Number 19 - Ashdown Forest

Issue 19
July to Sept
The Volunteer
The Newsletter for all Ashdown Forest Volunteers
IN THIS ISSUE:
•
Introduction…
•
Coffee morning…
•
BBQ…
•
Refreshments…
•
Health Walks…
•
Recipe of the Season…
•
Grazing update…
•
Forest History…
•
Wag Log…
•
From the Director’s
Chair…
•
Events, exhibitions,
news and reviews…
•
Conservation and
management…
•
And Finally…
So far the summer has been a bit of a disappointment – perhaps not as wet as last
year – but not as good as we were all hoping for. Spring was very late and we
were worried that our Blue Tit box would remain uninhabited. However, these
tenacious little birds did eventually build a nest and laid eight eggs. Both parents
were involved in brooding and eventually seven eggs hatched with five successfully
fledged. A feisty little Wren managed to fledge her young in the Mesolithic hut
despite the large number of visitors who pop in there and a family of Great Tits
made very good use of the nest box located over the water fountain. Once the
warmer weather arrived the Marsh Tits and the Long Tailed Tits stopped visiting
the bird feeders and we haven’t seen them since so, hopefully, they too will have
had a successful breeding season.
Coffee Morning - Thank you to everyone who attended the Coffee Morning on 22
May. This was a chance for you to meet each other, some of the staff and Board
members and pick up some uniform. Look out for the next one - it’s open to all
volunteers, so please do come along and have a cuppa!
BBQ - The date for this Summers BBQ is 24 July at 7.00 for 7.30! Please let us know
if you would like to come. The important decision about whether we will be inside
or out will be made on the day – but do make sure you bring lots of layers and
start doing your sun dances now!
Tea and Coffee at the Forest Centre - you will know from the discussions we have
had at the last two coffee mornings that we had been hoping to be able to provide
some refreshments at weekends over a trial period this summer. Feedback from
visitors suggests that people on the whole would enjoy a tea/coffee and a bit of
cake – nothing major or fancy. On the basis of that we have, over the last few
months, been talking to local businesses, a local hotel, the WIs and people thinking
of setting up a new enterprise, but, unfortunately one by one they have dropped
out. The two main reasons appear to be the need for some to make an initial
capital outlay and the unpredictable visitor numbers. What I wondered was
whether any of you would be interested in taking this on? What we think would
work would be to set up a table by the entrance to the Info Barn and work from
there with payments being made in the Barn – and initially just do, say, a Saturday
or Sunday afternoon during school holiday. It would take a bit of organising but
not too much – the office would do any buying and supply everything that was
needed. Let me know what you think or if you have any other suggestions or
comments – Pat
Operation Ashbrook – Chris Sutton and Mike Payne have both been involved with
a four day road safety / deer awareness / fire awareness education programme for
drivers crossing the Forest (8-11 July). Mike & Chris have been working in
partnership with members of Sussex Police and East Sussex Fire and Rescue. The
aim of the operation was to educate drivers and reduce casualty numbers in
Wealden.
Ashdown Forest Explorer Bus – A sustainable transport scheme for visitors to the
Forest has been launched (Friday 12 July). A bus network has been set up by the
Wealden Bus Alliance connecting visitors from local mainline railway stations to
the heart of the Forest. Leaflets will be available in the Information Barn. To find
out more visit www.wealdenbus.org.uk/forestexplorer.html
Slow Roast Shoulder of Lamb…
How to make Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s slow-roast
shoulder of lamb with merguez spices
1. If you have time, toast the cumin, coriander, fennel
seeds, cinnamon and peppercorns in a dry frying pan
over a medium heat for a minute or so, until fragrant
(this boosts the flavour but isn't essential). Crush to
a coarse powder using a pestle and mortar, then
combine with the cayenne or chilli powder, paprika,
garlic, rosemary, salt and olive oil.
