The Woodlands.co.uk Blog - January 2009
Discovering Long Wood - A year in the life of a small woodland - January
So now you’re a woodland owner. What do you actually do? Follow a year in the life of a small woodland … Read more…
Traditional Firewood
Watch Alan Waters give a fascinating and entertaining demo of traditional wood cutting in a Woodlands TV video.
Stinging Nettles
Stinging or common nettles (Urtica dioica) are widespread across the UK, as can been on the BSBI map which shows the distribution of the nettle across the country. They can be found in woodlands, hedgerows, gardens and disturbed ground. Read more…
The Woodlands.co.uk Christmas Quiz 2008 - Answers
Here are the answers to our Christmas Quiz which appeared on Boxing Day:- Read more…
Chestnut Coppice - The Alternatives
Coppicing is one way of protecting the biodiversity of ancient woodland. Each winter, an acre or so of the woodland is felled, and in the spring a glorious carpet of flowers erupts from what seemed to be barren ground. The next year, too, the flowers may appear, and with them some butterflies and bumble bees enjoying the nectar and the sunshine. But the sunshine also brings out the brambles and bracken and, by the following year, these will have shaded out the flowers. Later in the cycle, the re-grown coppice also shades out the bracken and bramble and the ground returns to its apparently barren condition. So, in order to have flowers and encourage bees and butterflies you need to coppice successive acres each winter, progressively moving over the ground year by year. But, it’s hard work coppicing. Is there an alternative? Read more…
Woodland Courses 2009 Pt 1
Now that you have your new 2009 diary, book some time to brush up your woodland skills or learn new ones. From the purely practical to the extremely esoteric, whatever you want to learn, there’s a course out there for you.
How to Sharpen a Chainsaw
Tips and hints on maintaining that essential bit of kit. Guy Litchfield of Plumpton College gives a video demonstration for Woodlands TV: Read more…