Woodland

[howie]

Really pleased to see that a new broadleaf forest covering around 850 acres to be planted near St Albans is to go ahead, hopefully starting this winter.

Over 600,000 trees are to be planted, mainly oak, maple, ash and hornbeam by the Woodland Trust with other such forests planned for the future.

Often read of how planners and builders seem intent on turning vast tracts of this land over to new housing and development, with even the once sacred 'green belt' areas under threat, and hope that we all give these new woodland projects all the help and support they deserve.

[ROON]

That's good to hear, Howie. Let's hope the rest of the country takes up this idea too.

 

It worries me that even areas we used to call Brown Belt now have estates jumping up on them. Nearby to me, in one of these areas, they have changed a large building with historical interest into flats instead of renovating it... fair enough, there are two sides to every story, but despite keeping the original outer building, they have surrounded it with the biggest, longest reaching, brightest lights imaginable that spread over the surrounding countryside and can be seen for miles. Goodness knows how the wildlife - especially birds - must be affected, not knowing day from night.

 

Nice to see a happy posting giving hope.

[Hymer C 9.]

Howie it is a pleasure to read information like this, instead of all the negative stuff we have to live with, lets hope more follow. Carol.

[CliveH]

 

Agreed - Whilst I love the New Forest where we live, the Forestry commission has been guilty in the past of setting out large conifer monoculture enclosures. OK, so this is a crop to them and these enclosures are a very minor part of the total acreage of the forest but it makes for a very boring and sterile landscape on the ground when you are in one.

 

Now at last they are harvesting on a kind of planned "ad-hoc" basis (well I know what I mean! :-D ) so that light can get to the forest floor in these plantations allowing everything to grow whereas under the conifer canopy it is just dark and dead.

 

So any move to create a deciduous forest for the future (I doubt many of us will be alive to see the Oaks planted today at their magnificent best) is most certainly a move in the right direction.

 

 

 

[howie]

Having grown up surrounded by a large natural forest I must admit that this is a subject close to my heart.

My formative years were spent forever exploring these woodlands with their streams and pools filled with all manner of wildlife, along with badgers, shrews, slow worms, butterflies and a carpet of bluebells covering every glade mixed with wild flowers in abundance.

Imagine how I felt, when returning years later, to find all this had been ploughed up and replaced by mile after mile of Forestry Commision conifers, which to this day I consider a act of vandalism unequalled in terms of conservation.

No doubt we need these conifers, but surely destroying existing woodlands and habitat should always be the last resort, or not even allowed, but as always, common land and woodlands that we can all enjoy proved to be the cheapest option.

Clive mentioned the word 'sterile', which in terms of any wildlife just about sums up these plantations, but after harvesting these trees, replanting must now include 10% natural wood, with 'roadways' allowing animals to travel safely over greater distances which at least is a step in the right direction.

Over the past 70 years half of our natural forests have disappeared, and this is why planting new woodlands needs all the help and encouragement we can give. Thanks.

[Mick H.]

Better legislation to stop the destruction of what we've got might help.But as always money talks loudest.

[mco]

An absolute disgrace Howie. I wonder how on earth that was allowed to happen?