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...

Before I started to plan to plant a woodland I always thought that tree guards were used to protect saplings from deer. I now know they are used to prevent small mammals from eating the bark and killing the sapling particularly hares, rabbits and voles. Deer would of course nibble the shoots coming out of the top anyway. The damson tree above had only been planted a couple of days when it was nibbled. It has survived happily and the deer fence has since been tightened up in places so there are fewer coming and going now. This is a good reminder of what a red deer can do - the efficiency of the way she clears the bluebells is something to behold! The deer fence was erected a year ago (September 2022) and this year there has been some natural regeneration of trees where the previous two years there hasn’t which is a good start. That will not be enough protection when over 4,000 saplings go into the ground and they will need specific protection from smaller mammals as well. ...

....and still feel myself falling in love with my 8 hectares of South Lakeland. It is hard to hold the whole year in my head at once. There was the ‘is this really mine?’ phase and just hanging around up there. Then showing people around and trying not to get lost. Naming areas and trees which helped me take ownership. Then putting up my first camera trap and seeing what was happening there when I was and wasn’t there. I have visited 2-3 times a week and find myself able to lose time up there is a way I don't in my other life. Having fires is a treat and watching wildlife, listening to owls, deer and badgers going about their business. Sleeping there is a particular immersive experience where I still feel like a visitor watching the day and night unfold. I decided to just get to know the land for a year and not set any expectation of doing anything. That all changed when a friendly neighbour, Andy Brown from Sherpherd Aerial https://www.shepherdaerial.com  of...