WOODLAND MANAGEMENT

 With the various pressures put on woodlands these days it's simply not enough to just leave a woodland to fend for itself, we are so intrinsically linked to the woods that new research shows that doing nothing has a detrimental effect on diversity. We are currently involved in restoring overstood hazel coppice into rotation which is invaluable to letting light through to the ground providing fresh new growth opportunities and food sources for various species that depend on this centuries old practice.

  The same goes for the state of the country's hedges, sadly under pressure from lack of care, grubbing out and the fury of the flail which with it's brutal approach to 'trimming' a hedge, it beats and breaks the plants allowing bacteria into the wounds ultimately speeding the decline of the hedge. Working with the New Forest Land Advisory Service on their 'Better Boundaries' project we were finalists in CPRE's Hampshire's Choice 2018 awards helping to restore over 4km of hedgerows.

 A slower, more labour intensive approach we also practice the traditional art of hedge laying, where particular young trees respond to being partially severed, trimmed and laid down by throwing up new shoots in the following spring. The result if done well is a thick living hedge / fence capable of supporting numerous species for years, decades and in some places, hundreds of years (providing there is someone else to carry on the tradition!)

  We can help with assessing your woods and hedges, recommending a sustainable approach to management and carry out any work. If it's one tree or many we could either process the timber to provide firewood or arrange milling of planks for building whatever you might have in mind.

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