Stopping fly tipping

As my regular reader will know, back in the spring the Friends of Chopwell Wood had its annual spring clean. Its unfortunately true of any area of the countryside, that small minority just doesn’t care about the litter, rubbish or trash they leave behind when they visit an area of beauty. Thus the FoCW along with the Forestry Commission carry out an annual spring clean to try to remove some of the rubbish that has just been dumped in the wood. Rubbish removal is not just confined to then, the first time I met the Ranger she was collecting rubbish, and others do it on a regular basis, but on this day a concerted effort is made to clear out what is mostly discarded drinks can, bottles and sweet wrappers etc. However, the other problem is that of fly tipping. To explain for my overseas reader, that is where rubbish is illegally dumped, sometimes by individuals but often by companies that are trying to avoid paying landfill tax.

It is probably the greatest single gift that the Friends of Chopwell Wood provided for the Community was to pay for a series of barriers that are in place on the Fire Roads (Dirt or stone tracks that enable Fire fighters to access the woods), thus preventing the fly tipping that used to occur on a grand scale. It still happens, but nowhere near as much as it did in the past. But following the last Spring Clean, a suggestion was made by our Earth Skills supremeo, that we asked the local authority if a skip could be placed near a particular entrance to the wood, so that instead of people dumping rubbish in the wood, it could at least be skipped and help reduce the costs of clearing such items illegally dumped.

Because I was already in contact with some of the local councillors, I was asked to place the idea before them. Latter I discovered that this had been asked for several times in the past but to no avail. Therefore, I was not totally confident that it would happen. But with the persistence of naivety, eventually a compromise solution was reached, and a Skip has been placed in the park very close to the entrance to the wood were most of the rubbish dumping occurs.

It has been there for some time now, and while I wanted to report the good news sooner, there was some concern that we would have further incidents of the skip being set alight. It was the concerns about a pyromaniac setting the skip on fire that prevented it from being sited right at the entrance to the forest as any fire in the skip would have set the wood ablaze too.

The real test of if this has worked will be if there is less rubbish to collect next year. I doubt that it will reduce the volume but it will allow the volunteers to go further a field and expand the area of the forest we are able to make free of rubbish.

While I hope that I will not have to talk rubbish again, well I know that some think that’s all this mouse does, until every one takes responsibility for their waste, I guess that it will come up as a theme again.

Taking the Trees for a Walk

Your friendly neighbourhood Wood Mouse will be appearing in the local paper soon. The reason for this is my obsessive-compulsive behaviour of growing Oak Trees.

It all started when I was first out walking in the wood and I first encountered the ranger. She told me that the forest had a friends group and they carried out practical work in the wood. So I decided I would become an acquaintance of the Friends of Chopwell Wood.

Well you know how these things can escalate; I was foolish enough to offer to plant up the acorns that were gathered during last year’s tree seed collections. If only I had realised that there were nearly six hundred of them. I then had to go out, on the scrounge, to garner enough pots together to put them in. Fortunately the local community helped and soon I had all the pots I needed.

It was not easy, as I had to fight off all manner of birds, mainly the jackdaws but also the odd Jay and several magpies as they were constantly trying to eat their future perches. Eventually in the spring my compulsive, others would say eccentric, behaviour paid off and about two hundred and fifty baby oaks emerged.

It was as a result of doing this that this morning I had to take some of the trees back into the wood so that the Press Officer from the Forestry Commission could take some pictures of me with these trees. Now while I know that some people love performing in front of the camera, I don’t relish it, as I am very much like an oil painting, an old master in fact, cracked and flaking! However I did my duty, I don’t know how the images came out, as I haven’t seen them, but I felt a complete idiot standing there holding pots of trees in contrived poses. Even the Dog walkers were laughing at me, I think even the dogs were too.

Well there was I thinking that this is just for the staff magazine or some obscure place where no one would see them, like my Blog, then I get a call from the biggest paper in the region and it’s the environment editor, and before I know it, I will be in the local paper.

Well at least it will not be saying “Don’t Approach this Mouse” I just wish that the Ranger had not beguiled me when I first met her. It’s all her fault really.

All joking aside there is a serious point to all this, as these trees will be planted so that we can regenerate the ancient wood here in Chopwell. In doing so we can directly aid over one hundred species that are on the UK at risk list of flora and fauna. The reason for the publicity is so that we can encourage other people to become actively involved in collecting seed, helping to plant the trees and do their little bit.

As it was such a great morning it was worth, well almost, the humiliation of having my visage captured on film.

I got my own back by snapping this picture of the photographer!

