Cuckoo

It was great to hear a cuckoo at Balls Wood in Hertfordshire this week.

Sea Inside Us All

Musician Martyn Ware has just released an 82-minute soundscape inspired by the sounds of the coast, following the ‘Sounds of Our Shores’ campaign that was run by the National Trust, British Library and National Trust for Scotland in 2015 and sought to crowdsource sounds that summed up the coast. You can almost smell the chips …

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Winter work

It has been a busy winter so far, with a great mix of learning and work. In November I spent a great day with other members of the Countryside Management Association learning about Oakfrith Wood in Wiltshire, where a community wood fuel co-operative has done some amazing work in protecting and conserving an ancient oak …

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Illustrations of woodland management from 1941

These are illustrations from the 1941 book ‘The Seasons and the Woodman’, a children’s book by D.H. Chapman which describes trees and the work that happens in woodlands through the seasons. The illustrations are by Charles Tunnicliffe. They show double-handed saws being used to fell trees and mill planks, standing timber being measured for sale, …

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When cutting down trees benefits nature

As trees put on their autumn display of colour and fungi sprout up all over, it’s around time to start clearing dead vegetation, felling, coppicing and dead hedging. This time of year is one of the busiest in countryside management, and it’s also a fantastic time to witness the incredible regenerative capabilities of trees; cutting down trees …

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