Woodland Heritage Welcomes New Trustees

Woodland Heritage is delighted to welcome three new trustees!

Clare O’Reilly, Huw Davies and John Deakin join the board of Trustees of Woodland Heritage. Clare & Huw are co-chairs of the board of trustees and you can learn more about Clare, Huw and John below.

Clare O’Reilly

Clare is Conservation Manager for Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT) overseeing all central Surrey nature reserves including the majority of the woodland estate. A former award-winning Countryside, Access, and Mountain Ranger, Clare has worked in the environmental sector since 2019 when she changed careers from international humanitarian landmine clearance, armed violence reduction, and child protection.

Huw Davies

I grew up in Swansea, with a passion for wildlife and the outdoors. I studied Forestry at UCNW Bangor 1979-1982 then joined the Forestry Commission. In the Forestry Commission, I had a spell in research at Alice Holt where I specialised in Broadleaf silviculture, farm woodlands and agroforestry. I was then seconded to ADAS/MAFF as their woodlands expert, leading a team of advisers specialising in all sorts of tree work. I then moved back to FC operational work in the English Midlands, setting up several Community Forests, followed by several years in Wales, in charge of Private Woodland matters. I then moved to North East England as Regional Director for the Countryside Agency, before we merged into Natural England where I spent 20 years, mainly on environmental access and funding work.

John Deakin

I have been professional forestry for all of my career which unbelievably has now spanned over 25 years working for forest management companies, major land owners and now as Head of Trees & Woodlands at the National Trust. Trees have given me amazing opportunities throughout my life and their role in helping society tackle some of the biggest issues of our time has never been more important.

Tales from coppiced land

First published in Wood Culture: The Journal of Woodland Heritage, 2024.

Wood Culture: the Journal of Woodland Heritage is published annually as a benefit of membership. You can support Woodland Heritage by becoming a member — join below.

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Written by Lisa Wood, trustee

The complaints from neighbours poured in. We had, it was alleged, chopped down several hectares of ancient woodland and destroyed the habitat of wildflowers and wildlife in woodland adjoining the main road.

Not true, I wrote in the parish magazine. We were reintroducing, after a substantial interlude, a commercial activity called coppicing which has been practised in the High Weald for centuries. In a couple of years, I wrote, passers-by would see the tree stumps regrowing amidst a riot of flowers such as primroses and bluebells. And that’s what happened as we returned the woodland to active management.

Surely, many people have said to me, woodland is wild and looks after itself and does not need active management.

Not true. For thousands of years people have tended woodland as a crop, felling trees for fencing, housing, ships and fuel. Wildlife and flowers adapted to these conditions. Coppicing was one of these management practices for trees including hazel, hornbeam and sweet chestnut that can regenerate from a cut stump with many new shoots rather than a single stem. Trees can be coppiced for many years, providing a self-renewing source of wood. While not the primary objective of foresters, coppicing reduced the tree canopy (the layers of leaves and branches of trees) and let light onto the ground. Bereft of practices like these, woods can become dark dense places. Woodlands that are not managed tend to be less biodiverse. It was estimated in 2021 by the Forestry Commission that only 58% of woodland in England was sustainably managed, totalling 768,000 hectares of woodland. Sustainably managed woods are a renewable source of raw materials and may provide services such as carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat and sometimes recreational activity.

In addition, good woodland management provides resilience to the woodland, which helps improve tree health and longevity. The removal of some trees benefits the ones that remain by allowing more space and light for them to grow, so improving the crop. It also helps reduce the spread of woodland diseases such as Ash Dieback and Red Band Needle Blight, where enclosed and under-thinned woodland provides the ideal habitat for the pathogens to spread.

A ride letting in the light.

Woodland management does not just constitute the trees but also takes into consideration the wider management of the land, including the resident animals. Deer and grey squirrels are a known threat to woodland. In low numbers they pose some threat, but uncontrolled large numbers of deer cause extensive damage to the understory vegetation by browsing, while grey squirrels strip the bark on the upper limbs of trees thereby deforming further growth and opening up the tree to disease.

There are occasions where, for conservation reasons, woodland may be left to its own devices. But this non-intervention should be the result of a conscious decision rather than simple neglect. Even where the trees themselves are not managed there will likely be a need to manage the deer.

Commercial activity is not incompatible with promoting biodiversity. Indeed The Small Woods Association, which promotes sustainable forestry, says: ‘It is the responsibility of anyone involved in woodland management to promote wildlife conservation, even if not a primary woodland management objective.’

It points out that semi-natural woodland is the most valuable for plants and animals, followed by mixed woodland and then coniferous woodland. Coniferous plantations, it says, can be important for certain species, including red squirrels, goshawk and nightjar, depending upon geographical location and age structure.

Again it says plants and animal species in woodland will respond well to variations in age, structure, light and browsing pressure [by deer] created by actively managed woodlands.

