message on an Ash coppice stool

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In: ash, comment, policy

It was an ancient Ash coppice stool; carpeted in green moss, fantastically gnarled and partly hollow. ” This was one our best loved trees. We are sad that you have cut it down?” Bad management or poor communication?Continue Reading

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In: news

I am joining other WordPress bloggers in committing to write a post every week during 2011.  Hopefully I will exceed this publishing rate.  Please do help me by joining in and letting me know what you think by adding comments and giving feedback.  Thanks for your interest!Continue Reading

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In: feature, science, trees

The rushing of the mountain river, whose banks we cooked on last night, soothed me to sleep. I woke up to another beautiful sunny day; the sun striking the steep mountainside beyond the river. Its glowing red rock is covered here and there in junipers, walnuts and scrub. Our ‘guesthouse’ is bizarre. It is quite nicely built but had no glass in its windows and has no running water …Continue Reading

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In: comment

The recent Inquiry on Forestry contains multiple references to the proposed sell-off the the public forest estate in England but has gone largely unnoticed. It also contains interesting insights as to the future direction of forestry policy under the coalition Government.Continue Reading

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In: feature, science, trees

So, we left Gava – all six of us in the ancient Russian jeep: Mamajan and his son, Askar, Sergei, Peter and me. After a couple of stops for food, including 50 minutes spent negotiating the price for some meat, it took eight hours to reach Sary-Chelek, the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.Continue Reading

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In: feature, nature, science, trees

If you are lucky enough to have a kitchen garden and to grow your own rhubarb, you should be aware that a danger lurks in the form of the walnut tree.  Juglone, a natural but toxic compound found in walnut trees, will kill rhubarb as it is very sensitive toContinue Reading