Ecology and Felling Licenses

This week we have had two visitors to Rainbow Wood - Ben the ecologist and Dave from the Forestry Commission.

Ben walked around the wood with us pointing out some of the plant species we have; eg laurel spurge, bugle, and the more obvious primroses and bluebells. We also have woodpeckers, robins, wrens, pheasants, black caps, blackbirds and blue tits.

Dave from the Forestry Commission talked about bringing some of the ash back into a coppiced rotation and taking out one or two of the oak and the more mature ash standards to let in more light to the floor. This would encourage a greater variety of flowers and wildlife (particularly butterflies).

I asked Dave about the need to remove some of the dead branches from the oak standards - but Dave pointed out that these provide excellent habitat for bats, small birds and insects and are best left.

Jill and I were not sure if we needed a felling license as it seems unlikely that we'll exceed the allowance of more than 5 cubic metres in any one quarter. Anyhow, Dave suggested that it would be a good idea to apply anyway.