A message from our Warden, Pat Forrest
Unfortunately, the time has come (as we knew it would) for us to deal with the impact of Ash dieback, a fungal disease affecting Ash trees in the wood.
Sadly in certain areas this will result in swathes of woodland being left devoid of trees. The areas most affected being along the banks of the stream and behind Birchwood School.
Ash sited away from the pathways, and therefore not posing any problem to the many who enjoy walking the wood, will be left to decay naturally, benefiting nature as a habitat for copious life forms. The diseased trees on the path edges will be dealt with by our group of volunteers during the course of the next five years, I do hope I am not being too ambitious regarding this time span!
Please be aware that in order to access the Ash, other species will ultimately suffer, the felling of healthy trees in this regard is an unavoidable and regrettable consequence that we have to accept.
Please do feel free to call in on a Saturday and have a chat, raising any concerns that you may have with regard to the proposed felling programme. We genuinely wish to harmonise and encourage patronage of the wood. We certainly do not want to alarm users when witnessing felling on such a dramatic scale.
Just a footnote, these works do not fall into the category of general coppicing and woodland management.
Birchanger Wood 