---

We have started thinning out the conifers in the mature woodland. It’s a big project, but after 55 years or so, since the conifers were planted, the struggling broadleaves now need a helping hand.

The conifers, I guess, were planted as a cash crop but they were never felled, let alone thinned! Strangely, they were planted within an existing woodland which, judging from the species, was a mixture of sparsely wooded heath and coppice.

Already, after only a week’s work, the ecosystem is transforming: with light now trickling through to the woodland floor. The oak, birch, and sweet chestnut leaves are once again shimmering in the sun – almost as if in gratitude!

---

---

---