A COMMUNITY WOODLAND IN STANTON.
Stanton now
has its own Community Wood at "Sid's Piece"! Our official
Opening Day was on Jan 20th 2008. Each
year we will be planting seeds and trees with the local
schoolchildren and coppice trees and hedging with volunteers from
the village. Please contact Linda on 01359 250622 if you
would like to get
involved.
What is a Community
Woodland?
The idea behind a Community Woodland is that the
trees are planted and tended by volunteers from the community, and
can be enjoyed by everyone. It will be an enduring community
resource, much like the recreation ground or village hall.
Why
do we need one
here? 
Although there are several
areas of ancient woodland in Stanton, they are privately
owned with limited access to the public. These are one of the
richest wildlife habitats possible and we need to replenish ancient
woods for future generations. A wooded area accessible to everyone
improves our enjoyment of the outdoor world and appreciation of
nature.
Establishing new woodland
increases the number of living species in an area – important in
these times of declining bio-diversity.
Planting woodland helps to
counteract the effect
of
The Grundle
greenhouse gas
emissions.
What activities will we be able to enjoy in our
woodland?
Walks on nature trails
Picnics in designated
areas
Bird watching
Nature studies
Seed collecting
The woodland may
eventually support a few crafts (wood-turning, willow
basket-making etc).
Aims &
Objectives
Proposed management strategy for
developing "Sid's Piece"
- Carry out a survey of existing plant species, and take measures
to protect any unusual species.
- Leave all existing plants providing they are native &
indigenous. Plant through existing grass coverage as opposed to
wholesale removal.
- Draw up a plan of how we want the site to be, showing
individual species and features, with the following aims:
- Create mixed habitats by having a broad range of plant species,
including woodland trees, shrubs/trees which can be coppiced
(approx. 75% of the area), grasses, wild flowers and herb species,
and consider whether the area would lend itself to having a
‘natural’ pond. Only indigenous species will be introduced and
these are to be sourced as locally as possible.
- Create facilities to maximise wildlife variety and populations
e.g. bird boxes, log piles, bat boxes, and possibly a boundary
ditch.
- Slowly evolve the area from its starting condition to the final
blueprint, over a period of about ten years. This will enable our
local schools and community volunteers to have areas to plant up
each year for ten years as opposed to ‘doing everything in one
year’. This will also enable the local wildlife populations to
evolve as the area develops from mainly grass to mixed.
- Consider an area set aside for people to congregate, e.g.
outdoor classroom. Also set out paths for people to walk around and
see the complete site.
- Once a certain level of maturity is reached by some of the
plants, these could be ‘harvested’ e.g. herbs, hazel sticks, willow
withies, plants for natural dyes etc. which give new activities for
schoolchildren and local people to get involved in.
- The site will be open to the public at all
times.
Funding for the Community
Woodland:
We would like to
acknowledge receipt of the grants which enabled us to
purchase the land. These came from AWARDS FOR ALL Lottery
Funding, St Edmundsbury Borough Council, Joanna Spicer
at Suffolk County Council; and also a donation towards tools
came from Tripp Batt Country Store. Many thanks to all
of these and especially to Amanda Stibrany for all her hard work
with the grant applications.