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April 2025

Jack Wood

Stage 1 Woodland Condition Self-Assessment Completed!

What a fabulous start we’ve made to assessing the condition of Oxleas Woodlands! 

In just one month, 9 visits to Jack Wood, and a total of 123 volunteer hours contributed by 13 people, this first assessment is almost complete.  All we need to do next is make a quick visit to each compartment, when the trees are in full leaf, assess the canopy cover, then check the forms, add up the scores, and use the Toolkit to find activities to help improve each of the areas visited.  Then, onto the next area - Oxleas Wood!

What did we do?

Walking through the woodlands on a beautiful sunny day with like-minded people, looking closely at the trees and plants, could not have been a better way to spend some time.  As well as being a great learning experience for all 13 volunteers involved, we also shared friendship, fun and some laughter!  We’ve visited areas we’ve never been before; identified trees and plants we couldn’t previously name; and found some beautiful mosses and lichens too!  Less attractive was the discovery of litter, and dog waste in bags, tossed deeper into the woodlands.  This can be hazardous to animals and detrimental to plants too, to say nothing of the expectation that someone else will clear it up!

Sitting down at the end of the session with a well-earned hot drink led to lively discussion as we collaborated to reach the most suitable grading for each area, aiming to achieve a consistent approach to the various compartments, despite there being some different volunteer assessors in each of the sessions.

What did we find?

Many areas are in shadow, with little growing on the woodland floor; others have a richer plant cover - mainly the verges and areas nearer the woodland edges; others are eroded and have little growing on them at all.  Several ancient woodland indicator species were noted, including Butcher’s Broom, Native Bluebells, Wood Anemone, Guelder Rose and the Wild Service Tree.  In some compartments, they were growing in abundance; other areas there was just an odd example, showing the potential to improve the area in which the species was growing through volunteer input.  One strength of Jack Wood was the large amount of both standing and fallen dead wood discovered – wonderful habitats for invertebrates, fungi, ferns and other vegetation.

We need to improve the flora and fauna in all areas of the woodlands if we are to ensure we have healthy woodlands for future generations.  Our findings in this initial Woodland Condition Self-assessment process not only reinforced the need for light and moisture to reach more of the woodland floor, along with the need to protect the edges and other areas from further trampling, but also that the activities we are currently carrying out are already working towards those goals.  Through this self-assessment activity, we hope to be able to target areas in a much more rigorous way, perhaps first working on areas where we can make a quick improvement.  That will, of course, be decided by our planning team!

How you can help!

If you are interested in protecting and improving the condition of the woodlands and would like to join the Woodland Condition Self-Assessment Team, please contact: oxleas.volunteers@gmail.com