News

By Clive Cobie Outdoor theatre has been inherent in human culture since time immemorial, for putting across ideas both cultural and philosophical to the masses. We are now creating a new outdoor theater called The apple tree Community theatre at Billingshurst. To do this we need your help to raise funds to plant a C shape in semi dwarf apple trees, made of one row planted at the distance of fifteen feet apart the row being fifty meters long, with two extra trees to fill in at each end. We have not yet received formal permission from the Parish Council. [...]

News Article by Simon Richmond on the The Arboricultural Association Website To read the full article on their site please click HERE After a long period of gestation, the Association is launching its new Registered Consultant application process. All new applications from 1 March 2021 will use the new system. The Arboricultural Association Registered Consultant (AARC) Scheme has been running since the mid-1970s and operates nationwide. Members of the scheme have demonstrated attainment of a recognised standard of knowledge, experience and the ability to practise as an arboricultural consultant in the most complex and demanding situations. The aim of the [...]

The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) awards scholarship and apprenticeship funding of up to £18,000 to talented and aspiring craftspeople working in a broad range of skills, from farriery and cheese maturing to jewellery design, silversmithing, dry stone walling, glassblowing and sculpture. Our next application round is open 11 January - 15 February 2021and we are looking for more talented applicants. QEST celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2020 and since 1990 has awarded nearly £5million to 600 individuals working in over 130 different crafts. We define craft broadly and welcome applications from all areas including rural skills, contemporary craft, conservation, [...]

Article by Nina Mason from the prolandscaper magazine website HERE In the first of its kind, an England-wide initiative has been launched to recover nature across the UK. It is the biggest initiative to restore nature ever to be launched in England. The Nature Recovery Network (NRN) Delivery Partnership, led by Natural England, brings together representatives from more than 600 organisations to drive forward the restoration of protected sites and landscapes and help provide at least 500,000ha  of new wildlife-rich habitat across England from doorstep to landscape, as set out in the government’s 25 Year Environment Plan. The partners, alongside [...]

News article on the ProArbMagazine website HERE  by Rachael Forsyth | Oct 18, 2020 The Woodland Trust says it is delighted threatened ancient woodland has had a reprieve with the choosing of the grey route for the A27 Arundel Bypass. Six route options had been proposed by Highways England for a road linking the existing dual carriageway on each side of Arundel in Sussex. All six options threatened irreplaceable ancient woodland or veteran trees. After public consultation in 2019, a route has now been chosen. It will affect a small number of veteran trees, but swathes of ancient woodland are now safe from the project. [...]

It's that time of year again when you spot the wonderful mushrooms and fungus in the woods and on your walks. A great source of nutrition too, but be careful, make sure you identify it and have a second opinion. A great site to help you is the Wild food UK  website, here you will find a comprehensive list with good photos and clear key.  Another good place for help is the Woodlands trust website, they say: Magical and mistrusted. Toadstools and mushrooms are associated with ancient taboos, dung, death and decomposition. But trees rely on fungi and we're just [...]

The information in this news item is from the Arboricultural Association who have put together some very helpful information for people who work with trees, there is a lot more good information on their site including posters and helpful links and advice that we would recommend you have a look at to help keep you safe during these continuing difficult times. News from the The Arboricultural Association Updated guidance Download Poster This guidance is intended to support businesses and employers helping their staff to continue working safely during the coronavirus pandemic in line with public health guidance on social distancing. [...]

What Works in Conservation (From the CE Conservation Evidence Website, full article HERE) What Works in Conservation provides expert assessment of the effectiveness of interventions based on the summarised evidence in synopses. These assessments are available in the searchable database, and the full publication can be downloaded as a free pdf or purchased from OpenBook Publishers. Panels of experts have assessed the collated evidence for each intervention to determine its effectiveness, the certainty of the evidence and, in most cases, whether there are negative side-effects on the group of species or habitat of concern (harms). Using these assessments, interventions have been categorised, based on [...]

