At this time of year, the volunteer workers you may have seen in the woods are usually coppicing. Trained chainsaw cutters take down the trees and the others follow behind stacking the logs and brushwood in neat piles. A lot of the trees coppiced in this way are non-native sweet chestnuts, which have been planted in woodlands across Kent since the 18th century, when they were used as hop poles, and later as pit props. Now the wood is often sold for burning in domestic stoves; decomposing piles of brushwood provide a haven for both birds and insects. In a few years, the new tree growth provides ideal conditions for birds like nightjars and nightingales.