LIME KILN WOOD TRUST

SITE NOTICE

WORKS TO TREES

• Lime Kiln Wood comprises 5 hectares of Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland owned by the Lime Kiln Wood Trust (LKWT)
• Management of the woodland for coppice or significant timber extraction ceased over 50 years ago, with the result that it has become too dark and its wildlife conservation value is consequently in decline
• To improve the wood’s wildlife, the Forestry Commission has therefore given permission to LKWT for hazel on a total of 1 hectare of woodland to be coppiced, and 400 sycamore trees to be thinned out
• Each 0.2 hectare coppice coupe will be protected from browsing by deer for 3 years with temporary fencing
• These works will take place over the period 2012-2017
• If you wish to contact the Lime Kiln Wood Trust about any matters connected with woodland management, please email the Trust chairman: peter@matthiessen.freeserve.co.uk or see our website http://www.limekilnwood.org.uk/

The Lime Kiln Wood Trust has now received the support of the Forestry Commission, and encouragement of the charity Butterfly Conservation, to expand its work in improving the wood’s biodiversity. This is in line with our management plan (see elsewhere on this website), and in essence involves letting more light into the wood to stimulate the growth of woodland plants and thus encourage the return of various invertebrates including the high brown fritillary Arginnis ardippe. What this means is that our coppicing and sycamore-thinning activities can be stepped up so that the wood is returned more quickly to an optimum condition. The next phase of these management activities will start later in 2012, following our first round of coppicing in autumn/winter 2011/12. The hazel we coppiced last year is already shooting vigorously and shows few signs of browsing by deer, even when not protected by ‘wigwams’.

A meeting, set up by the Cumbria Wildlife Trust, and including representatives from Butterfly Conservation, the Brown Robin nature reserve and the Lime Kiln Wood Trust, was held on 10 May 2012 to discuss ways in which conservation of limestone woodlands in the Grange area could be coordinated. It was agreed that coordination of this sort would be very beneficial, not least because it would help to spread knowledge of practical conservation techniques for improving woodland biodiversity, and would underpin the development of a unified programme to monitor key indicator species such as woodland birds and butterflies etc. The first step will be the drafting of some specific aims which will then be used to approach as many woodland owners in the Grange area as possible. If you own woodland near Grange and are interested in managing it in a more wildlife-friendly way, please get in touch with us.

A small group of staff and students from Witherslack Hall School visited Lime Kiln Wood on 28 March 2012 in fine spring weather. They were taken round by the chair of Lime Kiln Wood Trust (Peter Matthiessen), and showed considerable interest in, and knowledge of, woodland ecology and management. We discussed why our various management activities are expected to improve biodiversity in the wood, and also talked about why higher biodiversity is desirable. We ended up doing some practical woodland management which involved removing self-seeded beech saplings that have become too numerous. The undamaged saplings were taken back to Witherslack Hall School for replanting as a hedge.

We have been approached by Upper Allithwaite Parish Council to speak for 15-20 minutes at their Annual Parish Meeting of electors – it seems they think our efforts in LKW justify an airing, and they’d like to hear a bit more. I have said we will do it, but it would be good if any of you were also able to attend the meeting, which is at 19.30 on Wednesday 16 May in Lindale Village Hall.