Experts in conservation all point to The Woodland Wildlife Kit developed by the Sylva Foundation, the environmental charity, as a valuable resource. It gives advice on a host of topics, including government grants, legislation concerning felling, and strategies including coppicing, widening rides (paths) and stacking some felled wood in piles where invertebrates, fungi and hole-nesting birds and roosting bats can thrive. The Forestry Commission has a template which guides woodland management activity to meet the UK Forestry Standard-enabling applications for felling licences and grants.

Wood anemones in abundance!

When we bought our woods in 2006-7 the property had suffered from years of neglect. Rides were choked with vegetation. Conifer plantations of non-native species probably planted during the 1960s and 1970s were starting to topple. Stands of hornbeam, hazel and sweet chestnut, which had been coppiced in years gone by, were overgrown.

Being very green in the relevant experience, we needed expert advice, and after talking to several local foresters we appointed Tilhill Forestry, a relatively large forestry and harvesting company, to manage the property. After much discussion, one-year, five-year and 10-year plans were made. We had two main objectives. First to improve the capital value of the property, maximising its commercial return from thinning, coppicing and felling programmes and to improve the tree crop with new planting. Here we also wanted to keep an eye on climate change and planted in the mix oak of French provenance which would be better suited to warmer climates in the future. Our second objective was to improve biodiversity, which came hand in hand with activities such as coppicing, which exposed the understory to light.

Herb layer developing in coppice.

Light is one of the most important factors in determining which plants grow in a woodland. After we coppice the sweet chestnut, we have seen that flowers such as bluebells, celandines, wood anemones and primroses spring back into life in what is called the ‘herb layer.’ Bluebell corms can survive for many years underground if light conditions are unsuitable for their growth.

Our 64 hectares of woodland in East Sussex has a substantial acreage of sweet chestnut trees suitable for coppicing. It is divided into the traditional compartments and ideally, subject to foresters’ availability, is cut in rotation of 12 and 18 years depending on the timber they are being cut for. A consequence is that trees grow over the years at different heights and canopy spreads, so offering different habitats to the birds, butterflies, moths and flowers. Sadly some of the sweet chestnut is no longer suitable for coppicing because it is too old and it reverts to a single trunk. In addition, securing skilled foresters is a big challenge. Best practice is to coppice in the winter months before sap rises but availability of labour can compromise this.

Similar thinking about letting light into the environment has encouraged the widening of rides, with compliance with Forestry Commission grants requiring a width of two to three metres done in two phases. Rides are mowed annually but every two to three years scallops are cut into the edges to reduce the height of growth there. This facilitates shrubby species like bramble and hawthorn to grow on the edges. Brambles afford shelter for birds, such as woodcock, dormice, which climb and nest in it, and fruit for birds. It is also a natural guard against deer, which again, the FC argues are one of the greatest threats to woodland regeneration.

Butterflies like the edges of rides, with woodlands supporting more than three quarters of British butterfly species. Of these many are currently under threat because many woodlands which are not managed have become dark places without the ground plants that butterflies feed on and the sunshine they need for mobility.

While the sweet chestnut that dominate our woods are relatively new occupants – probably introduced in the late 19th century – the presence of flowers like wood anemones and bluebells suggest the area has been wooded for centuries, hence it being called semi-ancient woodland. A sales inventory of 1726 records 740 oak trees in the woods.

Semi-ancient is a rather meaningless description because there were not any reasonably accurate maps until around 1600. Flowers, however, can give indicators of the age of woodland. Wood anemones are said to spread six feet in a hundred years relying on their root structure rather than spread of seed. As such, the many acres of these beautiful little flowers suggest our woodland has never been cultivated as farmland.

Coppicing dates to Neolithic times. The word comes from the French word couper, to cut. The Romans probably coppiced trees in our woods to produce the charcoal needed to fuel their local bloomeries. Other uses included fencing poles, building materials, firewood and wattle. Between 1900 and 1970 there was a tenfold reduction in actively coppiced woodland in Britain. There were several reasons, including the collapse of traditional markets such as firewood and agricultural uses. In our woods sweet chestnut was cut for uses including hop poles for the local industry which served the beer trade. Our neighbour Nick Johnson, whose land adjoins our woodland, said his father, like many other growers, packed up his hop growing business in 1984 because of disease. He had sold the hops to Harvey’s and Bass Charrington and local small brewers.

Mist over woods and Brede Valley. Watercolour by Lisa Wood

Chestnut coppice was also used for the wattle in ‘wattle and daub’ which was a building method used in making house walls. A woven lattice of wooden strips – the wattle was daubed with a sticky substance made of materials such as straw, wet clay and animal dung and then plastered on the wall.

Demand for wattle still exists, mainly from builders restoring old buildings where conservation officers require restoration with like for like. For more than four years a man called Mr Pantry worked in our woods coppicing and making lathes. His first name is Adrian but I could never be so familiar with this self-contained individual patiently working in a wigwam structure he built to protect him from the elements. The wood was felled by brother-in-law, Geoff. Bits of foliage and small branches, which foresters call brash, were either burnt if small or stacked in neat piles, so providing habitats for insects, beetles and the like.

