The Woodlands.co.uk Blog
Roadside works and traffic control
Roadside work and traffic control
Very occasionally you might need to carry out roadside tree work, which requires some form of traffic control. Typically this work would be the felling or pruning of trees which overhang the carriageway and which are, or are likely to become, a hazard to road users. Read more…
Sitka Spruce Surprises
About 70% of Britain’s commercial tree plantations are Sitka Spruce. The Forestry Commission have been planting sitka since as far back as the 1930s both because it is able to survive in inhospitable peaty conditions and because sitka grows fast and produces good quality timber. Botanically called Picea sitchensis, sitka spruce is most easily identified by the “three p’s”: it has a pointed crown, its leaves (needles) are on pegs and it has pendant cones. Read more…
Citrus Longhorn beetle
This last week, a Citrus longhorn Beetle was found in Rutland. This beetle is found occasionally on imported trees, such as Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum). 
However each finding or interception (as the finding of the occasional beetle is sometimes termed) is treated seriously as the beetle, which is native to China and Japan, has established itself in Lombardy and other parts of the EU. Read more…
Sudden Oak Death
Sudden Oak Death is in the news. A number of the national and regional news programmes have recently carried reports of the felling of larch trees in the South West. Read more…
Clay Pigeon Shooting for the first time – shotgun coaching
Have you ever wondered what all the fuss is about shooting? I decided to find out by doing a 20 minute shotgun coaching course with the BASC (British Association for Shooting and Conservation). Read more…
Laurel removal
We inherited a lot of Cherry Laurel in our 3 acre wood. It occupied about 2/3rd acre, growing under tall ash and beech trees. It was probably planted there by the Victorians to act as cover for pheasants. Judging by the number of pheasants around the wood, it certainly did just that! Read more…
European Red List
Many insect species are under threat – butterflies , dragonflies, beetles; according to the Red List. In most cases, this can be associated with habitat loss. Read more…
Excluded from school, but not from woodlands!
Many teenagers do not get on with school. Some are even excluded for being disruptive or other behavioural reasons, but what can be done to help them? One project that is proving successful is the Telford Access to Nature Partnership, managed by Cadi Price, a officer for the Severn Gorge Countryside Trust based at Ironbridge in Shropshire. Read more…