Design and Management for Woods and Wildlife – event summary
29 June 2017There was great feedback from those who attended our event on Thursday 29th June.
Here are a few key points from the day:
Our host, Alan Twatt, explained why he decided to take poorer quality land out of agriculture to create a shoot and productive woodlands. The woods are now 25 years old and people were inspired by how they have developed. They are now of considerable value to wildlife with a large population of redpolls. We also considered how things are done differently today and how common problems can be avoided
The woodland walk demonstrated the benefits of pruning; the importance of timely thinning to achieve a high value final crop; species selection and constraints caused by diseases; linkage of habitats and forest habitat networks, importance of woodland edge design, hedge row management and pond creation.
Local contractor Stuart Munro demonstrated a harvesting machine and we discussed how smaller woods can be economically harvested.
Good grants are available for woodland creation and management and these were explained in a talk by Ian Cowe – Forestry Commission Scotland, while Simon Jacyna, SAC Consulting, demonstrated how woodlands are designed to achieve their objectives.
Links to PowerPoints from the day:
Ian Cowe, Forestry Commission Scotland – PowerPoint
Simon Jacyna, SAC Consulting – PowerPoint
If you would like more information about the event or topics covered then please contact us on 0300 323 0161 or email us at advice@fas.scot
Sign up to the FAS newsletter
Receive updates on news, events and publications from Scotland’s Farm Advisory Service