2. Lightly score the skin of the meat with a sharp knife,
making shallow slashes just a few millimetres deep
and 1-2cm apart. Rub half the spice paste all over
the lamb shoulder, underneath as well as on top,
and especially into the cuts. Put into a large roasting
tin and place in an oven preheated to 220°C/Gas
Mark 7. Roast for 30 minutes.
Ingredients
1 x mature shoulder of lamb or hoggett
1 tsp cumin seeds.
1 tsp coriander seeds.
3. Remove from the oven and rub the remaining spice
paste over the meat using the back of a wooden
spoon. Pour a glass of water into the tin (not over
the meat), cover with foil and return to the oven.
Reduce the heat to 120°C/Gas Mark ½ and cook for 6
hours, or until the meat is very tender and falling off
the bone.
1 tsp fennel seeds.
½ cinnamon stick, broken up.
1 tsp black peppercorns.
Pinch of cayenne pepper or chilli powder.
2 tsp sweet smoked paprika.
4. You can add another glass of water halfway through,
to keep the pan juices ticking along. Transfer the
lamb to a warm serving plate. Skim the excess fat off
the juices in the tin. Tear the meat into thick shreds
and serve with the juices spooned over.
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped.
5. Simple accompaniments are all you need: boiled
new potatoes (in summer) or some roasted squash
(in winter) and a dish of shredded cabbage, greens
or kale would be ideal.
Taken from BBC ‘River Cottage Everyday’ by Hugh FernleyWhittingstall Bloomsbury Books, 2009.
Leaves from 2 large rosemary sprigs, finely chopped.
2 tsp sea salt.
2 tsp olive oil
Update on Grazing…from Caroline FitzGerald…
Like everyone, I’m sure that you are well aware that it’s been a bruising winter. While down here in the Sussex we
didn’t experience the late snow that has created such problems further north, we have suffered from the sustained
rainfall which has burdened the country since April 2012. The problems we’ve all endured, stock, staff and wildlife
alike, date from then. The animals weren’t able to lay down reserves when they should have had the sun on their
backs, and the quality of the fodder conserved was compromised by the lack of sun. Even if lucky to snatch a dry cut
of grass, feed values and trace elements were way down and hay did little to sustain the stock through the cold days
and colder nights.
The very late spring with shortening fodder supplies and rising feed prices came at the end of a very long haul indeed;
the animals have struggled through this acutely hard spring. Turn out onto the Forest has been delayed in an effort to
get some weight back onto thin ewes, particularly those with lambs at foot.
You can currently see the Hebridean sheep at the Isle of Thorns and on the heathland behind Wrens Warren car park.
Our fine Riggit Galloway bullocks are grazing above the golf course behind Townsends Car Park. Our newest
departure is the purchase of five Exmoor ponies; these will start by grazing near Nutley and will then progress to
winter grazing on the Forest. We are always glad to hear from people who would like to help us, just ring the Forest
Centre to volunteer. P.S. We had 116 lambs born this spring – the majority without any problem!
The Volunteer - Page 2
Forest History – Three winters at Stone Cottage…
One of the great surprises of
Ashdown Forest is its connection
with two literary giants of the 20th
Century – William Butler Yeats and
Ezra Pound. Few people are aware
that the two men spent three
productive and emotional winters
(1913-1916) living in the rented, six
roomed, Stone Cottage in Colemans
Hatch.
Their first winter in Sussex was
Yeats's idea; he discovered the
empty cottage while visiting Henry
Tucker at The Prelude, another
cottage down the lane. ''It is a most
perfect and most lonely place and
only an hour and a half from
London,'' Yeats told Lady Gregory. It
was also near a cottage where two
eligible young women, Dorothy
Shakespear and Georgie Hyde-Lees,
sometimes stayed. Pound married
Olivia Shakespear's daughter Dorothy
in the summer of 1914; Yeats
married the Tuckers' daughter
Georgie Hyde-Lees three years later,
and both poets returned to Stone
Cottage for their honeymoons. In
later years, after they had lost
sympathy for each other's work,
Pound and Yeats remained bound to
Ashdown Forest by family ties.