Now in his 70s, and still working part-time with a nephew, Mr Pantry has coppiced thousands of acres of hazel and sweet chestnut trees. He started when he left school aged 15, working with his father. “My father Peter, three of his brothers and Edward my grandfather were all foresters,” he said. “It’s what we do.” He said a lot of his time was spent cutting hop poles before much of the crop was grubbed out some years ago. He said it was quite a lonely life but he had his radio and he enjoyed the work and being in the open.

Inevitably, the trade is becoming mechanised because of a shortage of people who want the work and the economics of the business. Hand coppicing is neater and less destructive, with large machinery often churning up the ground. But as I have learnt, nature heals its wounds quickly.

So what is the future for traditional woodland management such as coppicing? Certainly there will be an ongoing demand for woodland products such as hurdles, pea sticks, bean poles and charcoal, albeit limited compared to the past. And there are still young people who want to take on work of this type, trading a life behind a desk for a life in the woods.

Because of the importance of woodland management for nature conservation there are grants available to help with this work, and while there has been a focus on the creation of new woods for the last few years, government policy is now starting to turn its spotlight on management of our existing resource.

And what of new woodland products? A recent horizon-scanning paper on issues affecting UK forests in the next 50 years identified that technical innovations that increase the use of wood and wood products will result in the ability to utilise a wider range of tree species, sizes and shapes. It is possible and, with luck, this may lead to a renaissance in woodland management which, if done carefully, will benefit both people and nature.

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Wood Culture: the Journal of Woodland Heritage is published annually as a benefit of membership. You can support Woodland Heritage by becoming a member - join below.

New ‘Open Woods & Workshops’ initiative brings action for Wood Culture!

Planting trees is widely supported. But the fact the UK is the second largest net importer of forest products in the world1, at the same time as significant areas of the UK’s woodlands lie unmanaged, shows that broader action is urgent.

The importance of growing trees – not just planting them – and of using homegrown timber to support the management of woodlands should be a vital part of our response to climate change.

This is why it’s so encouraging that Open Woods & Workshops brought over 600 visitors to workshops, sawmills and managed woodlands around the UK. 

What was the impact of Open Woods & Workshops

• Happily, 96% of visitors surveyed planned to take actions in their woodlands, workshops and homes following their visit to an Open Woods & Workshops event. Actions pledged included beginning to manage a woodland, or changing a woodland’s management to improve the timber it produces as well as growing more trees, undertaking to use more homegrown timber, and encouraging friends, family and colleagues to learn more about growing trees and using wood.

• Open Woods & Workshops attendees also recorded that the events made a significant positive impact on their wellbeing and even just being a part of growing trees and using wood made just under 80% of people feel more optimistic about the future.

What did visitors have to say?

“These initiatives give me hope for my grandchildren’s future. I feel that they should be extended to schools to teach the next generation.”

 “What a gift to walk in a wood that has been cared for and come closer to the nature of trees and plants through the expert knowledge of our guide. Our woods deserve our attention and respect.”

Amongst the visitors was Dr Ellie Chowns MP, Green Party MP for North Herefordshire, who visited Whitney Sawmill’s Open Day in her constituency. Ellie said:

Ellie said: “I was delighted to visit Whitney Sawmill’s Open Day and see first‑hand the incredible work being done to manage our local woodlands sustainably.

“Homegrown timber is vital not only in mitigating climate change but also in supporting biodiversity, local jobs, and community wellbeing, and I sincerely hope events like Open Woods & Workshops inspire more people across North Herefordshire and the rest of the UK to get involved in looking after our trees, growing our timber resource, and passing on this knowledge to the next generation.”

The initiative is kindly supported by Savills, whose Director Mark Townsend, Head of Woodland Management and Arboriculture, added: “Working with landowners to manage their woods forms a key part of what we do as woodland consultants and as a nation, we do need to be better at managing our forests. A crucial part of this is what happens outside of the woodland and the work Woodland Heritage does to promote and connect the whole supply chain is really amazing. My visit to the Duchy of Cornwall woods in the morning, followed by a tour of Whitney Sawmill is the perfect demonstration of how we need a more joined up approach”.

Who got involved?

Hosts, many not usually open to the public, included Angus Ross, Whitney Sawmills, The Duchy of Cornwall, Great Park, Alder and Sowdens Woods, Broomhill Woods, To The Root, Goodwood Estate, Witherslack Woodworks, Mowat & Co, James Wood, Williams & Cleal, Albion Timber, Treske, Gaze Burvill, The Architectural Association, North Eggardon Farm and John Makepeace Furniture.

A great big thank you!

Woodland Heritage’s Chief Executive John Orchard summarised: “Thank you to Open Woods & Workshop’s hosts, visitors and supporters for championing trees and timber! Please get in touch to visit or open a woodland or workshop in June 2026.

‘’It’s wonderful to be able to show people what a well-managed woodland looks like, and what amazing spaces they are for biodiversity, climate as well as beautiful timber. The value of showing rather than telling is enormous, and that is the opportunity that Open Woods & Workshops brings.

“The road ahead for our woodlands is far from certain, but it’s great to see that getting involved with Open Woods & Workshops can inspire people to take action, and to feel more hopeful about the future.”