard that we were successful in gaining funding, and are very pleased that our ideas have gained support. We aim to plant an informal hedge of native species along this eastern boundary . At present there is only  a single and rather ugly 4’ high wire fence between the wood and the roadside verge. 25 years old now, it needs constant repair. It adds nothing to the diversity and is not even an effective barrier. We regularly get garden waste dumped over it, giving rise to non-native species taking hold, which must be removed. Denser roadside planting  will help to discourage this. Photos below, taken last Spring,  give an idea of the current bareness of the roadside boundary.

.

We want to supplement existing sparse growth of honeysuckle and bramble with plants from the  shrub layer such as hazel, holly and hawthorn,  to create a more natural barrier along the roadside length of the wood. This planting will use the old fence as a support, and as it grows and thickens will greatly enhance the diversity and visual appeal of the woodland edge. It will provide valuable new habitat and food for birds and small mammals, both in the hedge and the adjoining woodland and contribute some much-needed understorey. The hedge will be an effective visual and sound barrier from traffic, and help prevent littering and fly-tipping. It will also look a great deal better than a wire fence.

So, many thanks to Sussex Lund for providing the funding for our hedging project and supporting our ongoing work of restoring  Old Copse.

We could have applied to the Forestry Commission for  funding for the hedge but decided to ask Sussex Lund which specifically funds projects in the Sussex Weald.  This was partly because we already have annual funding from the Forestry Commission  under the English Woodland Grant Scheme and  also because we wanted to establish contact  with other organisations.

We try and use volunteers to help us in the wood, and whenever possible people who can handle machinery  so that we don't have to. So far  we've avoided the need to buy expensive equipment.  The grant money we receive each year can be spent on re- stocking the wood with native trees. Though the plants are relatively cheap, costs soon mount up when  tree guards, stakes and rolls of wire  are included in the price. We  endeavour to keep these costs to a minimum , by making our own stakes and using recycled tree tubes as much as possible.

 Rampant growth this year due to the good summer and the increased light levels in the wood,  means that we are having to consider cutting and/or mowing the rides and glades to keep the bramble and other unwanted vegetation under control, and to encourage more diverse ground flora. We took welcome advice from Jim Smith-Wright, Ancient Woodland Restoration Project officer for the Woodland Trust . He suggested a number of machines to do the job,  from strimmers to brush cutters to  reciprocating, or scythe mowers which are a hand pushed alternative for level terrain. Jim also gave useful advice on the when, what, and how to cut , and what to do with the 'arisings'. The Small Woodland Owners facebook page is also useful when it comes to machinery, and a request for information always attracts a great deal of advice.  What we'll probably do is to try out a few alternatives either by hiring or borrowing a range of machines, and decide which one works best for us.

A Busy Woodland Year

January 16th 2014

Today, Sarah and Sue celebrate 1 year's  ownership of an additional  piece of woodland. Known as  Old Copse 2,  it is the 15 acres adjoining, and directly to the north of the 15 acre Old Copse 1, which was purchased in mid 2009.

We spent some of the past year researching, planning, writing a management plan and locating grants for the improvement of this long neglected piece of woodland.  During the coming year we hope that this work will start bearing fruit. For all potential small wood-owners who might read this, below are the main points of what we’ve achieved so far.

1. Produced a 5 year Management Plan
2. Set up a programme of deer management with qualified and experienced stalkers, having drawn up a working agreement approved by the Deer Initiative.
3. Obtained full planning permission for a new entrance and track into Old Copse 2 from the east boundary road.
4. Obtained Permitted Development approval to build a traditional round-wood log cabin, using the timber in the wood.
5. Obtained a useful sum of  Grant aid over the next 5 years.
6. Had discussions with a number of forestry contractors on how best to reduce the Scots Pine plantation. Slow progress but at least we are now very familiar with the pros, cons, and costs.  
7. Attended 2  Bentley Woodfairs  and made  useful  contacts.
8. Joined SWOG (Small Woodland Owner’s Group)
9. Discussion with a wood-skills group leader with a view to running  ‘Forestry School’, and woodcraft  sessions for children and young people. 
10. Met a potential volunteer with expertise in hedge-laying. We’re planning  a mixed hedge along the boundary road at some point in the future to replace the flimsy stock fence.  

Not forgetting the routine work in the wood ( all 30 acres of it ) during the year, including: birch thinning on and off the Ride, willow pollarding, ride-side branch lopping to let more light in, regular bracken-bashing,  getting rid of rhododendron, cord and fire-wood processing, and continuing to look for a market for it, rubbish collection, fence repair,  to name just some essential tasks.

Our professional deer stalkers/foresters  have made a start on reducing the fallow deer numbers, which we hope will eventually result in more successful  regeneration (the supply of wild  venison during the November to March season has been welcome). They have also done some birch felling for us, impressing us greatly with the speed, efficiency and neatness of their work.

This is also a time to remember that the main reason for purchasing a further 15 acres  of woodland is to increase  enjoyment of the wood’s  slowly increasing  diversity,  walking and camping, looking and listening, bonfires and mushrooms, and sharing these pleasures with family and friends, fishermen on the Pond,  and strangers (preferably if  they don't leave litter and/or are not professional mushroom pickers) .