Yesterday my family and I started Stage 1 of the coppice work at the Forest School Site. I am very lucky that my husband used to work for Dorset Wildlife Trust and has his chainsaw qualifications so he was able to quickly cut down some of the hazel in the stage 1 area of the site. We were able to get bean sticks and pea sticks from what we coppiced and some good sticks to use for Den Building and other arts and craft. The rest of the hazel that was felled has be put on a wood pile and will be shelter for wildlife.
Below is a film we made while doing this coppice work:
What is Coppicing?
Coppicing involves cutting each stem at an angle, close to the stump and leaving a stool. This is repeated every 5-20 years and can be done in rotation to ensure minimal disturbance. It is best done in late autumn/winter, when sap is down, before buds burst and birds are nesting. Coppicing allows flowering plants and grasses to grow which in turn provide food for insects and then other animals such as birds, bats and other common mammals to use and access the area. I have put together a Three Year Management plan for the Coppice area that discuss the environmental changes I would like to make and the reasons behind them.
Below you will find our Three Year Sustainability Plan for this Forest School site. The Coppicing comes under Aim 2 and it is hoped that with more light now being able to get into the Forest School site that we can increase the diversity of ground level Flora and also encourage re-growth of Hazel.