Changed Plans and A Long Walk

One of the large coppice stools

While I knew that I had a couple of important errands to run yesterday, I was planning to have a quite day especially as I have a load of washing to do. One of the problems with living a truly “Green” lifestyle and being so involved with practical conservation is that my clothes do get mucky. Therefore I needed some time to get my washing done. I don’t have a washing machine so it’s all done by hand. Rather old fashioned but effective. However, I got a call from the Ranger as the Forestry Commission Crew had been in that morning and had coppiced the large trees down where the Friends’ are building the Grass Snake hotels. As I seem to have become by default the task leader on this project, I needed to check to see if there was anything else that the FoCW needed done while the crew were still around.

Therefore, I had to adjust my plans and go and visit the site. As building these Grass Snake Hotels, Hibernacula, is a big project and we are relying upon volunteers, we need to keep a sensible balance in providing work that is interesting yet achievable. Had we left the large timber there to be coppiced by inexperienced volunteers, far less could have been done as the site lacks the space for twenty plus people to be working and several tonnes of timber getting felled. Also as the volunteers are inexperienced, by making the work interesting with results that they can see occurring, they are more likely to want to continue volunteering and doing their bit for the environment.

Well when I got to the site, the Forestry Commission crew have done a fantastic job. They have left the smaller more manageable trees there, for the conservation volunteers to deal with, but have opened up the area so that we can work on the Hibernacula. None of the wood will be wasted as it will be required for the construction of the grass snake hotels, and what is not used will be corded so that insects and other small animal can use it. None of the trees have been killed, as the coppice stools will regenerate. The site was chosen as the trees there need to be coppiced anyway, and because of that fact the location is perfect for the Hibernacula. It all goes to become a virtuous circle of enhancing habitat.

As my regular reader will know, previously while carrying out a survey of potential bat roost sites, I had shredded my old boots, so on Monday I went out and bought a new pair. I was glad that I had as the site where the Friends of Chopwell Wood are to build the Grass Snake Hotel is not easily accessible. Access is via a steep bank and you need good stout footwear to get on or off the site. Because the tread on my old boots was so worn on the last occasion that I had been to the location I had to slip down on my butt to gain access. This time it was a piece of cake.

The steep valley near the river

As I had needed to alter my plans I decided I would take some time out and relax by taking a nice walk and see what was happening in the wood. With autumn showing its self in the wood, it was possible that I could get some great pictures. I personally love this time of year because of the colours and the way that the wildlife is feverously preparing for winter.

An Inspirational Conservationist

I was asked if I could help provide some green woodcraft activity for some of the Forestry Commission staff that were attending a meeting in Chopwell Wood yesterday. As this mouse and a few other members of the Friends of Chopwell Wood recently underwent four days of training and experience to enable us to pass on these skills, I thought that it would be a wonderful opportunity to show the Forestry Commission folks what we do in their wood. While I do frequently call it my wood, that is just because it’s my home base from a landscape and conservation perspective, and while the Forestry Commission owns the land, it is in fact the communities’ wood.

However, I only tell you all this to set the scene, as after I had set up the equipment, as any reader of my old Blog will know we made a Shave Horse and Pole lathe, I was offered some lunch and the opportunity to hear a talk by Keith Bowey the head of Northern Kites.

Again my regular reader knows, I am passionate about the Red Kites, any day that I see them lifts my spirits and the way that the local community gets excited about seeing these birds is amazing. Every time I meet a stranger and they see I am carrying a camera or binoculars (That’s all the Time), I am asked if I have seen the Kites!

Yesterday I met the man who has inspired that passion, Keith Bowey. Every now and then you get to meet someone who really shares a passion, and for me that happened yesterday.

I have personally felt that far to often when conservation projects happen that everyone should be told of what is occurring. That way people can be enthused by great wildlife. One of the things that the Northern Kites team did was to tell everyone that “Hey we are reintroducing this bird into the area” rather than keep it all secret. This has had the positive effect of ensuring that the birds were not persecuted. Persecution is why the Red Kite nearly became extinct in the first place. In the 1930s it was down to one breading female.

That was how close we all came to loosing this fantastic bird.

Right from the start, Northern Kites, got the community involved and all of the birds have been adopted and named by local schools, in fact we need the kites to breed faster as more schools want to adopt the birds that have yet to be laid and hatched yet! By being so public and getting the community support and involvement when one of the birds was poisoned in the first year, the community condemnation, especially from children, has prevented it happening again.

The Red Kites were one of the prime factors that caused me to move to my village in the first place.

I wish I could convey the passion that Keith Bowey has, personally he has inspired me a new and I can see great thing for my wood, our community woodland that is Chopwell Wood.

The Ministry of Silly Walks

Now it should come as no surprise to my reader that this mouse’s life, at times, resembles a sketch out of Monty Python and on Friday I joined The Ministry of Funny Walks, or at least that’s the way it felt.

The Forestry Commission Ecologist had requested help to carry out a Bat Survey in the areas of standing timber that are to be thinned. I didn’t need asking twice, as apart from learning a new skill or new technique, work like this is a vital tool for maintaining the health of the ecosystem that is our local wood.

