New life: Restoring Reynolds and Holcot Woods (Part 4)

After years without active management, we are on a journey to restore Reynolds and Holcot Woods. Our 10-year management plan aligns with UK Forestry Standards, Natural England’s and the Woodland Trust’s guidelines, and has received approval from the Forestry Commission. Through our efforts, we aim to enhance the resilience of these woodlands against pests, diseases, and climate change while promoting biodiversity. Follow us on this journey…

If you haven’t already, read the first three instalments of the series here:

Read part 1 Read part 2 Read part 3

Posted 5th June 2025

Impact of the dry Spring

It’s very rare that anyone from the UK says, ‘the weather has been just right today’! This has certainly been the case for all of us in forestry over the last few weeks.

Bedfordshire is historically the second driest county in England, slightly behind Essex, and the lack of rainfall over the last few weeks, and any real significant rainfall over the whole of the Spring, is really starting to influence all the woodlands that we manage. Young trees are obviously struggling, but even older trees are not showing their usual Spring vigour, plus the grass is scorched, and ponds are scarily low. It’s certainly gone full circle after the very wet Autumn and Winter.

Over the last few years, we seem to have been on a permanent cycle of weather extremes, which makes anyone who works in the land-based sector think extra hard about what we do and how we do it.

Help from our volunteers

One good thing about the dry weather is that we haven’t had to worry about the effects of our work on the ground. Ancient semi-natural woodland (ANSW) soils are particularly fragile, and one badly timed operation can take years to heal.

Our volunteers have really embraced the restoration project and are keen to get involved at every stage. The last of the coppiced timber has now been removed from the Hazel coupe (A) and a team of volunteers, alongside Luke (Community Forester), Jo (Community Engagement Officer) and Guy Lambourne from Wasseldine, had a nice day in the sun layering the Hazel. This is an ancient and clever way of increasing the amount of Hazel (or any broadleaf tree) in an area. One stem is left off the coppice stool and cut 60 – 80% of the way through at the base, much like hedge laying. The stem is then bent over into a clear space and pegged down into a shallow trough in the ground. Once it has been covered back over, this stem will effectively produce a new plant and stool, so come the next cut, we have extra Hazel to harvest without spending any money, using trees of the most local provenance, and carrying out an ancient method for thickening up the coupe.

Coppicing plans

Coppicing is an essential part of sustainable woodland management, delivering multiple benefits including proving sustainable raw materials, enhancing biodiversity in the woodland, creating diverse habitats, supporting the local economy and keeping traditional skills alive.

Plots B – G in the woodland have been marked for coppicing in the coming years, and we’re looking forward to Guy and the team making a start on the next area in September. A few standards (trees with a single stem of at least 1.8m or 6ft) have been measured and marked, and a few of these will be harvested to let more light into the coupe, and to also allow the remaining standards to thrive.

Deer management

The temporary deer fence has gone up around half of coupe A, using chestnut posts and recycled high tensile plastic mesh. The other side has had a second dose of Trico repellent. The Trico (emulsified sheep fat) spray seems to be working well, as you can clearly see where the deer have browsed up to the edge of where it’s been sprayed. Testing these two approaches to deterring the deer from devouring the young trees should give us a clear view on the best tactics for Holcot. Fences in woods are never ideal, so we are hopeful that increased deer management, along with Trico application, will be the way forward.

Signs that deer have been grazing in the areas not covered with Trico

Temporary deer fencing in the woodlands

White Trico spray made from emulsified sheep fat

Opening up the woodland

Further into the wood we have employed a tree shear – a large, powerful hydraulic cylinder and sharp cutting blades - for a couple of days, and the difference it has made is amazing. Mike, the operator, has tidied up the main ride that was started by volunteers by hand in the winter, and now you can feel the warmth as light can permeate through to the ride. As a result, insect life is thriving, and the sound of buzzing is abundant. Mike has also cleared around the first pond and made some room and racks in the bigger Ash in compartment 7D, to minimise damage when we start to fell the Ash infected with dieback (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus).

Additionally, he has sensitively opened up (haloing) around some veteran Oaks, to allow them to age gracefully, and some younger ones so they can thrive.

While he was in the area with a digger, he scraped and re-laid 20 tons of type 1 stone onto the S bend of the main access track to make access much safer all year round.

Newts and bats

We undertook 2 bottle trapping sessions in the pond earlier this month, guided by Nicola, our Senior Ranger and in-house expert. We found 3 smooth newts, a couple of water scorpions, and lots of eggs – all great news and signs that the water quality is good. This has given us real incentive to take a closer look at the ponds, and plan how we can make them more wildlife friendly.

We have also been given a historic bat survey, from 2010, which records 6 of the known UK species found within Holcot. All these little bits of data help us to build a bigger picture of the woodland’s history against its current status and inform our plans for habitat restoration going forward.

Current focus

We’re in the process of amending the woodland management plan (a comprehensive and detailed summary of the woodland and the vision for the next 10 years) to allow us to take more timber from parts of Reynolds Wood to bring it in line with the Forestry Commission’s guidance on woodland resilience.

If we remove more now, it will allow us to restructure some of the young compartments and improve the species diversity, as we gently move towards a Continuous Cover Forestry model (a fine-tuned method, with high emphasis on regeneration, diversity of species and age structure, which is great for biodiversity). We will be replanting with Hazel, Oak, Lime, Birch, Scots Pine, Hornbeam, Douglas Fir and Wild Service trees, all of which are great for both habitat creation and timber production

Fighting ash dieback

In a few weeks’ time, we will be starting probably the biggest job in Holcot - felling the coppiced Ash in compartment 7D. We plan to remove around 75% of the Ash in this area (1.9ha), which is infected with dieback. We’ve already identified and marked the ‘best’ ones to leave with the hope that they may show some slow signs of improvement or that these mother trees may be able to regenerate resistant strains.

Prior to felling meticulous surveys will be carried out, following the British Trust for Ornithology methodology, ensuring no disturbance to any nesting birds. It’s important that we carry out this work while the weather is dry to avoid any damage to the delicate Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland floor.

This area will then have the brash broken up and mulched before being replanted this Autumn with a more diverse species mix. At the same time, we will regen fell the younger Ash in compartment 7A, which are looking really poorly now, removing around 80%. This area will also be replanted this Winter.

Throughout the restoration project there will be open days, guided walks and volunteering opportunities to share our experiences and get local communities involved in this exciting project and we’ll be keeping you updated with the different stages as they happen. If you have any questions, do get in touch with our Community Forester, Luke Quenby.