England’s ancient woodland, a habitat rich in wildlife, exists only in precious fragments scattered in pockets around the country. Recent policy to sell the country’s woodland, and the subsequent retraction of that policy, has captured the imagination of the population and highlighted just how important our ancient woodland is both in terms of biodiversity and our own well-being.
Giving our woodlands help to flourish is the Woodland Trust, who applied to Valencia Communities Fund for funding to help manage Denge and Pennypot Wood for the benefit of the rare and important species found there.
Among these species is the rare Duke of Burgundy Fritillary butterfly, and managing the wood to create sun-lit clearings will help this and 16 other species of butterfly recorded there.
Coppicing, a practise performed there for hundreds of years, helps to create these clearings, and ride edge flailing creates a sward that is attractive to birds and invertebrates, and a woodland that anyone can enjoy.
