what we have done

We have been busy!

We have created and lined four scrapes with bentonite.

These shallow depressions have been created to hold water and to create ephemeral ponds which will hopefully be of use to some amphibians and insects, as well as providing a drinking site for some of our woodland friends. We have scraped out some soil where we knew water is an issue - alongside the Brenda Parker Way and one beside the bridlepath. We hope that vegetation which is suitable for this habitat will grow up and provide places for creatures such as dragonflies or newts to lay eggs and develop.

This role would normally be undertaken by wild boar in a woodland - so we have done instead of them!

Summer of 2024 saw us working on the Brenda Parker Way.

This footpath runs just outside our parcel of woodland to the North, so we had to get all the landowner's permission to do the work. HCC Rights of Way Team gave us their specification on how we had to do the work and it was a huge team effort to get the work done.

A massive thank you to everyone who supported either with cash, physical help, moral support or cake!

It was important to get this done so the footpath is useable all year and the woodland floor is saved from trampling feet as folk avoid the really dangerous, slippery mud.

On 25th April 2024, AWE volunteers came to help!

We had a really enjoyable day with 10 volunteers from AWE who gave of their time to help out with clearing the conifers. Debris has collected under the trees over many years and now poses a fire risk, so it is good to start getting that removed ready for chipping and making safer.

We are really grateful for the suppport.

Removal of barbed and galvanised wire

We removed three builders bags of barbed and galvanised wire from along the bridleways and footpaths so we could lay hedges and put in dead hedges instead. Hedges provide habitat for all sorts of creatures. The birds love the dead hedges as they are rich in insects.

Hedge laying

We have begun laying hedges. There are some dead hedges on the southern end of the bridleway. At the Northern end and along the eastern side of the bridleway, we are using the hazel to lay hedges. Did you know we have lost more than half our hedges nationally since the second world war? But they provide huge benefits to wildlife and to the countryside generally, so we are keen to put some back! 

Where we don't have live material to lay, we are creating dead or dry hedges. We have also planted some of the whips donated by the Woodland Trust and TCV, to try to thicken the hedge up for the future. These are all 'woodland harvest' trees, so providing flowers and fruits later in the season for the wildlife - and for us! But they are also all trees that are currently found in the woodland, so nothing new has been introduced apart from a few spindle trees, which are ones we could expect to see in this environment. A hedgehog has been spotted and reported, using the new hedge to move along and we know robins and wrens are finding them great places to hunt for invertebrates.

Moth trapping

We have had  regular moth trapping events, the first during July 2020 when 74 species were found - three of them notable. The second was at the beginning of September 2020 and we were delighted to invite locals to join us. A very enjoyable evening was had by all. This is something we plan to repeat. See the events page! (Thank you, Andy Bolton)

The third session was  October 17th and with the species found on this occasion, we could say that we had at least 101 species of moth that call The Copse "home"! 

In December 2020, we have found thousands of winter moths on the sheltered sides of the trees. Further moth trapping evenings have taken our total moth species found so far to 400! 

We think that's fantastic but hope that in a couple of years time maybe we will have even more.

Nesting boxes

We have now had help with putting up various nesting boxes on site (including barn owl, tawny owl and kestrel boxes) and Paul Bushell has helped us link in with the Hawk Conservancy in Andover, to take part in their nest box surveying project. We are very excited about this! (Thank you Paul)

Paul has also made us a tawny nesting box which will go up in the woodland, well away from the footpaths as tawny owls can get very territorial. Another reason to remain out of the woods!

Our longer term plan is to put up many more and keep a record of which ones get used. It will be interesting to see if more boxes and more fruit on bushes means more birds in future years.

Bridleway

The bridleway was improved during September 2020 and spring 2023 and is now part of a longer bridleway improvement plan. We are working to open it up further to allow more light and air in so it dries out more quickly and remains in a good state for longer.  (Thank you Andy, Elliott, Mitch and all the rest of the team from Hants Countryside Dept, The British Horse Society, everyone who generously donated and Paul Needham from Goodwood Tree Surgery).