(News from the Grown in Britain website) A week of events from 12th -18th October 2020 including the Forestry conference on the 14th. This year’s event will focus on three areas, Good for Business, Good for the Planet and Good for the Future and will be opened with a Keynote Address from Sir William Worsley, Forestry Commission Chair. The speakers will discuss a range of topics highlighting the benefits of forestry, not only from a business and conservation perspective but also for the future of mankind.  You will hear from the experts about: -  The latest Government land use policy [...]

News from the Pro Landscaper website, HERE New research from Friends of the Earth supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery shows 1 in 5 people in England struggle to access quality green space – be it private gardens, public parks or open fields. The report ranks neighbourhoods from A (the best access to green space) to E (the least access to green space). Almost 11 million people live in E rated neighbourhoods with an additional 7.7 million in D rated neighbourhoods. List of E rated neighbourhoods by local authority is available here or in map form here. Bringing together official data on the availability of [...]

Beekeepers and members of the public were asked to remain vigilant after an Asian hornet was spotted in the Gosport area of Hampshire. Published 10 September 2020 From:Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Animal and Plant Health Agency The National Bee Unit has confirmed the sighting and monitoring is underway to detect any other Asian hornets in the vicinity. The Asian hornet is smaller than our native hornet and poses no greater risk to human health than our native wasps and hornets. However, they do pose a risk to honey bees and work is already underway to monitor for any [...]

Shared with you from the South Downs website to help the event. Please visit their website HERE Friday 4 September – Sunday 6 September 2020 A live wildlife cam of baby sand lizards, the grand unveiling of a new arts trail, and interactive sessions with rangers will be among the highlights of a fun action-packed weekend to celebrate the amazing heathlands of the South Downs. “Secrets of the Heath” returns for 2020 with a virtual event with something for all ages and interests. The bumper line-up over the weekend of 5 and 6 September includes a chance to watch one of [...]

There is a new report out from the HSE looking at the 'Fatal injuries in agriculture, forestry and fishing in Great Britain 2019/20. There are info graphics and posters to download if you want to display them in your working area. Please see the HSE site HERE Or you can download a copy from us HERE PLEASE STAY SAFE OUT THERE.

Nesting Birds & The Law This article is from this summer's 'The Teller' newsletter from the Hampshire Coppice Craftsmen's group, Peter Etheridge writes: Being a member of several woodland and/or hedge related Facebook Groups, one of the most common questions that pops up every year is: “What date do I need to stop coppicing/felling/hedgelaying due to nesting birds?” Having been an ecological consultant for over a decade (advising clients on wildlife legislation) and also being someone who undertakes coppicing, tree felling and hedge laying  contracts on an annual basis, I thought I was probably well placed to answer this question. [...]

Another tree virus to look out for, Julie Bolton (County Arboriculturist, Environment & Heritage Team, Planning Services, West Sussex C.C. ) writes: I’m sure you’re aware that trees are vulnerable to viruses too so I just wanted to let you know about European Mountain Ash Associated Ringspot Virus. A bit of a mouthful and nothing to do with ash, i.e. Fraxinus; this affects Sorbus aucuparia otherwise known as rowan, and some other Sorbus sp. It’s a foliar pathogen and most visible in late May, June and July so the next few weeks might be the time that you see it. Because it affects the leaves, it [...]

From the 1st May a campaign has been started to water trees near you if at all possible. The Arboricultural Association, London Tree Officers Association (LTOA), Municipal Tree Officers Association (MTOA) and the Association of Tree Officers (ATO) have launched this campaign to ensure that newly planted trees are watered regularly over the summer months, highlighting the fact that young tree maintenance is just as important as planting.      Julie Bolton from West Sussex CC wrote in her email to tree wardens: April was the sunniest since records began – and very pleasant it was too but pretty stressful for trees, especially recently planted ones [...]

A big warm welcome to all our new members this year In these strange and troubling time we would like to stretch out the hand of friendship and welcome to all of our members and especially our new members this year. A strange and unsettling time when we should all be having fun at shows, meetings and around the campfire. Normally we would be very busy preparing for shows and attending various meetings, promoting the benefits of Coppiced woodland and woodland products but we have missed out so far this year. Hopefully when this is all over we can have [...]

