Friends of Brandon Wood 25 Years Old
Twenty five years ago, four people met in a front room to discuss the
threat to the woodland. It had been put up for sale by the Forestry
Commission. Possible uses for the land were sand & gravel extraction and
housing. Around this quartet the organization was founded, and driven by
Bob Draper the chairman, the organization grew from a protest group to a
conservation society and an active participant in the management of the
wood. It became the first community woodland in England. Successive, active
committee members took the organization forward until in 1996 the wood was
offered for sale to the Friends of Brandon Wood.
Three years of hard fund-raising followed and in January 2000 the woodland
passed into the ownership of the FOBW (Friends of Brandon Wood).
Since passing into the ownership of the FOBW a circular footpath has been
completed allowing all-weather all ability walking, training of volunteers
in coppicing, hedge laying and other woodland skills have been undertaken.
Links with conservation bodies have been strengthened and a pack has been
compiled for the two local primary schools to inform them about their
woodland.
The long term aim - one hundred plus years - is to restore the woodland to
mainly broadleaf, this will be achieved by encouraging broad leaf trees but
not large scale harvesting of conifers. The work in the wood is largely
directed to this aim, encouraging the growth of wildflowers, birds and
butterflies and working to enhance the bio-diversity of the wood.
Work in the wood September 2004-March 2005
Routine work
Clearing ditches, repairing fences, cutting down dangerous trees,
maintaining fire breaks.
Work toward our long term goal
The Creation of a glade around two large oak trees has given them more
space and light and encouraged the understorey of hazel to grow. Hazel is
beneficial for our colonies of dormice which eat their nuts, and we hope
the openness of the glade will encourage wildflowers and butterflies.
The planting of 800 hedging whips along the southern boundary to reinforce
the hedge that was laid in 2003. The aim is to hedge our whole boundary over time; this will allow our woodland to have a connecting green corridor with Piles Coppice and Brandon
Little Wood, in line with the bio- diversity action plan for dormice and
will form an environmentally friendly boundary, rather than the mixture of
fencing currently in use.
The Working Parties
Volunteers for our working parties are needed both for the Sunday and
Mid-week groups. Tools and safety equipment are provided, (as well as coffee for the
interval!), and a small tractor takes care of the heavy jobs!
If you join us for our regular sessions, you will:-
- Enjoy light exercise in the open air
- Do a valuable job
- Learn conservation skills
- Become part of our friendly team
Why not join us for a session and see?
First Sunday in the month 10.00 - 13.00
Mid-week: Tuesday 9.00-12.00 noon
Call Andrew: 024 7644 1009 or E-mail David.
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