‘Where two ecosystems are linked by a transitional area and the number of species and the population density are greater than either of the adjacent communities’. In the last few weeks, It has become increasingly apparent that the transitional areas at the margins of the wood are, by far, the Read more…
As spring turns into summer, the new plantation has really started to flourish. it’s just over 4 years ago now since the finger-height saplings were planted, and It’s difficult to remember the dark and lifeless place it once was. Nesting linnets and blackcaps are singing from the sweet-chestnut tops and Read more…
Just managed to catch this charming little owlet before it popped back into the nest box. She looks ready for branching, so will be soon scrabbling about in the trees close by. I’m not sure if there are any brothers and sisters, but anytime soon we’ll know for sure, as Read more…
A lovely spring day at Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s Hickling Reserve. We started the day practising knots and learning how to handle and grade Norfolk reed. This was followed up by some very impressive sculptural constructions. It still surprises me how a bundle of reeds and a ball of jute string Read more…
Bracken can dominate a new plantation, outcompeting young saplings and collapsing onto tree guards in autumn bringing them to the ground. There is plenty of evidence that crushing the bracken stems with a tractor-driven roller shuts down the bracken rhizome over time. This is backed up by the fact, that Read more…
A bit late with the log stack this year, but with the best of the drying weather still to come, it should be just fine. Technically, the log stack is built in a windrow configuration, lying in the direction of the prevailing wind. Air circulation is the key to a Read more…
Jewellery in its broadest (and wildest sense). A great day’s teaching at Hickling Reserve, with a very enthusiastic group of students. We learnt how to make cordage from willow bark and nettle, and then, set about making some beautiful little constructions from the materials harvested close by. Definitely ‘adaption in Read more…
Looking ahead to the workshop for the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, I thought it a good idea to make a short reconnaissance visit to the Hickling Reserve, just to see what materials are available. Lots to choose from, including some good birch logs. Now birch bark is well known for its Read more…
Down by Foxes Beck, a tangle of willow scrub emerges from the waterlogged banks. The inner bark, or more precisely, ‘the cambium layer’, is a fine material for bindings. Either raw, or retted (boiled in a hot ash-liquor), it’s tough, and ‘strips-down’ a little more consistently than bramble. If you Read more…
Thinking ahead to the ‘Wild Jewellery’ event I’m running for the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, I thought I’d see how last year’s bramble growth behaved for simple bindings. Quite tough to ‘thread’ (peeling off the vicious thorns) but it certainly was robust. It even withstood Nellie’s ‘Lab test’.