After a week at the cottage in
November 1913, Yeats declared that
the arrangement was a ''great
success.''
His
eyesight
was
deteriorating, so Pound took care of
the correspondence in the morning
and read to him at night. Yeats had
begun to draft his autobiography,
looking back on his infatuation with
Maude Gonne and on his friends of
the Rhymers' Club in the 1890's and
Pound kept himself busy by
translating Japanese Noh plays as
well as writing his own. These plays,
in turn, inspired Yeats and his play
“The Hawk at the Well” can be traced
to this creative period.
Pound left his poem, ''The Cantos'',
unfinished at his death. In it he had
included a vast range of material. At
the center of the 800-pages he
wrote: “I recalled the noise in the
chimney as it were the wind in the
chimney was in reality Uncle William
downstairs composing . . . at Stone
Cottage in Sussex by the waste
moor.” Pound was recalling sitting
in the second floor of the cottage
and hearing Yeats chant his poetry
in the room below - the chimney
carried the Irish poet's brogue from
fireplace to fireplace. When Pound
wrote these lines at the end of
World War II, he looked back to
those Stone Cottage years as an
idyllic time ''before the world was
given over to wars.''.
The situation at Stone Cottage is
unmatched in literary history: two
of the greatest poets of the 20th
century, so very different in
temperament, living in close
quarters for months at a time. The
idea was that both poets, freed
from the obligations of literary life
in London, would have the time and
solitude to pursue their projects
without
interruption.
''When
breakfast was over they would set
to work as if life depended on it,''
recalled Alice Welfare, their
housekeeper. '''Don't disturb him,'
Mr. Pound used to say, if I wanted
to dust, and Mr. Yeats would be
humming over his poetry to himself
in the little room.''
After supper, the poets would walk
across the heath to the local inn for
cider. ''At night,'' wrote Yeats,
''when the clouds are not too dark
and heavy, a great heath is
beautiful with a beauty that is not
distracting. One comes in full of
thoughts. When I am in the country
like this I find that life grows more
and more exciting till at last one is
wretched when one goes back to
London.''
One morning in December 1913,
Yeats walked across the heath to
the village post office only to find it
closed; he returned in a rage. ''But
Mr. Yeats,'' said Alice Welfare,
''didn't you know, it's Christmas
day!'' Such was the extent to which
Pound and Yeats left the everyday
world behind. Yeats returned to
the real world of London only for
his Monday evenings, a weekly
gathering with poets, and an
appointment with his medium.
It is difficult to see why Yeats,
who had already achieved
international fame, had chosen
to spend his winters in desolate
isolation with an American poet
twenty years his junior who had
published very little. Pound, in
turn, came to feel that Stone
Cottage on the ‘waste moor’ was
the center of his world. He had
often complained that he was
''homesick after mine own kind”.
He had searched Europe for a
community of poets who would
share the secrets of their craft
with one another but more
importantly he wanted to get to
know the man he considered
''the greatest living poet.''
WB Yeats – 1911 by George Charles Beresford
Pound first met Yeats in May
1909 and he set out to establish
Yeats and himself as the centre
of London's most exclusive
literary circle. Pound loved his
close association with Yeats and
he deferred to the older poet on
political and poetical topics. ''He
learns by emotion,'' Pound
wrote, ''and is one of the few
people who have ever had any,
who know what violent emotion
really is like.'' During the Stone
Cottage years, Yeats was deeply
in need of this kind of praise. By
1909, Yeats had published his
collected works; the friends of
his youth were dead and literary
London was saying that Yeats
was finished.
The Volunteer - Page 3
will remember how proud you
Stone Cottage, Colemans Hatch.
Between the first and second winters
at Stone Cottage World War I had
begun, and the poets looked forward
to their winters of retreat away from
the incessant war news.
