8th August

The extent of the ash trees affected with ash dieback fungus was brought home by Tim and Ken who worked in an area around the quarry and marked each diseased tree with a line of white paint. They estimated that 80% have been attacked so far. We decided that by removing and burning as many small dead ash trees as possible may help the larger trees to weather the storm and possibly recover next year. Also by marking the affected trees, the unaffected trees can be monitored with the view of collecting their seeds if they appear to be resilient to ash dieback. These seeds can then be planted for restocking the wood in the future with this beautiful native tree. The volunteer group worked very hard all morning bagging up brash and small branches ready for burning. Larger trunks have been placed ready for chopping and burning and presented a very sad sight. Its going to be a tough few months to make a dent on the dead and dying trees but we are not alone, it is a nation wide problem and so I will be attending the Small Woods conference next month to gain information and fellowship from other woodland owners/managers.

a map of the woods with the control area marked
a map of the woods with the control area marked
attention is switched from constructing paths to taking down small diseased ash trees
attention is switched from constructing paths to taking down small diseased ash trees
David tackles slightly larger trees
David tackles slightly larger trees
Brash and small branches are bagged up ready for burning
Brash and small branches are bagged up ready for burning
Bill and John - a formidable team - work through diseased ash trees
Bill and John – a formidable team – work through diseased ash trees

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