As I have written of previously, the forest is to start having the plantation conifers thinned out soon and there will be a long term replanting of native broad leaf trees. This will be occurring over a long period, and it will be the next century before this work is near completion. However, to carry this work out so that existing species are protected and not disturbed, this type of surveying has to be done before hand. As the law protects all Bats and here in Chopwell wood we have six species of bat, it is vital that this work is carried out toughly and systematically. In practice that means every tree has to be examined to look for possible roosting sites.

That can be a boring task as it really is like looking for a needle in that proverbial haystack. As on Friday we also had the difficulty of heavy rain, a difficult task was made even more difficult. As the underbrush is at this time of the year covered with Brambles, and to survey properly requires walking up and down making that examination of the trees, we had to wade through the brambles. I nearly considered putting a picture of my legs on here to show just how lacerated I became but as it would put people off, I decided against that idea. Additionally is the problem that because of the heavy undergrowth, its impossible to see the ditches and mounds, so as I am moving forward I was suddenly finding myself chest high in brambles and not waist high.

One of the areas that had to be surveyed, I knew was free of bat roost, as it is one of my regular routes so I do know it well. However, it still needs to be surveyed properly, not only to comply with the law, to ensure that the scientific data gathered is a true and accurate reflection of the roosting sites in the wood. Further, doing something like this can reveal other hidden gems in the wood, I know of a few hidden places where fungi will be emerging soon, as an example.

But after six hours of searching, my legs were aching and while it had stopped raining by the time we finished, I was completely saturated. Even my underwear was soaking and I was ready for a nice hot bath.

Incidentally, on this part of the survey we found seven potential roost sites, and latter the FC Ecologist will return with a ladder and Endoscopes to see if they are occupied. Finding the specific trees or sites will be easy as we used GPS to mark the exact location.

The work will continue in just over a week’s time, and all I can do is hope for better weather on that day. However, as it is vital work, I will be there no matter what the weather throws at us.

Incidentally, should we find that all of these locations are occupied then we can ensure the roosts are not lost by putting up additional roosting places in the form of bat boxes, thus ensuring that our healthy bat population is maintained.

The Curse of the Mobile Telephone

Have you ever had one of those moments when you are thinking of something and it appears that others are thinking the same thing? Yesterday, that’s exactly what happened. While I had been busy in the morning, I wanted to get out into the wood with the specific aim of collecting tree seeds. As our wood is an ancient woodland site, it is going to be replanted over the coming half century with native broadleaf trees, and this will come from seeds collected locally. It is important that they are local as if we planted Hawthorn from seeds gathered from the south, they would flower at a slightly different time and hence not have the same benefit for the environment and wildlife as would the local genetic stock.

So there was I getting myself together to head out when the Forestry Commission Ranger telephoned me, she had passed on my details to the FC Press Officer and he would be giving me a call. This is because from the last acorn gathering, I ended up fostering about Two hundred and Fifty Oak seedlings. There would have been a lot more but I had to defend them from Jackdaws, Crows, Magpies, and even a Jay or two, so the numbers diminished as the birds ate their future perches. The FC press officer wants to do a picture of the trees and me, all rather contrived but I agreed to this. Not because I am looking for some kind of self-aggrandisement, but because I feel that it is vital that we do plant trees and if by loosing some degree of anonymity I help encourage others to help or take the initiative and do the same, it will be worth doing so. It is also why in part, I keep this on line journal, I hate the word Blog, as it may inspire others to do their bit for the environment.

However, when the call came through from the Forestry Commission Press Officer, I was already in the wood and I had just sighted the fox in the picture. It had shown no indication of having seen me, until the cellular phone rang. I snatched a couple of pictures none that sharp. After cursing the contraption I called back and had a chat with this chap.

I hope that I will see this dog fox again, and that I will not have had need to carry the phone with me. But at least I can say that I had another encounter with the wildlife that inhabits my countryside.

Preparing for a transformation

Here in my local wood we are on the brink of a new era. As the wood is a plantation that sits on the site of an ancient wood, it has been decided that it will be replanted with the native hardwood trees that would have been part of its natural mixture long before it was used as a plantation. Thus I find myself in the luck position of being around to see this happen. Or at least the start of it happening as it will continue long after I have departed.

What makes me so pleased is that if we, the Friends of Chopwell Wood and the Forestry Commission get the management right, we will be regenerating a habitat that has been in rapid decline for years. Therefore we will be helping in preserving many rare and endangered species for future generations.

At the moment I am busy trying to collect seeds from the trees that we will need to grow on and plant in future years. My back yard already looks like a mini forest with hundreds of Oak seedlings in there. I expect that while these will be planted in November, watch this space for details, and there will be a new mini forest in my back yard for years to come.

In the picture you can see the trees marked with coloured dots are the trees that are to be thinned.

