Numbers spray painted on trees?

  • Come along to the amazing Summer Moot (21st July - 2nd August), a festival of bushcrafting and camping in a beautiful woodland PLEASE CLICK HERE for more information.
Thanks for that Tadpole.
Kind of sums it up, reading that introduction. Also some amazing places to visit.
Cheers from Swyn.
 
Im not going to complain to anyone and im certainly not going to tell people what they should do with their land. Its up to them but i just thought it was a bit of a shame. Those woods are some of my favorite. They are a calm place and a haven for wild life. I just dont like to think that soon there will be trucks driving through it loading up timber and men with chain saws destroying a what is now a beautiful place. I hope you can see why im a little angry.
 
Hi, jon r.
I can understand your anger totaly! I'm just trying to put a different perspective on it. There is an old saying 'seeing the wood for the trees', and this is what I'm trying to put over. It is just trying to create an atmosphere if understanding.

Swyn.

PS, If you want a little peek into my' Forest world' please come to the spring moot. introduce yourself to me and I will happily take you on a brief guided tour of the operations here and perhaps you will develop an understanding and enthusiasm for timber production. Along with all the dilemmas that it raises.
S.
 
I've been coming to South Wales for almost 30 years. I met my wife, a Merthyr girl when she was at collage in Birmingham and I remember my first trip to Merthyr. I got off the train and thought "where the *@#~ have I landed", it was like a lunar landscape, just grey heaps of waste from the Iron and Coal industry to look at. Over time, the pits closed and slowly the valleys have got green. A lot of local area's have been re-shaped, to match old OS maps and a lot of trees have been planted. Around 10 or 12 years ago, I was walking the small valley at the back of my place, and there was a council lorry parked, the lads were planting trees. When I asked what type, they said "Don't worry mate, you won't see these grow full size in your lifetime", so not just pine trees were going in. For those of you who have not been down to the Valley's for some years, you would see a major difference now. Yes, the hills have been 'landscaped' a lot, but trust me, that's 100% better than it was.

Anyway, back to cutting trees down. Back in 2000, a local business man bought a large detached Victorian house, superb place, and with it was adjoining land covered in old trees, all with preservation orders on them. He got a team in, cut them all down over a weekend, then went to court and payed his fines :censored: To make matters worse, in 2004, he was granted permission to build a swimming pool complete with BBQ area/bar/changing rooms on the site. Who says money and contacts don't talk :(
 
Well, thats nothing. Round here such plots get redeveloped and its lucky if the original house is left. (frequently its demolished)
 
Tengu said:
Well, thats nothing. Round here such plots get redeveloped and its lucky if the original house is left. (frequently its demolished)
Right.....You think you had it tough.....There were two hundred and fifty of us living in shoe box, in middle of motorway.......
 
I have just looked at a property I sold 5 years ago and is now back on the market.

The price? nearly twice what I asked (way above any valuation but I got it anyway)

The moral of this is; if you have a bungalow dont sell it; if you want a bungalow its best to get a house and saw off the top.
 
Some woods I've started visiting in recent months have had a tremendous amount of felling going on. They say it's coppicing, now I don't know a lot about that but I thought that meant taking out some of the trees but they seem to be clearing whole areas.

Now if it wasn't for the fact it's managed by Essex Wildlife Trust I'd have thought they were "just going for it" as it were.

I watched them one day in one part of the wood and had a chat with them about it. Seems because it hadn't been managed in any way for about 50 years a number of locals got together and bought it and are gradually tidying most up. I asked them about the Oaks they were felling as I was surprised and they said the Foresty Commission say there should only be so many per acre from the smallest sapling to the oldest mature tree, so they have to take a some down :confused:

Just a shame they don't seem to be doing much with it all. I intend getting more involved as they need volunteers to help out but they wont be doing any more until the winter.
 
I havent read all the posts here and guess what I am going to wont be liked, sorry
worked in forestry most of my life, growing corn for bread is just a quicker crop than growing trees. I know many hard wood plantations planted for tallships that did not get havested at the right time and the crop went bad. Hard wood and soft wood is just a crop get over it.

you could read this post as someone posting for the heck of it, I am not I am deadly serious. Our lands have changed over time so has the need for timber but still dont make it wrong to havest a crop oftern planted for this very purpose.

sorry :-)
David
 
Proper forest management is done for many reasons, and for an assortment of goals. And it does involve cutting trees.

Coppicing involves cutting a mature live tree, and having new growth sprout up from the stump and roots. The whole root structure of the original tree is still there and still living - to feed any new growth. So the new saplings that sprout up grow much faster than a tree that starts from a seed, and has to develope its own root structure. Also, cutting out a mature tree opens up the area below it to sunlight - which helps new trees to get growing. You also get other new growth on the forest floor - bushes, grasses, etc. And this then draws in the various animals that live on that plant growth.

Traditional Coppicing involved getting a lot of tall thin saplings growing. Those saplings were then cut/split/bent and made into hurdles, gates, baskets, etc. - even the pins used in thatch roofing.

There are also a number of reasons to Clear-Cut a forest. The obvious reason people think about first is to clear it off so that the land can be used for some other purpose. But some clear cutting is done to control the type/species of trees growing. Like to create a mostly oak/walnut/spruce woods. Or to eliminate "junk" species or those of little value. Or to control an invading species.

One big thing to keep in mind when you consider any "action" against a land owner to protect trees/woods. That land owner does not have to allow you to enjoy/use his property. If you upset him, he may post his land to keep everybody off of it. You would then only be able to enjoy it visually from afar. Every land owner is not against you, just as you are not against every one of them. If you abuse the land you are using, you can be banned from it. The same goes if you abuse the owner of land you wish to use and enjoy.

Ask what is going on, to understand the motives and process - before you react.. And if what they are doing is different from what you believe should be done, it doesn't automatically mean that you are right and they are daft.

Rights and responsibilities - they work both ways.

Just my humble ramblings from out in the Hinterlands.

Mike Ameling
 
bambodoggy said:
It's funny but I've just spent the last two days dropping 22 65foot conifers and very neatly and carefully raising the crown on a very old cherry.....only to be told by the client that they now want me to quote on removing the cherry and grinding out the stump. It's a beautiful tree and I don't recall ever seeing one as big as it and in as good condition as it...no rot or deadwood anywhere on it. It has no TPO on it and if I don't quote then somebody else will.....however, at the same time as quoting on Monday I'll also be making a annonomous phonecall to the area Tree officer to see if he'll put a TPO on it....it's really too good and too beautiful a tree to destroy. It's also not going to be the first time I've called a tree officer in to protect a tree that a client wants me to take down for them.:D

Respect for that :35:
 
twisted firestarter said:
Respect for that :35:

yes donr the same too :-)

it becomes more fun when you tell the client to call someone else because you refuse to give them a price to cut down a tree :-) done that too

David
 
david1 said:
yes donr the same too :-)

Nice one David.....I was talking about this to a couple "tree" mates this afternoon and both of them said they'd done it too on occations....seems we are a nice bunch after all :)

I left two messages with the area tree officer today and then at lunchtime he went on annual leave until wednesday (didn't manage to call me back before he went :rolleyes: ), anyway...I've just sent my quote, which I made rather high to put them off but they accepted it....I've told them I can't get back to site beofre the middle of next week so hopefully I'll have got hold of the council tree officer before then.

Cheers,

Bam. :)
 

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE