Sustainable Woodland
Management

Our under managed woodlands are a resource and an asset that must be brought back into useful sustainable production. If much of our woodland remains under managed then it will be seen to be unproductive and useless, and many many more acres will continue to be lost to the encroaching tarmac and concrete.

If humans as a species wish to continue inhabiting this planet then we must redevelop a sustainable relationship with our trees and our woodlands. It is mostly the trees that provide us with our oxygen, and clean the air we breath. We can also burn wood as a fuel to keep us warm and to cook our food. We can use it to build our homes and offices. Beautiful furniture, art and everyday objects can be produced out of this natural resource, as well as fencing, flooring, medicines, foods e.t.c.

Woodlands and trees are also important for our general and spiritual well-being. Just the presence of old large trees helps to quieten our minds and keep us stable in our fast paced culture. Teaching our children once a week out in nature in a 'Woodland classroom' has been found to be beneficial not only in improving their learning and behaviour, but also of course has health benefits and helps them to acquire a deeper understanding of environmental issues.

As a species we need to rekindle the symbiotic relationship that we once had with our woodlands and bring their vast range of useful products back into predominance. Modern forestry has decimated areas of our landscape for short term financial gain, but there are tried and tested alternatives to this impersonal method of harvesting trees. A taking up of the traditional practices weaved together with new permaculture designs means humans can fit into the already diverse ecosystem that woodland provides.

See our web page about the "Uses of our Native Trees"

Conserving woodland biodiversity sustainable woodland management

When woodlands are managed in a sustainable way, this human activity, can not only provide us with our daily needs, but is also of benefit to the woodland itself. Much of our woodland in the UK has been left unmanaged for decades* and it is now suffering and degrading in quality. There are some cases where non-intervention has its benefits, but as much of these woodlands are overstood coppice and old plantations that have not been thinned, the woods are now in a state of collapse or in the latter case, the quality of the timber is declining, being lost of has already been lost. However, in many cases, they are still just on the edge of being able to be brought back to life if. But if left for too much longer then our task will become much harder or impossible. And as our woodlands fail more land will be sealed over by concrete and tarmac - lost forever.

Sustainable woodland management - Charcoal burning

One of the difficulties of managing a woodland sustainably is trying to make it financially viable. The market is flooded with cheap imports of timber and timber products. And also, for example, major supermarkets stock charcoal produced and shipped from South Africa. Fencing and wood structures for the garden are often imported from Poland or other eastern European countries. Cheap timber is shipped in from Sweden.

These are all examples of unsustainability when one considers the use of the fossil fuels involved in transporting products over such large distances, not to mention the handling time. This is of greater concern when all around us are our native woodlands are not being managed and are suffering because of this fact that it is cheaper to import from other countries than look after our own trees and timber reserves.

Change is happening. There are some very good examples of people and projects that are working woodlands in a sustainable way. The Forestry Commission has a woodland grant scheme to encourage woodlands to be planted and managed sustainably. Councils are beginning to want their woodlands managed for local people. Individuals are buying woods, communities and co-operatives are being formed all over the country as people are moving back into the woodlands.

We, as one of those co-operatives in Hertfordshire, are part of this change and are working with local woodland owners, woodland groups and local councils to be part of the drive to help ensure that our existing woodlands are managed sustainably and also to plant new woodlands.

We do this by spending time in the woodlands that are available to us and actually carrying out this work. We are working together to learn woodland management skills and to develop woodland crafts, and then to help develop links with local markets for the produce.

Sustainable Woodland Management

* According to the National Small Woods Association out of 1.9 million acres of broadleaf woodland in Britain, about 930,000 acres are areas of woodland which is under 25 acres. 430,000 acres have received no formal management for at least 30 years.

Tree Surgery, Woodland Management, Tree Planting & Tree Advice. Conservation & Land Management
Office:	01279 843079		Martin:	07725 583201		Firewood Logs:	07515 270110