Hi everyone (SSCG members), the NCFed is asking for us all to join in with a bit of fun: As part of this years beanpole week campaign we are encouraging  people to send in photos or film of things you can make and do using Beanpoles - not sure if we will get to 101 but we can have fun trying. We will collate, along with credits,  on the Beanpole week gallery, and put samples on  Instagram and face book.   The main idea is to provide the public with ideas of projects they may like to try over the spring [...]

Information from the ProArb web site: Forest Research, Defra and the Arboricultural Association have designed a survey to help understand how arboricultural contractors are experiencing the effects of working with OPM. They are looking to understand the extent, severity and long term effects that the tree pest is having on the health of operatives and the commercial implications for future management. The Arboricultural Association says: “We want to hear from those who have suffered health impacts and also those who have not – whether in the current OPM affected area or elsewhere in the country To take the survey please click HERE

The Sussex and Surrey Coppice Group is currently having a tidy up of all the details we have for paid up members, life members and significant others within it's database to ensure it complies with GDPR and don't annoy anyone by sending them unnecessary emails etc. We will be sending emails to group members that have paid their subs and over the next 2 weeks delete all other contacts from it's database to ensure your detail are safe and we don't hold any information we don't need or shouldn't have. All the information is being stored safely and digitally to [...]

We have had a request through from the National Federation of Coppice workers looking for articles and reporters. Please read below and get in contact with us if you can help:   “Cleft Stick Reporters”   We are trying to help spread the load of pulling in articles for the Cleft Stick (the NCFed biannual magazine) by setting up a team of local reporters across the UK. Now, before you press the “Delete” button (!) let me  just say that this is NOT Intended to, and nor will it, be an onerous task involving loads of work on your part. [...]

News from the APTGW: Coronavirus and the Bodger’s Ball With great regret, it is now necessary to cancel the Bodgers Ball for May 2020. This has not been an easy decision to reach; your committee has spent a considerable amount of time trying to balance the risk to our members against the cancellation of a much-anticipated event, not to mention the financial loss to people running the pre-Ball courses. The Government has now decided to bring in legislation to ban mass gatherings; details of this are not known at the time of writing, but it is likely that this would [...]

An article spotted by Michelle Clifford (An SSCG member) from earlychildhoodwoodwork.org website:  The Big Bang Project – This project focused on encouraging woodwork in early childhood education around the world. Building on extensive research – using both quantitative and qualitative research methods, the aim of The Big Bang Project is to support schools to develop their woodwork provision. ‘As children make with wood they are learning skills that will empower them to shape their world’ Many are surprised by the idea of young children working with real tools but woodwork actually has a long heritage in early childhood education going [...]

Some SSCG members had a day planting Willow at Shadow Woods. Clive Cobie and Graham Bowbrick sent in some pictures. Graham said: Brinsbury had some willow that they had been coppicing for weaving and some of it was no longer needed so  Chris removed it and another section needed cutting back , we loaded it on his trailer and took it to Shadow woods where we sorted it into colours and size, all the rods 5/8” and above were cut to 18”lengths and pushed into the prepared bed by about 10”, we spaced them about 10” apart so they grow [...]

The new plant passporting arrangements came into effect on 14 December 2019. Anyone responsible for the movement of roundwood timber or Christmas trees over 3m needs to become a Registered Authorised Professional Operators (RAPOs). The following also require a Plant Passport: Sweet Chestnut and Plane, together with bulk bark, brash and wood chipped on harvesting sites. Christmas trees over 3 metres and decorative foliage from such trees but Sawdust, wood chips and slab-wood with bark are currently considered to be a lower risk and are not expected to require one. If you are concerned that you may need some help [...]

A News Article released by PA Media: Climate Change could be affecting Bee populations according to new research. Bumblebees are in drastic decline across Europe and North America owing to hotter and more frequent extremes in temperatures, scientists say. A study suggests the likelihood of a bumblebee population surviving in any given place has declined by 30% in the course of a single human generation. The researchers say the rates of decline appear to be “consistent with a mass extinction”. Peter Soroye, a PhD student at the University of Ottawa and the study’s lead author, said: “We found that populations [...]