Stone Cottage itself was almost
invaded. ''The country is full of armed
men,'' Pound wrote, ''last week we
were under military orders that no
light should show after 5 o'clock.''
Early in February 1915, the poets
watched a ''whole battery of artillery
deployed for our benefit on the heath
before Stone Cottage.'' Soon
afterwards, Yeats wrote his famous
''On Being Asked for a War Poem,'' in
which he told poets to keep silent,
having ''no gift to set a statesman
right.''
Pound had attempted his own war
poem and it failed to win a literary
prize. He felt a deep need to
respond to public events, and at
Stone Cottage the combination of
soldiers on the heath and Yeats's
new poem compelled him to try
again the result was ''1915:
February'' which reveals Pound's
internal conflict: on the one hand, he
wants to assert that as a poet the
war does not concern him; on the
other hand, his anger pushes the
poem into a violent rhetoric. Over
the next few years, Pound came
close to publishing ''1915: February'',
but each time it was scheduled to go
to press, he recalled it. He wanted to
get what he called ''real war
emotion'' on the page, and he was
afraid that a glimpse of army practice
on the heath was not experience
enough - especially after several of
his close friends went to France.
Pound himself tried to enlist but was
rejected: he was blocked as both
poet and activist. When his friend
the artist Henri Gaudier-Brzeska was
killed Pound said that there was ''no
artist fighting with any of the armies
Ezra Pound photographed on 22 October 1913 in
Kensington, London, by Alvin Langdon Coburn
who might not have been better
spared.'' His own poems now
seemed to him even more
inadequate. The peace of both
poets was further disturbed when
the police came knocking at the
door: wartime regulations were
strict, and Pound (an American
citizen) was an ‘alien’ in a
prohibited area; he had not known
he was required to report to the
local police station. Pound thought
himself doomed since ''any rural
magistrate'' would ''probably see
red at the first sight of an artist of
any sort.'' But Yeats wrote to the
poet laureate to get Pound
identified: Pound himself wrote to
CFG Masterman, a Cabinet minister,
who was able to have the summons
withdrawn.
By 1916, Yeats was 51 years old and
determined to marry and produce
an heir. After proposing to, and
being rejected yet again by, Maude
Gonne he asked the 25-year-old
Georgie Hyde-Lees (1892–1968),
whom he had met through Olivia
Shakespear, to be his wife. Despite
warning from her friends—"George
... you can't. He must be dead"—
Hyde-Lees accepted, and the two
were married on 20 October 1916.
In spite of the age difference and
Yeats' feelings of remorse and
regret during their honeymoon the
marriage was a success. The couple
went on to have two children, Anne
and Michael. Although in later
years he had romantic relationships
with other women and possibly
Affairs. George herself wrote to her
husband "When you are dead,
people will talk about your love
affairs, but I shall say nothing, for I
will remember how proud you
were”. Gradually the two men
drifted apart but remained friends.
As well as writing poetry and plays
and continuing to serve on the
artistic board of the Abbey Theatre,
Yeats became a member of the
Seanad, the Irish senate, from
1922-25. He served on the
committees that helped to create
coinage for the new state. He left in
disgust when the governmental
organization was split in the
aftermath of the Irish Civil War. In
1936, he undertook editorship of
the Oxford Book of Modern Verse,
1892–1935 and died in 1939.
Ezra Pound also continued writing
living in Paris and, later Rapello. He
became increasingly anti-semetic
and deeply interested in fascism,
broadcasting on behalf of Mussolini
and the Italian government. In
1945 he was arrested by the
liberating
American
troops,
charged with treason and deported
so that he could be interrogated by
the FBI – he was held in more or
less solitary confinement until his
physical and mental health broke.
He was eventually declared insane
and committed to a mental hospital
where he spent 12 years, at first
securely then in more relaxed part
of the institution where he
continued reading, writing, and
receiving visitors. In 1949, he was
awarded the first Bollingen Prize, a
new national poetry award just
announced by the Library of
Congress, with $1,000 prize moneythere was uproar! Pound kept up
his far right associations and,
privately, remained an anti-Semite.
