Bel's Wood

Over 4,000 trees were put in the ground in January 2024 and Project Mulch Mat commenced in February. Friends pitched in and slowly but surely each tree got it’s mat. I had researched the value of this large task and was convinced that it would help with weed supression (grass and bracken to some extent), water retention (not yet an issue but if we get a dry June like last year they would help), temperature moderation (again not yet an issue but we hit over 30ºc at the wood last year so shading the roots will help) and finally providing nutrients as the jute mulches down into the ground to support the tree roots. Although hard to assess the efficacy I can see that the protection from grass and bracken is working. Here is a little Scotts Pine receiving sunlight due to the mat being in place. I gave the honour of laying the last mat to my friend Mags who has helped me over the last months.  Many other friends have helped including Tina, Jacqui, Charlie, Charlotte, Michelle, Sandy, Sue...

'Bluebells are one of the main biological indicators that scientists use to judge whether a spot is an ancient woodland. An ancient woodland is an area of woods that has been recorded on a map since the year 1600 CE. That’s approximately when maps started being more accurate, so we know that these areas have been filled with trees for approximately 400 years. They are relatively undisturbed by human development and, as a result, foster unique and complex communities of natural life.' (Hants  local  government website).  I have  a map including Bel's Wood dated 1895 (Ordnance Survey Map) and no woodland is showing. There are older maps online which also show that the land and it is always cleared of woodland. Wood would have been used at  Starnthwaite Mill nearby and there is evidence of coppicing of hazel trees in some areas where there is still patches of trees. The presence of bluebells growing on the land indicates that there was a mature woodland here once. ...