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Visitors Are Welcome To Walk In Our
Woods
This was the theme of the talk about the Woodland
Trust given to our Society by Mr Frank Edwards CBE on 21st November
2000. Mr Edwards, a long-standing resident of Woldingham, is
a voluntary lecturer for the Woodland Trust, and its volunteer
warden at Great Church Wood and Marden Park Woods at Woldingham,
familiar territory to Croydon walkers.
Mr Kenneth Watkins, an industrialist who lived
in Devon, founded the Woodland Trust in 1972, and was responsible
for the growth of the Trust nationwide. It is now the leading
charity devoted solely to the protection of our native woodland
heritage. He was awarded an OBE for his work on woodland in 1989,
He died in 1996 at the age of 86.
The Trust acquires woodland all over England
and Wales, and develops and manages its sites so as to provide
the maximum of public access on foot and horseback. Once acquired,
a site is held permanently, There are currently over 1080 sites,
comprising a total area of more than 13,700 hectares (43,700
acres). Almost all of sites have signs welcoming visitors, and
at some of the popular ones there are information boards telling
us about the local flora and fauna, historical features and a
suggested walk through the wood.
Mr Edwards reminded us that ancient woodland
i.e. woodland dating from 1600 or earlier was becoming increasingly
rare, and once destroyed could not be replaced. There were some
large areas of ancient woodland, but in many places only small
isolated patches remained. The acquisition and protection of
these was a principal task of the Woodland Trust. A UK action
plan for woodland was much needed. The Trust was also active
internationally.
In addition to the continuing acquisition
and improvement of mainly small woods - 82 new sites were acquired
between the 1999 and 2000 editions of the Trust' s Directory
- current projects included the National Forest of 200 square
miles in Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire, and the
"Plant a Tree" and "Woodland Creation" schemes.
Management of woodlands was practised on traditional lines, including
coppicing, where cutting produced stools near the ground from
which new straight branches were produced, and pollarding, a
similar practice, but from the top of a fairly short trunk. Saleable
timber was a by-product of these activities, but commerce was
not a primary activity of the Trust.
Planting programmes of the Trust included
the revival of former woodlands using native varieties such as
oak, ash, and beech, and hornbeam and wild cherry. The Trust
advises other landowners and local authorities on the best practices
in woodland management, through its staff of 150: 90 at its headquarters
at Grantham and a further 60 throughout the country.
A new and welcome development was the award
of £6 1/2 million from the Millennium Commission, which
would be devoted to the "Woods on your Doorstep" project,
aimed at providing 200 new woods throughout England and Wales
and 92 more in Northern Ireland to celebrate the millennium.
50: 50 matched funding was needed, and substantial support had
already been forthcoming from the Sainsbury family charitable
trusts and other sources.
The Trust' s concern with wildlife was not
confined trees. Other indigenous plants and fungi were fostered
and conserved, several animal species, including the increasingly
rare dormouse, were included in the Trust' s research and conservation
programmes.
Mr Edwards' s talk, which was illustrated
by many excellent slides, concluded with an account of the two
woods best known to our members: Great Church Wood and Marden
Park Woods at Woldingham. These woods were saved by the Trust
with magnificent local financial and practical support, and have
been steadily improved by local volunteers, to make them more
enjoyable and accessible to walkers and horse riders.
Speakers from the floor expressed their appreciation
of the work of the Trust and the benefits of membership. We were
reminded of the Society's own treeplanting efforts, notably the
Thornhill Copse in Lloyd Park.
A talk of great interest and inspiration.
The address of the Trust is The Woodland Trust,
Autumn Park, Dysart Road, Grantham, Lincs, NG31 6LL.
Geoffrey Myers
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