In 1957, after years of campaigning
by friends, Pound was released. He
was deemed permanently insane
and treatment was no help. On
release he returned to Italy and
after years of personal turmoil
doubt and disillusionment died in
1972.
The Volunteer - Page 4
The Wag Log – A New Forest…
Hello everyone. In the last WagLog I told you about my friend Gwen (Place) suffering a stroke,
well I’m very sorry to tell you that Gwen passed away at the end of April. I really miss going to
see her in the barn and getting told how good and lovely I am. I know my “master” is very sad
because he had a real soft spot for Gwen.
I’m afraid to report that I’ve been in the wars again. About three months ago my man found a
lump on the roof of my mouth. So off we go to the vets (again!), to find that it was a growth.
I was very brave as the vet (Alex, who’s become a best friend) removed it there and then with
only a local anaesthetic spray! Alex really didn’t like the look of it and my “Dad” got very
upset. Alex sent it off for analysis, and got the bad news we were expecting. The lump was
cancerous, but only locally aggressive, so it hadn’t spread around my body – only the area
around the growth. So I went in for an operation to remove the area around the tumor
including two of my big back teeth. The operation went well, but as usual, as soon as I came
round from the anaesthetic I starting howling the place down. My Dad was supposed to fetch
me in the evening, but I was so loud they phoned him and asked him to come and get me
straight away! I was very wobbly and had to return to the Forest Centre to sleep it off in my
bed under the desk.
“If only my master was
as smart and as
handsome as me!”
As soon as my wound had healed I started a two-month course of chemotherapy. Alex
explained to me about all the possible side effects (he even said I might lose my appetite –
yeah right!). Luckily I felt fine and carried on as if nothing had happened. I’ve finished my
treatment now and Alex is very happy that there’s no sign of it growing back. So, paws
crossed, that’s the end of it. As has now become traditional I went lame again just before I
was due to go on holiday. Fortunately this time it was nothing too serious – just a ligament
strain in my shoulder. So, armed with my anti-inflammatories, we all set off for the New
Forest to stay in a cottage on the outskirts of Lyndhurst. We had the best time – sometimes I
took him for four walks a day! We saw lots of interesting plants and animals. I loved seeing
all the cows, ponies, donkeys and deer. We enjoyed several pub lunches as you can see from
my holiday photo! The only drawback was that I picked up three ticks. Luckily my Dad
managed to remove them with tweezers before they got too big – yuck. I’m glad we don’t
have ticks on our Forest! I’m looking forward to seeing you at the barbecue on 24 July!
From the Director’s Chair…
As ever a busy period for staff, volunteers and Board members………Following the local council elections in May, we
have had some changes in the membership of the Board of Conservators – we said ‘goodbye’ to Rupert Thornley
Taylor, both as Chairman and as a Board member after many years of dedicated service, and to Chris Dowling
(Chairman of East Sussex County Council) as ‘Lord of the Manor of Duddleswell’ representing the Ashdown Forest
Trust. Taking Chris’ place (and title) is Cllr. Colin Belsey, and Cllr. Laurence Keeley joins as an ESCC appointee. Roy
Galley has been elected Chairman with Tony Reid as Vice-Chairman.
During July – September the Committees will commence their annual cycle of meetings and work. You can find
agendas, and in due course, minutes on the website. Along with the staff and Committees I have been working on
producing a new Forest Strategic Plan – keep an eye out for it on the website as I would really welcome your views and
comments before it goes to the Board meeting in September for adoption.
The Health Walks continue to be as popular as ever with a further group of volunteers trained up as Walk Leaders.
With the Health Walks in mind, and open to all our volunteers, we have put on two Emergency Life Support Skills
Courses in partnership with Heart Start Crowborough – both were fully booked by a range of volunteers with very
positive feedback, and this is something we may look to do on an annual basis for new volunteers and as a ‘refresher’.