Charcoal burning

We believe this was practised here in the past, so Anne has been on a charcoal burning course to see if it is practical to re-instate it as an activity of the wood. So far, getting hold aof a second hand ring kiln has proved difficult, but if it happens, it would be a summer time activity, so watch this space and the events page......

Coppicing

We have been coppicing areas, concentrating on the western side of the woodland as this is where most light wil be able to shine in. Coppicing is an ancient woodland skill - a sort of 'cut and come again' woodland managment. It is beneficial to ground flora, butterflies, dormice and many other creatures. We have cut the hazel right back to the ground in areas which we have identified and this will be done right through the woodland on a rotational basis, each autumn and winter.

You will see that we have covered the coppiced stools with brash cages to protect the new growth from the deer. The idea is that the hazel will now re-sprout from the root stock - hence needing as much light as possible. This form of woodland managment allows the trees to live for far longer, so while it looks drastic, it is in fact very beneficial.

Piles of wood have been created, some as insect hotels, some seasoning for charcoal burning or making things out of later, some as stakes for the garden or binders for hedge laying or hurdle making. Some for burning on the stove. Everything has its use.

Where we have been coppicing, we saw bluebells poking through the soil in the spring and the silver washed fritillary butterflies have ventured further into the wood for the flowers on the brambles which is so exciting! 

Also, notice around the coppiced areas, the hazel has more hazelnuts! this is due to the increased light levels.

Please admire our handiwork from the public rights of way and allow the ground flora to flourish by not walking on it! Thank you!

Made the first scallop

Following the advice of Natural England, we have made the first scallop or open area beside the Brenda Parker Way on the western end nearest the Ashford Hill Nature Reserve. This still has to be finished off but effectively we have made a new place for butterflies. You will see we have hedge laid along the back of the scallop and coppiced further into the wood to allow enough light to reach the new hedge so it can get going.

This has been a major enterprise but it is noticable in the early morning that the bird song is far louder there than in other places along the bridleway. This is very encouraging. The brambles here are now very dense which is great for dormice.

Whip and sapling planting

We have now planted 700 Woodland Harvest whips and various saplings from the Woodland Trust and OVO to bulk up hedges, replace silver birch, create scrubby areas and make a screen by the gallops. Thanks to the Woodland Trust and TCV for the whips, which are wonderful, to Paul Bushell who organised our receiving them (as well as buying us 50) and to our amazing team of volunteers who came to plant them with us.

Dawn Chorus Walk

On 2nd May 2021, 10 of us, in two groups, did a dawn chorus walk, starting at 4.30am. We heard 19 species of birds which we could identify between us.

On 8th May 2022, we were lucky enough to have Keith Betton, HOS Hampshire County Bird Recorder take us on our walk. Very informative and we heard 20 species of bird - not all the same as last year.

20th May this year, our walk was led by the Basingstoke RSPB group and we heard some more new species as well as the familiar ones.

Bioblitz

We held our first bioblitz on 20th August 2021. We had two family groups who came and joined the fun. Very enjoyable way to spend a few hours and we found out that, where we have made the new scallop, the froglets were to be found in their thousands, so that's evidence that the changes we have made are bearing fruit! We repeated this on 6th August 22. On 12th August 23 Ella, a student from an Ecology course at Bournemouth Uni organised the bioblitz for us. It was enjoyed by those who took part. Something we will definitely do again next summer.

Bat walks

We had our first public bat walk, led by Chris from the Hampshire Bat group and it was a fantastic evening, thoroughly enjoyed by all in 2021. We have repeated this every September.  We have learnt so much more about bats and their behaviours. We are still trying to ensure we identify the correct bat species we have in the Copse so we ensure any restoration work we do is sensitive to their requirements. We now know we have the rare barbastelle bat and natterers bat here, which is amazing! This is an event I am sure we will run again in future.

Sustainable Christmas Decorations

We had an afternoon making green and eco friendly decorations using materials from the Copse. Great fun! Wreaths and much more. Definitely a date for the calendar this year! In fact it's on our events page now!

Harvest Mouse surveying

An autumn activity which we have done on Ashford Hill Nature Reserve with the permission of Natural England. We have recorded harvest mouse nests here for the two consequutive years we have surveyed and this was the first ever record of these mice in this locality.