Introduction

With the nights drawing in and the mercury dropping the planting season is fast approaching! Combined with the launch of our new Tree For All project at the end of September we are busy with plans for this season’s tree planting events. If you’re organising a planting event this winter register it with us and apply for a planting grant too!

Below is exciting news about our national conference in March next year. This is at a fabulous location in Lincolnshire. I hope you will all be able to attend and make this an even bigger event than last year.

Over the summer we have been busy sifting through the recent batch of applications for our CWN project grant. The applications have been for a variety of projects and equipment and it’s been good to see many more new groups who we weren’t aware of coming on board through this scheme.

As we mentioned in the last newsletter, we are still keen to hear your stories about what you are doing in your woods. Please do keep them coming in so that the newsletter and the website have a community feel! With that in mind we are keen to encourage more people to use the interactive area on the website, so as mentioned above with the nights drawing in and preventing you from getting out into your wood, why not log on and spend a bit of time supporting other woodland groups and individuals with their queries?

Have a busy and satisfying autumn with your work parties and other projects!

Regards Paul.

News From the Project

The 2005 Conference

The next Community Woodland Network Conference is being held in March 2005 on Friday 4t and Saturday 5t at Stoke Rochford Conference Centre on the A1 about 10 miles south of Grantham. So please put the date into your diaries now because booking forms and invitations will be with you very soon. If there is anything special you would like us to include on the agenda then please e-mail christinajoachim@woodland-trust.org.uk

Tree For All

“Every child should have the chance to plant trees”. The Woodland Trust has launched the biggest, most exciting children’s tree-planting campaign the UK has every seen. Between September 2004 and 2009 our aim is to plant one million trees – that’s one for every child in the UK under the age of 16.

How can you as Community Groups support the campaign? – well here are some ways below.

Register your event with us and we will send you an event pack, which includes claim cards for a free gift for all children attending.

We also offer events grants of up to £100 to community groups organising tree-planting events. Register your event for details.

The details will appear on our family of websites over the next few days. Your event pack will be dispatched to you within 14 working days.

If you are just starting out on a new project such as a woodland creation scheme or are looking to acquire or manage an established wood, we are keen to support you too! A good start is to look at the reference material within our Community Woodland Network.

Register with the Community Woodland Network and get involved with the open discussion forum for groups to talk to each other and offer advice. We also offer project grants, free templates for group website creation, produce a quarterly newsletter and publish news and events from around the country specifically for woodland groups.

To read more about the campaign and see other registered events please visit www.treeforall.org.uk

To read national and regional press releases please use the links below:
National Press Releases
Scotland
Northern Ireland
First Trees Planted

Support the Woodland Trust this winter by wearing Hunter aubergine wellies

The Woodland Trust is one of eight charities working with Hunter boots to help them mark the 50th anniversary of their green wellington boot. The green Hunter boot was first launched to the public in the winter of 1954/55 and has since gone on to assume an iconic status becoming nothing less than the symbol of British country life.

Rather than cake and candles to mark this anniversary, Hunter produced seven different colour adult boots along with a matching children’s range, now available to buy until August 2005. For every boot bought a donation of between £1.75 - £20.00 will be shared amongst the charities. Buying aubergine over the web or at a country fair enables the maximum amount of £11.25 to be donated to the Woodland Trust. For more information about this promotion and ordering online visit or call 0207 603 5522 to place your order or find your nearest stockist.

To read more click here

Community Woodland Network Grant helps group win award.

Woolton Village Residents Association wins a Northwest in Bloom award from the Millennium Commission.

Peter Eustance, Chairman of the association said “we are very proud of the award and the grant from the Community Woodland Network went a long way to make this possible”

This group were awarded one of the Community Woodland Network Grants during 2003/04. Their use of this money has enabled them not only to enter for this award but also to ensure that their volunteer workers have all the necessary training and support to enable them to carry out the works in the wood and surrounding areas. To read more click here

Access News from Kent

"We all know that people like to enjoy our woodlands and the local countryside. But most of the time, they do not wish to concern themselves about whether they are on a public footpath, a permissive route or access land – they just want to walk!

With this in mind, Kent County Council have launched a new project with the aim of a more 'sensible' and 'joined up' access network. They hope to forge better working relationships with thoseCommunity Woodland Officers who manage access. In fact you may be invited to a countryside seminar in the Spring, along with other partners.

Additionally, they will be asking for suggested links between Woodland Trust sites and local villages, public transport or with the existing local path network. If you would like to know more, please telephone Abi Mansley on (01622) 696322 or email rowip@kent.gov.uk

New threat to our trees

The three-year survey by government plant health inspectors into Phytophthora ramorum has identified a second species of Phytophthora. It has been found in Cornwall and is causing similar damage to beech trees and rhododendrons. The new species is not known from any other country and currently has no scientific name. Its working title is Phytophthora taxon C. There is some evidence that it may kill beech trees more rapidly under UK conditions the P-ramorum. Defra and the Forestry Commission have extended their programme of action to tackle this new threat. They are currently working with landowners to see if the removal of rhododendrons can safeguard the woodland. Further information on the two diseases with pictures and descriptions of the symptoms can be found on: http://forestry.gov.uk/pramorum

A sighting of the Multi-coloured ladybird

A ladybird that is about 7mm long and comes in a multitude of colours and patterns is invading our countries. It is an Asian species first introduced into North America 25 years ago to fight aphids and still sold as a pest control.

Europe has also been using it for bio-control. The ladybird was discovered in the garden of a pub in Essex, probably drinking bitter!!. It is known as harlequin or the multi-coloured ladybug. The Harmonia axyridis is a threat to butterflies, lacewings and many other ladybirds because it eats so many aphids. Its secondary food is butterfly eggs, other ladybirds and lacewing larvae.

Dr Michael Majerus of the Evolutionary Genetics Group, Cambridge University, is anxious to monitor it before it gets out of control. If found, send the bug to him with precise details of when and where it was found. The Essex version was black with two bold red spots and two smaller red spots. His email address for more info and details of where to send the bugs is: info@gen.cam.ac.uk To read more please click here

New NUFU Case Studies

Creating New Woods for Directly Sowing Seed

The National Urban Forestry Unit have published Case Study 44 that describes how a new oak wood and areas of mixed woodland have been created at Ashford in Kent by direct seeding, rather than by planting young nursery grown trees. To order a copy visit the website or call Mark Dixon on 01902 828600.

Encouraging Bats to Roost in Urban Woodlands

The National Urban Forestry Unit has just published its latest Case Study (No. 45) called "Providing Roosts for Bats in Urban Woodland." It looks at the shortage of safe natural roosts in urban woodland and encourages the placing of bat boxes in order to make a significant difference. The Case Study is from Highgate Wood in London. Copies from Mark Dixon, NUFU on 01902 828 600 or from the website:
nufu.org.uk/index.php?content=free_downloads/index

A new campaign is underway to give us as much information as possible and to encourage us to re-cycle more. There is a national advertising campaign underway and a dedicated campaign website. For more information click on the following link: www.recyclenow.com/