As part of the Every Dog Matters programme a session with a local dog behaviourist is being held in early July – and is
completely oversubscribed! We are holding a waiting list and plan to hold another session after we have had feedback
from the first. A quick update on the Forest Centre development – we have commissioned architects to take the
revised plans to planning consent, and are currently accepting tenders to take to planning consent the upgrading of the
tractor shed and operational buildings. I am very much looking forward to seeing many of you at the BBQ, let’s hope
for a lovely summers evening like last year!
The Volunteer - Page 5
Events, Exhibitions, News and Reviews…
Oliver Pyle….
Oliver’s very popular exhibition closed at the end of our winter season. Despite the terrible weather and cold sales were
good and Oliver was very pleased with the response he received. The exhibition also opened up some new opportunities
and commissions for him! We wish him well and look forward to a return visit in the future.
East Grinstead Camera Club….
East Grinstead Camera Club joined us in April/May, and, despite a few teething problems the exhibition opened at the
beginning of April. The photographs were very well received, some greetings cards were sold and a small donation made
to the Centre. A few lessons have been learned by the exhibitor and we look forward to seeing them again in the future.
The Museum of Curiosity….
Lewes based artist, Helen Hockin, joined us on 1st June for a two month exhibition of her dark, mysterious and wonderful
sculptures, drawings and photographs based on the mythology, archaeology and pre-history of Sussex. Helen’s work is
very different from anything we have had at the Centre before and has provoked a great deal of lively discussion!
Hidden Talents….
This local art group will be putting together a second summer exhibition in early August before again touring the local
libraries. Due to the popularity of this exhibition we had hoped to make this a regular slot in our diary. However, it would
seem that, due to funding issues, this may not be the case. Let’s hope that the situation changes.
Activities for children….
Our two teachers Rachel and Lisa will be putting on three activity days for children on 9, 15 and 16 August from 10.00 to
15.00. The cost will be £20.00 per child for a full day of activities and children do not need a parent to stay with them. A
full programme of activities will be circulated in due course but, on all of the days, a volunteer will be needed to help out
(either for the full day or AM / PM). Please let Tracy know if you are available to assist. There will also be some camp
building days and, should the bracken get to a good height, a bracken maze. Details of all activities will be circulated in
due course.
Schools and education….
Up to the end of June we have had 771 school children visit the Forest Centre on organised school trips. Our SWT
teachers Lisa and Rachel have taught 611 children between them (compared to 522 in the same period last year). We
already have bookings for classes in November. A huge thank you to Lisa and Rachel for their hard work! The travel
bursary provided by the Friends (a 50% refund on coach hire costs) has been made available to all schools booking a trip
to the Forest centre but, surprisingly, uptake has been low. The Illustration Competition has been won by a class from
Framfield School and they will be coming for their prize day in September.
Bird walks…..
Clive Poole very kindly lead four bird walks this year! The two dawn chorus walks were fully subscribed and much
enjoyed – though one did have some unwelcome drama. The Nightjar walks also were fully subscribed, however, the
first walk was on a cool evening and sadly Nightjar free and the second planned route was along the site of the recent
fire. Feedback from all walks was very positive and everyone who took part enjoyed them. Thank you Clive and to all the
volunteers (you know who you are) who helped make the walks happen.
Sussex the Cuckoo…..
There was much excitement on 14 May when we heard that an adult male cuckoo had been successfully ringed and
radio-tagged on the Forest by the Sussex Ornithological Society and British Trust for Ornithology. ‘Sussex’, as he has been
named, was the very first cuckoo to leave the UK on the annual migration south. At the time of writing he was about
100km from Marseilles. You can follow his day-to-day progress, in amazing detail, by visiting the BTO website
www.bto.org/science/migration/tracking-studies/cuckoo-tracking/sussex.
