During 2011 the Project's volunteers have been working at Watercut Copse in Oxshott where they surfaced a track to improve access and earlier in the year they assisted the coppice worker with cutting the first coppice cant. This work enables a coppice worker to take on restoration of this old coppice woodland, which would not normally be economically viable, but is vital for long term sustainable management which benefits wildlife. This work was partly funded by the Lower Mole Countryside Trust.
The Project volunteers are also carrying out the second year of work at Moles Copse, which is just off Horton Lane near Epsom. This area of roadside tree planting, which already contains a high proportion of hazel, is being converted to hazel coppice by cutting half the area last year and the other half this winter and then planting in more hazel, plus woodland wildflowers. This site is in a highly visible location so it is hoped it will help bring the benefits of coppicing for nature conservation and the promotion of local produce to a wider audience.
In September 2011 the volunteers worked alongside a coppice worker at Princes Coverts, helping him to coppice a new area of hazel in this Crown Estate woodland, as well as helping to improve access at another wood, The Warren at Langley Vale.
There are plenty more woodlands in the area that would benefit from this approach, but help is needed with developing markets for the products and co-ordinating sales. If you have expertise in sales and marketing and some time on your hands please contact us.
If you can't come to the guided walks, several of our routes have leaflets for you to follow the trails yourself, please see our countryside and healthy walks page for information on these.
See our Volunteer Tasks page for details of volunteering events.
