Alice Holt Forest News Autumn 2008
Welcome to the autumn edition of Alice Holt Forest News (formerly known as 'Forester's Log'). This newsletter lets you know about some of the activities that have been going on in your local woods and about some of the forestry operations that we have planned for the next 6 months. Lodge Inclosure and Holt Pound Inclosure In August of this year, our tractor driver, Simon, did an excellent job of grading and re-cambering the rides in Holt Pound. The harvesting operations in Lodge Inclosure have also been completed after five weeks of continuous work. Two areas of 41 year old western hemlock were cleared as part of the SE England Woodscape Project, which aims to return ancient woodland sites to native species. The areas of temporary open space created by cyclical felling activity provide valuable habitat for butterflies and ground nesting birds, such as the nightjar (which has successfully nested in Lodge Inclosure). Our machine operators took great care over this operation and I would like to thank them for their efforts to minimise ground disturbance and their swift rate of work. This winter, we will be preparing and planting one of the cleared areas with oak (just as we did in Holt Pound Inclosure). Next year, we aim to thin the broadleaf areas within Lodge Inclosure. Our guided walk around the arboretum in Lodge Inclosure in September was very well attended and of great interest. Many thanks to Richard Jinks, from Forest Research, who led the walk and fascinated everyone with his wealth of knowledge. Richard also described the national project that aims to map the important trees that can be found within the nation’s arboreta. We are keen to ensure the future management of our arboretum and would like to invite the help of volunteers in raising funds and carrying out practical work on the ground to ensure the survival of these important trees. Kennels Pond You'll be pleased to know that three members of our beat team - Viktor, Tim and Glen - worked in conjunction with our early release prisoner project to remove large quantities of the invasive Tasmanian Stonecrop from Kennels Pond in Lodge Inclosure. It is clear that this weed is unlikely to ever be completely eradicated from the pond and we will continue with an ongoing programme of control. The fence around Kennels Pond has been improved and we would appreciate your help in preventing the spread of this alien species by keeping dogs away from the water. Abbots Wood Inclosure Thinning work is currently taking place in Abbots Wood Inclosure and is providing mature oak for local markets. This timber will be used in furniture making and for the creation of beams for timber framed houses. In late 2008/early 2009, we will turn our attention to the conifer areas within the wood. Filming Locations The BBC has recently used Bourne Wood to represent a Scottish landscape in the making of a documentary about the Lockerbie tragedy. The wood has also been used to represent The Alps in a fashion shoot, complete with artificial snow and CGI special effects! The BBC returned to film Omid Djalili, a comedy that features Connie Fisher (the West End star of The Sound of Music and who featured in the BBC programme ‘How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria?’). Ridley Scott also visited Alice Holt on several occasions to scout for possible film locations to be used in the coming blockbuster ‘Nottingham’, starring Russell Crowe. Glenbervie Inclosure and Willows Green Inclosure In late 2008/early 2009, we will be thinning some of the conifer areas in Glenbervie and Willows Green Inclosures. These are the parts of the forest that receive the greatest number of visitors and the thinning operation will: -improve the quality of the retained trees -provide income to support the work of the Forestry Commission in conservation, recreation and heritage management -improve the biodiversity value of the forest by creating vital woodland edge habitat and patches of sunny open space alongside forest roads, rides and tracks -improve the aesthetic appeal of the woodland when seen from roads, rides and tracks. These thinning operations will be carried out as quickly and smoothly as possible, using two separate contractors who cut and market different kinds of tree species and timber size. In order to ensure your continued and safe enjoyment of the forest, we will need to close off those areas that are being worked using signage, hazard tape and temporary diversions where necessary. Thank you for your understanding and patience in throughout this period. Also in Glenbervie Inclosure, we have a number of weekend work parties planned for the autumn and winter months with the Hampshire Conservation Volunteers. The first work party took place at the beginning of October and saw the volunteers thinning the trees to open up a stream corridor beside the cycle trail. Many of the trees were overcrowded, resulting in a dark area that was poor for wildlife. By thinning selectively to leave a mixture of broadleaf (and some conifer) trees, we have increased the amount of light reaching the forest floor and stream corridor. These areas will now benefit from the development of a richer herb and shrub layer, attracting a greater diversity of wildlife, including butterflies, moths, invertebrates, birds and mammals. We will also be favouring the development of future veteran trees by thinning around these to allow them best chance of survival. We want to encourage a more diverse age structure within the forest and will be leaving many of the older trees to grow on in perpetuity. We hope you will agree that the woodlands will also look much more attractive once we have finished the work. On a different note, we have been improving our Playwood children’s play area over the last few weeks. We would like to say a big thank you to our sponsor ‘Bourne Buildings’ (www.bournebuildings.co.uk) and hope that you will come to enjoy the new play equipment from half term onwards. Best wishes Emily Preston Alice Holt Forest Manager
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