Equal Access and Solving a Conflict

One of the biggest challenges within the countryside is managing the resource so that all the different users can enjoy equal access to this precious landscape. Here in Chopwell Wood, there was a problem with mountain bikers. Not because the Mountain bikes themselves were a problem, but because of the lack of provision, they were creating their own routes. This resulted in a conflict between other users of the wood.

The Forestry Commission in their wisdom decided that the best way forward was to create places where mountain bikes could be used safely. This would prevent accidents and rather than developing a culture of stopping people using the woods, it was recognised that by saying this is a route that you can use walkers and horse riders were isolated from that extra traffic.

Further, this has started to have a beneficial effect upon the wildlife, as instead of the bikes traversing ecologically sensitive areas, they now have routes they can use that help protect the woods. Further, because walkers are not allowed down the dedicated bike tracks, a ribbon of undisturbed habitat has been created.

The effect upon Chopwell Wood is a positive one and the quality of the facilities is now being recognised nationally. However, what has been created at Chopwell is just a very small part of the facilities for mountain bikers, as at Hamsterley Forest and Kielder Forest there is more, much more.

It shows that by taking bold and positive measures, something positive can be created that benefits all.

Encounters with Bats

Wherever I go, no matter whom I talk to, people do have a love of wildlife. People remember their own encounters with wildlife and can recount when and where they saw something or other.

Last Night I was lucky enough to go out on a “Bat Walk” with a real expert, not only on Bats but on Chopwell Wood. The event was organised by the Forestry Commission and there were over fifty people who turned up for the event. The weather and conditions were perfect for watching and it was a beautiful moonlit night. Even walking across the woods to the assembly point was a great experience with the soft golden light of the evening painting shadows across the landscape.

Going on any event like this does pose a dilemma for me, as while I am there to learn myself, I am also there as a representative of the Friends of Chopwell Wood. Therefore, I cant just be like a little kid who is excited by the experience, I have to remain, a bit at least, like a responsible adult. That doesn’t stop me enjoying the experience of learning.

While I do have some pre-existing knowledge, it is always a joy to garner more from others that have an in depth knowledge of their topic. I did learn quite a bit, and I also realised that I knew more than I thought I did too.

Last night we saw half of the six species of bats that inhabit Chopwell Woods; Common Pipistrelle, Nocturnes Bat and Daubenton's Bat. The Last I spent half an hour trying to photograph, unsuccessfully I suspect, but I will have to wait until I get the film processed. I went towards home with a real buzz and a spring in my step. It was a good job as it was up hill all the way in the dark.

Stopping off in the pub on the way home, I was asked where I had been, upon telling people, I was regaled with other people’s accounts of their encounters with bats.

Tackling the Tubs Day One Part One

Today was an important milestone for me as this mouse was leading a task for the friends (Friends of Chopwell Wood) for the first time. While I have experience of leading conservation tasks in my past, getting lumbered with this was almost an accident.

During a previous meeting it was decided that we, the Friends’, needed to do some work on repairing the coal tubs that we have on display in the woods, as they had suffered from vandalism and the local kids had empted them out several times in the past. The last indignity had been that a stolen car had been pushed or driven into the cutting where the tubs sit before being torched. Therefore we, as an organisation, needed to do something that would stop this looking like an eyesore. Also, we needed to plan the work so that hopefully we could prevent the vandalism occurring again, or at least minimise any effect.

So like a complete berk this mouse piped up and said he would look at the site and access the work that needed to be done. Thus myself, and two of the other friends were assigned this duty. Having worked out what work we needed to do, a written plan of works was drawn up. However, because of the Forestry Commission rules that the FoCW have to abide by, suddenly one of us needed to stick our neck out and not only take charge of the task, but ensure that all the risk assessments were completed so that the work could go ahead. At that point I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and instead of scuttling away to a dark corner, I became task leader.

Now, today was the first day of this two-day task and it has gone well so far, I don’t think that I have misplaced any volunteers, nor have we injured any. More importantly the work has progressed at a cracking pace and we reached a point where over half of the task is done.

There was a moment when due to finding a nest of Wood mice Apodemus sylvaticus in one of the tubs we had to stop work to relocate them, but even this has not caused any real delay. The most amazing part though was the effort made by the volunteers that means that we probably will get the work completed, something I was having my doubts about only yesterday. That success today was in no small part due to two new volunteers. The Friends of Chopwell Wood have always been open to everyone, and recently one of volunteers has been learning British Sign Language, and is regularly available to provide translation support. Thus we have acquired two willing volunteers from the deaf community, who if today’s efforts are anything to go by, are hard working and capable. Here in the Friends’ we are not prejudice and welcome everyone, especially when they work like Trojans. But more importantly they enjoyed themselves, and that for me is what all this is and should be about.

The picture at the top is what the tubs looked like a week ago.