Friends ‘Office’…..
Many of you will have seen the changes in the radio room – which has now been semi-converted into an office space for
the friends. The whole area has been cleaned, painted, re-wired and a new desk, chairs and filing cabinet provided. This
has all been done to (a) give the Friends a permanent base to work from and (b) make a nicer environment for the
Information Volunteers. I’m sure you will agree the whole area looks so much better!
The Volunteer - Page 6
Conservation and Management News…
Mike Payne, West Chase – a large area of Long car park has recently been re-surfaced. Bracken mowing has started and
the sight lines to the west chase car parks are being cut. With the team I plan to install a temporary cattle fence around
the black bog which runs east of the airstrip near Braberry ponds. If the weather stays dry enough we are looking to
replace the bridge at the Londonderry Farm boundary. Plans are being made to book a digger to ditch and dredge in the
Vachery in September. As you know there was a large fire (24-25 hectares) from Long car park / Cats Protection / Whim
Lane. In September I will be looking at mowing as much of the burnt areas of gorse as possible.
Mike Yates, North Chase – Mike, who is away on holiday at the moment, has been involved with ride work on the North
Chase and bridge building at Tabyll Ghyll. He has also been busy spraying invasive species right across the Forest.
Rich Allum, South Chase - summer work on the South Chase has so far included gate repairs, ride clearance and ride
repairs (School Lane, Misbourne & Campfield Rough). We have built a major new causeway between Ellisons Ponds
using timber cut from the Alder carr at Newbridge. More ride work is scheduled at Boringwheel Mill and between Old
Forge Lane and Toll Lane; this has been requested by and paid for by AFRA. We have fenced an area of about 4 hectares
behind Chestnut Farm where our six new Exmoor ponies are currently grazing. Weekly butterfly transects started in
May; the first Silver-studded blues appeared during the second week in July, although it has been a very poor summer
for butterflies so far. Colin and Ed are continuing our annual bracken-mowing programme which lasts through June, July
and August. We will also be continuing our assault on invasive alien species such as Ragwort, Japanese knotweed and
Himalayan balsam.
Chris Sutton, East Chase - Contractors cleared invasive scrub from around the Kings Standing area. Some members of
the public became upset. Please keep spreading the word that if we don’t do clearance then Ashdown Forest as we
know it will disappear, along with all our endangered species, designations and funding. The area now looks great.
Summer has arrived and work postponed for the last two years at the stream crossing below Church Hill car park has
finally taken place. It is still a ford with three accesses from the north which will help prevent excessive erosion. Stone
was moved into the eroded ruts but, because of the location (the only place we can cross the river easily and continue to
the Horder Centre side) work will have to be done again in a few years’ time. There is another crossing but this is
narrow and steep - maybe a project for the future? Whilst doing this the sleeper bridge at Faggot Stack Corner (installed
a couple of years after I first arrived) was replaced by a stone crossing which will last to when I retire and beyond!! Over
the winter, the bridge at the bottom of Newbridge was renovated by the ESCC and we took the opportunity to do
roadside work right up Kidds Hill. This is continuing efforts to improve visibility for crossing deer and to prevent large
vehicles knocking branches off the trees. I have been told this work makes the roads look ‘cathedral like’, interesting
comment! We were able to carry out a controlled burn this February, with the help of ESFR, behind the Crow & Gate
and it was very successful. When this goes to press, we would have finished taking part in a road awareness campaign
with the Police and ESFRS concentrating on deer casualties, fire risk on the Forest and highlighting the byelaws.