The PRO LANDSCAPER Website reports:   The UK has moved a step forward today with the Second Reading of the Environmental Bill.   Environment Secretary George Eustice says:  “The Prime Minister is clear and so am I. We will deliver the most ambitious environmental programme of any country on Earth. This transformative Bill is at the heart of our work. It will see us recycling more and wasting less, breathing cleaner air, planting trees, safeguarding forests, and supporting nature recovery. Working to tackle climate change and reach net zero emissions.   “And this is just the start. 2020 is a massive year for [...]

Sussex & Surrey Coppice group (SSCG)  24.02.2020 Dear Reader, On Friday 21.02.2020 BBC R2 aired a debate on the lunchtime show. titled: Burning wet coal and logs. Based on the Defra Consultation 'The clean air strategy'. Due the BBC's cleaver choice of words this provoked a lively debate leaving many affected listeners and fuel merchants dazed and confused, the Debate referred to The Government's Clean air act 1956, the consultation paper cleaner domestic burning of solid fuel and wood 2018 and the summary 2019. It is the Government's responsibility to ban the sale of the most polluting types of fuel [...]

“Wet Wood” Woes? (NCFed's response so far to the government phasing out of selling 'wet wood' and coal) What the Government’s new Clean Air Strategy means for firewood On 21st February 2020, the Government announced its new Clean Air Strategy for England. This covers many types and sources of air pollution including from transport, farming, industry and, most relevant here, from the home. This summary covers firewood only but the strategy also includes plans for other solid fuels as well as for wood-burning stoves and smoke control areas. Please note: air quality is a devolved issue and so this information [...]

This article is from the PROARB magazine, to see it on their site please visit them HERE The House of Lords debated the threats posed by pests and diseases to native trees in the UK on Thursday 13 February. The Arboricultural Association has said it welcomes this debate. Stating that it is important to recognise that the arboricultural industry is equally as concerned with the threat posed to ‘non-native’ as to ‘native’ species. It particularly welcome the contribution of Lord Framlingham, who used his time to demonstrate the importance of utilising Arboricultural expertise. A President of the Arboricultural Association from [...]

The Rural Start-Up Fund Forest Holidays, partners of the Fund, are passionate about sustainable rural tourism. Ensuring resilient communities and a prosperous local economy means supporting the people living and working at the very heart of the rural sector. This is why Forest Holidays and The Prince’s Countryside Fund have teamed up to create The Rural Start-Up Fund, an exciting opportunity for rural businesses to receive financial support as they embark on a new business venture. One of the biggest barriers to setting up a new business is the initial financial demand, and this, coupled with the challenges of working [...]

We received information from the NCFed to pass on to all our members, if you have any feedback please contact Bob Hewitt our NCFed rep who will coordinate any responses. 1. There will be a National Coppice Week 2020. Thanks to everyone who got involved last year. Dates will be 17-25th October, launched at the Gathering and AGM. NCW was successful enough in 2019 to suggest that it has potential to work effectively for the groups and NCFed. Please ask your membership to save the dates and begin to think about what they might fancy doing. Also to consider other [...]

Last Thursdays group meeting held at Warnham Nature reserve was presented By Clive Cobie, fellow woodsman, environmentalist story teller and all round good egg, Although technical issues presented a problem with the projector, Clive's presentation was based on his recent schools woodland theatre project at a Primary school in Pulbrough, Backed up with a timelapse video of site  preparation and the creation of the theatre area with his 360 digger, re turfing and tree planting the theatre area, The main aim of the project is to educate and encourage kids at a young age to get involved with learning about [...]

This news item is from the Pro-Landscaper magazine The Environment Bill will be introduced today (30/01/20) following its return to Parliament after the General Election. The Environment Bill is said to help ensure that we maintain and improve our environmental protections as we leave the EU. Measures will be introduced to improve air and water quality, tackle plastic pollution and restore habitats so plants and wildlife can thrive.   The Bill will ensure that this government – and future governments – are held to account if they fail to uphold their environmental duties. This includes meeting net-zero by 2050 and wider long-term legally binding targets on biodiversity, air quality, water, and resource efficiency and waste [...]

