Supporting the RFS to get woodlands into management
In the last couple of years there have been some rather conflicting press stories associated with woodlands and forest and the international community’s ongoing efforts to slow the effects of climate change. As someone who works in the land management sector, I am regularly confronted with the confusion this creates in the British countryside!
We know that tropical forest are being felled in an unsustainable manner, and at an alarming rate. And that in Britain the Government has set the incredible target for the creation of 30,000 hectares new woodland each year for a decade in an effort to capture and lock up carbon. The headline and perhaps misleading message from these international news stories is that “tree felling is bad”, bad for the local wildlife and soils and bad for the climate.
However… as with all things in life, it is not quite that simple! Almost every ancient woodland in Britain has a history of past management by people for the commodities of the day that it could provide. Commodities such as timber, fuelwood, hunting and provision for livestock (grazing, shelter, bedding and fodder). The woodlands and associated wildlife which we so greatly value today are a product of this past activity.
Today it is estimated that only around half of the 325,000ha of woodland in the south-east is currently in active management, with many areas either undermanaged or unmanaged by their current owners. Many of these woodlands will have had a long and rich history of past activity, and unfortunately the current inactivity can result in a decline of many of the woodland plants and invertebrates that we value across the region. Through lack of recent management, many of these woodlands are becoming dark and cold places that offer fewer opportunities for wildlife. And the recent messaging about deforestation and the need to lock up carbon does not help the situation.
On balance, felling trees within a woodland in a sustainable manner in south-east England is a positive activity for people, for wildlife, for the woodland and for sequestering carbon! Much of the felled wood provides renewable timber products - many of which have long life-times and therefore store carbon. Coppice re-growth and newly planted trees are fast growing and so store carbon more rapidly than ageing trees. And the result within the woodland is temporary open space alongside tracks and rides and within felled coupes – providing light and warmth for flora and invertebrates and all that feed on them. And so felling trees is not all bad!
And so to the Royal Forestry Society (RFS) which has incredible tenure in education and promotion of sustainable woodland management over the past 135 years. The Janus Foundation was therefore pleased to recently receive an application for grant support from the RFS for a project to support woodland management in Kent. The project constitutes a three-pronged approach to support and encourage woodland management in this part of the country, but with opportunities to both expand the coverage as well implement ‘lessons learnt’ elsewhere.
And so to the three prongs:
Education - to provide a future, skilled workforce. Working with local schools to raise the profile and generate interest in woodland management as a possible career path. To include outdoor education, bringing children out in to the woodland to enthuse them about the opportunities and enjoyment from working in woodlands.
Understanding – finding and bringing together local woodland owners to better understand the factors inhibiting woodland management and to provide some solutions. In essence, what are the obstacles and how can we overcome them by working together?
Research – to develop the designs of small, cost-effective structures for drying firewood using air movement and sunshine. Through building prototypes, to demonstrate how moisture levels can be reduced in firewood in a cheap and environmentally-friendly way. (This research proposal is in response to the recent Clean Air Act – which places responsibility on the firewood supplier and the user to ensure they are burning firewood with 20% moisture content or less. Important legislation for environmental health, but we don’t want it to be a barrier to small-scale woodland management).
We are delighted to confirm that the Trustees of the Janus Foundation unanimously supported the proposal to the full value of the grant application. And we now very much look forward to working with the RFS as they embark on this three year project. And we look forward to updating you on this project along the way through this newsletter.
And if you know someone who owns an unmanaged woodland, give them a gentle nudge!