Chris Marrable on Forest Conservation - Dartford warblers are still very hard to find on the Forest, with perhaps just
three individuals seen all spring. Hopefully, at least one of them has a suitable partner. Nightjars seem to be in
reasonable numbers, though the cold evenings have made surveying less of a joy than usual. Woodlarks are now quite
common and stonechats seem to have largely recovered after a slow start. The few plant species that we try to record
every year are mostly doing well. Wild daffodils, twayblade, adders tongue and the early orchids could be found in the
usual places but perhaps their numbers were down a bit. Cotton grass is looking at its best in early July, along with good
populations of marsh orchids. Perhaps at least these bog plants have benefitted from the endless rain. The bog clubmoss, in its most south easterly location in the UK, is just about hanging on, though its future in the known locations is
precarious. However, it is a small plant in a large Forest and there could be plants that we haven’t found yet. On the
other hand, butterfly numbers are catastrophic – in the first week of July, we have seen no more than a dozen
butterflies on six transects. Every species is low with the exception of the small heath, which is thriving in some areas.
Hopefully, a hot July will turn things around.
Dormouse numbers are also low this year following an extremely poor summer. We have yet to establish whether the
population is really low, or are the reduced sightings due to a change of behaviour? Dormouse do not like to be
disturbed in wet weather, so we haven’t had too many opportunities for monitoring. Again, if July warms up and dries
up, we can begin to collect data and establish trends.
The conservation grazing team continue to expand: we now have nearly 300 sheep, eight cattle and five ponies. Our plan
is to use the full 40 hectares of enclosure that we are allowed under the Ashdown Forest Act, especially to graze some of
the acid grassland that has been created by managing bracken. The ponies have been brought in to graze gorse in
The Volunteer - Page 7
particular.
Gwen Place….
As many of you will know Gwen Place has passed away after a
long illness. Her funeral took place in Brighton and her family
will scatter her ashes in an area of the Forest that Gwen knew
well and loved. Gwen was a delightful and helpful volunteer,
always ready to muck in and boss us all around! Gwen will be
very much missed by us all.
The Conservators of
Ashdown Forest
The Ashdown Forest Centre
Wych Cross
Forest Row
East Sussex
RH18 5JP
PHONE:
01342 823583
01342 822846
Coffee Morning…
Don’t forget the coffee morning is planned for WEDNESDAY 25
SEPTEMBER at 11.00 and is open to all volunteers, so please do
come along!
Information Barn Opening…
From 31 October we go back to our winter opening hours of
week-ends only from 11.00 to 17.00 (or dusk whichever is
earlier). Remember, if the weather is truly dire, if you have had
few or no visitors and if the car park is deserted to discuss with
the duty ranger the possibility of closing up early.
Uniform - Information Barn Volunteers…
A further reminder - If you would like a sweatshirt to wear
during your winter barn duties please let us have your sizes.
FAX:
01342 824177
Mileage Expenses…
Don’t forget you can now claim your mileage expenses. Forms
can be found in the information barn.
E-MAIL:
When did you start Volunteering?
We are still short of dates so please let us know the year in
which you began your volunteering on the Forest.
tracy@ashdownforest.org
ros@ashdownforest.org
conservators@ashdownforest.org
We’re on the Web!
See us at:
www.ashdownforest.org
and on social networking at
Twitter (1,935 followers)
Facebook (281 friends)
E-news (827 subscribers)
Poetry Walk…
This is a free event for writers of all abilities taking place on 15
October from 10.00 to 12.30. The session will be lead by local
poet Sian Thomas. The session will involve not only some
practical writing, but a sensory walk along the Broadstone
Amble. A ‘tail-end Charlie’ will be needed please let Tracy
know if you are able to help.
Signage…
Following discussions at the Safer Villages Partnership the
County Council agreed to fund two new deer signs on the A22
and on the High Road that show the number of deer collisions
over the previous ‘rolling’ 12 months. We have additional
Corex signs, with the reverse colour way (black on yellow) if
parishes need more to put up.
A year in the Life of the Forest…
A new film, funded by the Friends, is currently in production
and due to be completed in the autumn. This film follows the
day-to-day life of the staff/volunteers through the seasons as
they go about the programme of work required to conserve the
unique environment of the Forest for the benefit of all.
The Volunteer - Page 8