Palmstead plant day by Bob Hewitt 22.01.2020 The Palmstead plant day is an annual event organised by Palmstead nursery Ashford Kent, now in its 11 year, attracting keynote speakers from the wider horticultural industry, This year Keynote speakers were Tony Kirkham obe, Dr Debbie Bartlett (SSCG) and John wire Forestry Commission, plus other respected Horticultural practitioners, The event was held at the Ashford international Hotel and sold out to a target audience of Landscape architects, specifies, designers, contractors, estate gardeners, industry and local authority decision makers along with the industry trade press. The theme of the conference was called planting [...]

Hello everyone and welcome to the wonderful leap year of 2020, we have a lot planned this year so I thought I would just share some dates with you. All of them are in the Events Calendar but get out your diary and make a note of these as it's always great to see as many of you as possible at all of the events. Members meetings: Firstly Bob H. has put together some dates for the members meetings, these are held at Wareham Nature Reserve and are open to all members and people who would like to come along [...]

What a wonderful day. We all met up as the day progressed in Shadow Woods and huddled around a fire that never stopped producing amazing food, overseen by Beth and Wayne. It was great to see so many people there including some brand new members who came along for the first time. I don't think we ever stopped talking and sharing stories and ideas with one another, the atmosphere was just perfect. The Highlight for me was Clive's walk and talk around the woods. He shared so much information about what we were seeing, historical features, historical sites and the [...]

Oak lace bug (Corythucha arcuata) An insect pest which attacks oaks, the oak lace bug can reduce growth and weaken trees. With number of other diseases already affecting oaks, the arrival of the oak lace bug would pose a serious threat. The oak lace bug is named after its delicate appearance. Quick facts: Common name: oak lace bug Scientific name: Corythucha arcuata What does it affect?: oaks and sometimes maples Areas affected so far: not currently in the UK Origin: North America What does oak lace bug damage look like? Symptoms include: Spots of colour loss (chlorosis) on the upper surface of the leaves appear [...]

The following is an article of interest from the Pro Landscaper online magazine, to read the article in full click HERE James Hewetson-Brown, managing director of  Wildflower Turf ltd  explains what biodiversity net gain is and the impacts it will have on our industry. Biodiversity loss is up there with climate change as an issue to concern us all. Economic models, such as Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics recognise the loss of biodiversity as an economic disaster. If present indifference to the biodiversity loss continues, she argues that this will undermine our future economic development on a worldwide scale. The message is an urgent need [...]

Tree health news and biosecurity action from across the sector - An article by the Tree Council, to read the report in full please click HERE November 2019   UK tree health continues to be a rapidly evolving space. On 25 October, the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee called for a ‘citizens’ army’ to tackle the growing threat from invasive species, estimated to cost Britain’s economy £1.8 billion a year. The Committee called for trained volunteers to help identify and respond to biosecurity outbreaks, modelled on a system developed in New Zealand.  The report called on the Government to: Train a ‘biosecurity citizens’ army’ of 1.3 [...]

You may not have seen the BBC news article on Tree planting by the various political parties, below is taken from their website but can be read in full at the BBC HERE The political parties have been promising huge increases in tree planting in their election manifestos. The most eye-catching is Labour's plan to plant two billion trees by 2040. Impossible, some say - that's more than a quarter of a million trees every day. But it's not necessarily unrealistic. It's just that it will require a sea change in the way things are done today. Where are we at [...]

Most of you will be aware of the Bentley Car Museum and wild foul centre, the group has spent many weekends at the Wood fair each year. Things are changing, the following is from their facebook page:   The journey starts here....   WILD BENTLEY·SATURDAY, 26 OCTOBER 2019· Our aims; To create a sanctuary for the conservation of native, endangered wildlife species and the reintroduction of lost species. To create a technology hub that celebrates our motoring heritage but which also focuses on the future of sustainable transport and encourages young people to get involved with engineering their future. To [...]

Members meeting dates for 2020 Some dates for you new diary for the coming years Members meetings, each meeting will have a speaker and all members are welcome to attend. They take place at the Wareham Nature reserve and are a great opportunity to meet up and stay in touch as well as listen to some engaging talks. Members have said: 'I learn something new every time I attend' 'It was great to catch up and see everyone again' 'That's got me thinking about what we are doing in the woods' 'A well spent evening' The new dates are: 6th [...]

