To help look maintain our historic coppice, we are having some work carried out in one of the areas (known as coupes) this spring.

Coppicing may look drastic, but it doesn’t kill the trees. By cutting the trees to a stump, it encourages them to quickly grow multiple stems. This growth provides new habitats for multiple species of plants and animals and plays a key role in improving biodiversity in the park.

The new growth can also be harvested for timber to be made into fencing posts and other products. This is much more sustainable than importing timber from other countries, which is where most of the UK’s timber comes from.

The new growth also helps to fight climate change as coppiced trees suck up more carbon and pollution than normal mature trees.

For more information check out this video by the Forestry Commission.