Gradually the first signs of spring are emerging in the woods, and birdsong is increasing. The Warden reports that he saw his first butterfly, a peacock, on the edge of the large heath last week. The volunteers are currently cutting down four year old sweet chestnut trees, whose stumps are then treated to stop regrowth, with the aim of reducing the tree’s dominance in the woods.
Two volunteers left recently: Les Edwins, who had been working once a week for the last six months and Isabel Morgan (Izzy) who has left after a shorter time to take up a permanent RSPB job as Project Officer at RSPB Hazeley Heath. A photo below shows them at their farewell lunch in the woods to wish them good luck in the future.
Les said how much he enjoyed working as a volunteer: ‘You get to work outdoors, learn lots of new practical skills and meet new friends who have similar outlooks on life. I'd recommend it to anyone of any age, whether they have any experience or not and whether they are keen on wildlife or just enjoy the countryside. And, at the end of the day, when you can look back and see that you have achieved something useful for wildlife, well, that's the icing on the cake!’ Les and Izzy can be seen below;
Photography project
In autumn 2012, Samuel Wiles, a student on the Photography (Contemporary Practice) course at the University for the Creative Arts in Rochester took a series of photographs of some of the people (volunteers and others) who work in Church Wood, their tools and some atmospheric views of the woodland. These were compiled into a beautiful photo essay called ‘The Payless Cut’ which can currently be seen on his website http://samwiles.co.uk/the-payless-cut/. It’s well worth a look.