2020  Bodgers Ball The 2020 Bodgers Ball will be held on the 8th - 9th - 10th May at Eyarth House, Ruthin, Denbighshire, North Wales, LL15 2EG, by kind permission of Alistair Fleming and Family. The theme of the 2020 Ball will be "The Shepherds Ball" and we will also have a Victory in Europe Day Competition Class to mark the weekend. Thanks to the Wales (North East) Group and the Woodland Skills Centre (Bodfari) for their support in organising the 2020 Ball. There will be a write up in the Winter Gazette and further details on the APT&GW Web-page. [...]

Observatree Autumn Round Up For those of you that dont know, Observatree is an award winning collaborative project between Forest Research, Forestry Commission England, Forestry Commission Scotland, APHA, Defra, Fera Science Ltd, the National Trust, Natural Resources Wales and the Woodland Trust. Using citizen science to help spot new pest and disease threats to UK trees. The following is their latest report: In total we had 1247 reports submitted between July and September, which is a lot of trees being looked at!  The Midlands volunteers have been the busiest; we seem to have a bit of a rivalry developing between [...]

Great news from Stanmer Park, the following is from the ProArb website: A team of heavy horses are the latest recruits to the council’s countryside team at Stanmer Park. Led by Dan and Jess Brown, the Comtois horses will spend the next three weeks helping to clear sycamore and ash trees thinned out as part of the park’s Woodland Management Plan. Horses have traditionally been used to move logs from woodland to avoid using heavy machinery and minimise damage to the other trees and the forest floor. The selective thinning of the trees will make space for planting a range [...]

This November's Members meeting was all about Cobnuts, Gillian Jones, Chair of the Kent cobnut association and grower of Cobnuts, gave a very interesting and thought provoking talk to a big turnout group of members. A cobnut is a cultivated variety of hazelnut, just as a Cox is a cultivated variety of apple. Mankind has enjoyed wild hazelnuts from time immemorial, and cultivated hazelnuts, sometimes known as filberts, have been grown in gardens and orchards since at least the 16th century. Children played an early version of 'conkers' with hazelnuts; the game was called cobnut or cobblenut, and the winning [...]

A new Whatsapp initiative for coppice workers  How many times have you had an enquiry far too big for you to handle, or simply too busy to fulfill?Or needed coppice materials yourself to complete a job? We've wondered how NCFed could help in managing such orders for a while. So we are launching a new pilot scheme which we hope will do just that. We have created a WhatsApp Group called 'NCFed Coppice Merchant' where all members can share details of orders they can't fulfill on their own, or where you can send requests for materials you may need. But [...]

CALLING ALL COLLECTORS! PEOPLE’S SHOW 2020 at the Weald and Downland living museum I just spotted this call for help from the Weald and Downland living museum: Calling all collectors. As part of the Weald & Downland Living Museum’s 50th Anniversary we will be holding a ‘People’s Show’ from 13 February until 11 May 2020. At the Museum we have around 16,500 items in our collection dealing with rural life and building activities, but we also know that some of you have wonderful collections too and we want to see them. A People’s Show turns the spot-light on our visitors own collections [...]

The Woodland trust is asking for everyone's help to plant trees. The following is from their website: The Woodland Trust is calling on one million people to pledge to plant a tree to help us fight the climate emergency. We need to act now! This year, on 30 November the Woodland trust will hold a mass participation tree planting day with events across the country. Join us in The Big Climate Fightback. If you are unable to plant a tree as part of The Big Climate Fightback, you can still play your part. Simply pledge and make a donation to the [...]

Bob Hewitt is involved in helping make a new Sculpture at Warnham Nature reserve, Bob says: The sculpture is built at Warnham nature reserve as part of their information trail where we the group have our meetings, I was employed to erect the trail signs 11 in all, the sculpture was professionally designed and then built by the reserve volunteers under the supervision of the architect, it is made from cleft chestnut rails and bolted together The Tri Helix is to represent the cell structure of plants. Warnham Local Nature Reserve is a haven for wildlife just a 30-minute walk from Horsham [...]