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FRIENDS OF ASHENGROUND AND BOLNOREWOODS

CONSERVATION : PROTECTION : ENHANCEMENT : ENJOYMENT

NEWSLETTER - WINTER 2013/14

Fungi were prolific this autumn, with a wide variety of different species on display

As autumn passes into winter our trees are beginning to lose their autumn colour and thebranches are becoming bare again. One advantage of course is that light streams throughthe woods, albeit with the much shorter days meaning that darkness is around for morehours than we would like. The hours of darkness are of course important for some of ourwildlife as it provides privacy and cover while searching for food.

In this edition Gill reflects on the oak that is so much part of our ancient woodland, theimportance of fungi to our eco-system is considered, Lorraine updates us on the flora andfauna spotters have seen this autumn, and Stuart lets us know about the coppicing thathas been taking place in Four Acre Wood and along Railway Shaw.

Janice Tipping

New Committee Members Sought

With Christine McLean having left the area and Janice Tipping also planning a move,FoABW need more people willing to be members of our Committee. Could you help? Wemeet about every six weeks for about an hour and a half, considering matters likenewsletters, conservation work, special events, membership, the impact of development andanything else that is relevant to our role in helping to care for our local nature reserve. Wewould welcome Bolnore residents in particular as our only Bolnore resident is no longerable to help out. For more information to help you decide whether this is something for youor not, contact Lorraine by phone on 450997 or by email to lorrainemaynard04@gmail.com

Our AGM will be held on Sunday 19th January 2014 at 2.00 p.m. in the AshengroundCommunity Centre, Southdown Close, off Vale Road, Haywards Heath. Members andpotential members are invited to attend.

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Oak Trees

We are so rich in oaks in Sussex that weforget how important they are to ourlandscape now, and how vital a part theyhave played in people’s lives almost sincethe end of the Ice Age.

Oaks don’t germinate seed well inwoodland, despite the millions of acornsthat cover the ground in a ‘mast’ year (amast year is when some trees produce anabundance of seeds compared to otheryears - it happens every six or sevenyears). In Ashenground Wood seedlingsgerminate in the buffer zones, on the edgeof the wood, in 4 Acre Wood in the openglade in the middle, and in the rides inBolnore and Catts Woods.

Acorns on the woodland floor

Some young oaks are being transplantedfrom 4 Acre Wood to the north RailwayShaw, to build up the diversity there. Wehave also found seedlings where we havecoppiced. Without this kind ofmanagement we would gradually lose ouroaks.

Their timber has been used for buildingsfor thousands of years, and for shipbuilding as it is impervious to water.Bark is still used in the tanning industry.oaks were revered all over northernEurope as a tree of power.

And it is a magnificent tree! The oldestand biggest oak in our nature reserve isclose to the pinch point, on the easternedge of Phase 4 of Bolnore Village (close tothe eastern corner of Reading Wood).FoABW has worked hard over time toachieve enough protection for this treefrom the development. If you can go andlook at it!

The ‘Great Spreading Oak’ in wintersnow

Gill Rogers

Fungi

This autumn there was an amazingvariety of fungi and it appeared on massin many parts of our nature reserve.

A fungus is a member of a large group ofeukaryotic organisms that includes micro-organisms such as yeasts and moulds aswell as mushrooms. Fungi are classifiedas a kingdom. The discipline of biologydevoted to the study of fungi is knows as

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mycology. Genetic studies have shownthey are more closely related to animalsthan plants.

Fungi perform an essential role in thedecomposition of organic matter and havefundamental roles in nutrient recyclingand exchange. Like bees, they are one ofthe essentials to the world’s eco systems.

Most fungi are inconspicuous because ofthe small size of their structure and theircryptic lifestyle in soil, on dead matter,and as symbionts of plants or other fungi.They become more noticeable whenfruiting, either as mushrooms or moulds.This is of course when we were able to seethem in abundance as they fruited duringour autumn.

Janice Tipping

Sightings in Our Woods

Speckled Wood amongst blackberries –a September sighting

After such a gorgeous summer and thegentle slide into autumn, the birds andanimals in the woods have made the mostof the mild weather conditions and theplentiful supply of berries, nuts andinsects. Some birds, reptiles,amphibians and arthropods were stillbreeding into the early autumn.

You will see from my Autumn SightingsReport (see our website), some of the moreunusual reported sightings have beenfroglets, young common lizards, youngcommon newts and a grass snakehatching. There have also been autumnsightings of pine moth caterpillar,elephant hawk moth caterpillar and whiteermine moth caterpillar.

Reported bird sightings included severalsightings of a barn owl in the BolnoreWood area, a heron in AshengroundWood, male and female pheasants also inAshenground Wood, and several sightingsof a common buzzard flying over thewoodland edge.

Lorraine Maynard

Hornbeam Pollarding asuccess!

A recent review of the woods looked at thepollarding of ancient hornbeams that wasstarted last spring along the Bridleway.At our request, only one of three groups oftrees was done (and only the firstlowering, two will be needed ultimately).We decided it was a success! TheHornbeams were reshooting exactly ashoped, while the extra sunlight on thepath is welcomed by people and wildlifealike. Based on this success, theremaining two groups will be done thiswinter.

A reminder of the pollarding of theancient hornbeams along the bridlewaythat took place last spring

Stuart Meier

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Coppicing on Four Acre Wood and Railway Shaw

After an interval of nearly 50 years, proper woodland management on Four Acre Wood andRailway Shaw has been restarted by contractors working for Crest. You may rememberthat following a public consultation exercise last year, FoABW supported Crest’s proposedWoodland Management Plan, some early parts of which will be done in the spring.

Coppicing and thinning is taking place now on Railway Shaw South (the area closest to therailway bridge) and Four Acre Wood. In both cases, the plan is to remove some of thepoorer vegetation to allow the understorey to recover, which is best for wildlife. This is thefirst step in both cases to encourage some of the better trees (most, but not only, oaks) todevelop towards maturity.

FoABW plans in due course to take over the coppicing work, mostly of hazel which is goodfor dormice (and bean poles!), but this will not start until those areas of woods have beenhanded over to MSDC, we expect during 2014.

Stuart Meier

‘Great Gate’ is Repaired and Reinstalled

The ‘Great Gate’ reinstalled after being damaged in a car crash

It’s back! Our ‘Great Gate’ was recently the victim of a car crash when a young man in acar was being chased by Police and decided to go through the gate and down the bridleway,eventually coming to a halt. The gate was significantly damaged by the experience. Thanksto Stuart for his brilliant repairs and to the gang of volunteers who put it back in place – noeasy task I can assure you!

Conservation Work and Events

Do join us for Conservation Work. We meet each month on the 1st Sunday (meeting placeAshenground Bridge) and 3rd Saturday (meeting place the Thatched Cottage in BolnoreVillage). Meeting time is 10.00 a.m. No expertise or tools needed. We will give you a warmwelcome. Helpers needed for light and heavier work. There is a refreshment break.

We have a Winter Warmer on Sunday 29th December. Join us for mulled wine, mincepies, sausage rolls plus a brazier – comfort eating and warmth to see out the old year andsay hello to the new! All welcome. Meet on Ashenground Bridge at 12 noon.

See our Programmes on the notice boards. Look at our website: www.foabw.comAnd of course don’t forget our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FoABW

General Information – Contact Janice on 07752 003529 or janicetipping@aol.comBirds and other Sightings to Lorraine Maynard 450997 or lorrainemaynard04@gmail.com

Published by Friends of Ashenground and Bolnore Woods, c/o Janice Tipping, 17 PinewoodWay, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH16 4JU. Tel: 07752 003529