Page 43 - link magazine

The Link Magazine • December 2005 43
Forest plant postponed Spreading the word about forests
until Spring Swindon's Great Western
Lashing winds and icy rain turned Shaw Forest Community Forest team
into a complete quagmire on Sunday 6 November hosted a day in early Novem-
and forced the postponment of the community ber for forest education
tree plant advertised in last month's Link. projects all over the country
Great Western Community Forest spokeswoman to share how best to encour-
Alison Bruce, "the team would like to thank the age people to enjoy wood-
volunteers from the Shaw Forest Protection Group lands and forests.
and the families who turned up despite the horren- Representatives from over
dous weather conditions. 20 forest school projects and
"The tree plant area had become totally unsuit- organisations like the Wood-
able for planting and we deemed it to be too land Trust looked at the way
dangerous to be accessed by the general public. schools have created their own
The trees would not have survived being planted mini-woodlands and are edu-
in such wet ground. cating children to look after
"It wasn't an easy decision to make as the GWCF the environment.
team and the SFPG had invested a lot of time and Ruth Parson's showing off her Harry
enthusiasm in planning for a successful event." Hazelnut Story Sack education re-
Alan Hayward of the Forest Protection Group source which has been published by
said group members understood why the tree plant former Westlea Primary School
had to be postponed. "The conditions were not headteacher Neil Griffiths through
good for anybody, especially families bringing his company Corner to Learn
children. We welcome the contin-
ued support of the event sponsors
Nationwide Building Society and
Intel who are backing the tree plant
we hope will take place next
March.
"All being well the weather will
be more predictable and we can
enjoy the coming of spring with
another community get together."

Come and cut
some trees down
Disappointed that you could not
plant trees on Shaw Forest Coun-
try Park? Well, here's a chance to
cut some down.
The Peatmoor Community
Woodland Group is holding an
open morning on Sunday 4 De-
cember, 10am to 12.30pm at
Peatmoor Copse.
The area is a remnant of the
ancient Braydon Forest, once a
royal hunting ground. Over the
last 18 years, as it has been sur-
rounded by new housing, a group
of volunteers have brought the
woodland back to life through
coppicing the ash, alder, willow
and birch trees.
This old management technique
has encouraged a wide variety of
bird, mammal and insect life to
return and increased the life span
of the trees.
The volunteers in the group will
be demonstrating coppicing and
if you want to take part, bring
gloves and wear boots. Training
will be provided. There will also
be a pole lathe to show how wood
products were created in the past.
The copse is close to Peatmoor
Lagoon. Walk or cycle to the fish-
erman's car park on Roughmoor
Way and pickup directions, or for
a map, mail: [email protected]
The event coincides with a com-
munity litter pick organised by
the Friends of Peatmoor Lagoon.