Ten percent of England is covered by woodland, but less than half of it is properly managed. In the past, wildlife actually kept an eye – and tooth - on the growth of many trees and shrubs on and around the woodland floor. Bison, deer and wild boar roamed our forests. The Wildlife Trusts are reintroducing bison in Kent, it’s very exciting.
Elsewhere, the right management is needed to keep our woodlands diverse and full of life.
Even in Boilton, Redscar, Nab and Tunbrook woods, which rise up on the north end of Brockholes, there are varied habitats with beech, ash and oak among the trees providing shelter for a whole range of wild plants and creatures.
The work we do includes cutting down some trees, tidying up and leaving places messy, leaving piles of rotting wood for beetles and other insects and fungi and creating wonderful “rides” for butterflies to flutter up and down.
Lancashire’s ancient woodlands survived the agricultural revolution because they are on slopes. It would have taken a lot of time and money to flatten those areas for crops, so they were left alone.
It means our ancient and older woodlands are stretched out across the county, providing wonderful links and networks for nature to wander along and meet new friends. Yes, plants make friends too, through pollination by our wonderful insects.
I love the fact that we create rides for our butterflies, these are corridors where the insects can just go wild, looking for territory, food and love. When spring and summer return woodland glades will be like tunnels of dappled light with butterflies, like the speckled wood, giving wonderful displays for anyone passing by.
A lot of the work we do is mimicking storm damage or grazing by those large animals that are now extinct in the UK. Otherwise we would have dark, overshaded woods dominated by the largest trees.
I often holiday in Scotland and have wandered through some coniferous forests, where, even in the middle of summer, it is dark and quite forbidding. If I feel uneasy in those dark forests, how do you think small birds would feel? Nothing is growing down there apart from the trees and if there is a gust of wind the trees will tumble, not to the ground, but onto other trees. Every time I look at this, I feel there was a need for management.
While we don’t plant a lot of new trees in Boilton Wood, we do need to thin out the poor, weak, diseased or overcrowded ones. This means more sunlight will get to the remaining trees making them stronger and sturdier.
Of course, this also improves the area for flowers and smaller plants, and provides “cafes” for woodland insects to feed and thrive.
Thinning can also be used to manage neglected woodland where dense shading has reduced the growth of woodland wildflowers and shrubs.
Then there is coppicing, which has been carried out in our woodlands from the Middle Ages and before. This involves a cycle of cutting back trees or shrubs to ground level, so they sprout new stems from the stumps, rejuvenating the tree and increasing its life by many years.
Practically this can provide wood for fences, brooms and firewood, while creating space for woodland flowers. The work in Boilton Wood means we have carpets of bluebells, primroses and violets in April and May.
Hopefully, our ancient woodlands are close to what they would have been centuries ago and while we are missing our giant mammals we are doing our best to recreate their efforts. But wouldn’t it be great to bring them back?
READ MORE: Lancashire woodland walk - Lancashire Life woodland, Brockholes Nature Reserve
