Whilst strolling around the young woodland or our extended woodcock trail, you may hear the sounds of petrol engines emanating from the woods.

Maybe even a slow creaking............. followed by a satisfying crash!!

These are the sounds of woodland thinning, currently being undertaken here at Coombes Valley.

Trees in close proximity compete with each other for natural resources, including light, resulting in stunted growth.  The trees might grow too straight and not spread out in different shapes.


                                         Crowded trees-Ryan Woodcock                                    

 


Lovely Oak-Sally Granger

In order for our woodland to remain healthy and brimming with beautiful wildlife, we need to encourage healthy trees to strike out and grow to maturity.

Coombes Valley would traditionally have been felled due to its industrial heritage. The felled trees were used to create charcoal, the original fuel source used to fire the lime kilns still evident in the area.

Lime Kiln in Churnet Valley-RSPB images

As this economically driven process has now halted, woodland management is essential to the upkeep of healthy woodland in the valley and the wildlife that thrives there.

This is where the RSPB Warden Interns come in:

Time to get the chainsaws out eh Maddie!!


Maddie hard at work-Ryan Woodcock

Deadwood created by the thinning is left in situ or put into log and brash piles.

Log piles in the woodland not only look beautiful, but decaying wood encourages invertebrates and acts as a base layer of food webs.


Log pile in the young woodland-Ryan Woodcock

So now, if you’re woodland walk is interrupted by chainsaws, hopefully you’ll understand that it’s part of our hard work.  We’re re-spacing the trees to create healthy, unregimented high forest; oak and ash, with big crowns and a habitat irresistible to wildlife.

As you can see, whilst the use of petrol and cutting down trees might seem counter intuitive to the conservation movement, it really is a vital aspect of managing healthy woodland.

If you want to know more about woodland thinning, re-spacing or any of the other valuable conservation work we do here at Coombes Valley feel free to ask.

Or just come and see the results of our work emerging in spring!