Abbey St Bathans, Berwickshire

Hosted by Ellinor Dobie

Themes for the day

• Transformation of scattered estate woodland to CCF
• Impact of Storm Arwen
• Management of woodlands using estates team and equipment
• Integration of estate sawmill and woodland management

Booking is essential. To allow for good discussion and facilitate logistics, places at the meeting will be limited in number. Priority will be given to CCFG members, and there will be a waiting list if numbers exceed this so please let us know if you cannot make it. To book, please click this link. 

For any queries, please contact Polly Spencer-Vellacott, CCFG Administrator. 

The Forest Policy Group hosted a webinar on CCF at the end of May, with three great speakers: Ted Wilson, Dirk Sporleder and David Shepherd. The FPG have now made the webinar available online. Resources including the slides from the presentation are also available on the FPG’s website here.

Our latest newsletter has just been finalised and added to our website. You can read about last autumn’s field visits and study tour, a range of updates from the Chair and Committee, news about Chad Oliver and an interview with Arne Pommerening. 

Thanks to a recent decision at our AGM, our newsletter is now available for all to read, not only members, and you can find it on the website under Resources. 

 

Welcome to the 50th issue of the Continuous Cover Forestry Group Newsletter, containing Jonny Hulson’s Chair’s report,  reports on field visits to Thetford, Achray and Wallonia, and a special interview with Professor Arne Pommerening. 

Contents:

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Chair’s Report – Jonny Hulson
                        Download (449 KB )
                     2. Thetford Field Visit – Fraser Bradbury and Lucie Jerabkova
                        Download (781 KB )
                     3. Achray, Scotland Field Visit – Nick Hill and Marie Rennie
                        Download (2 MB )
                     4. Study Tour to Wallonia, Belgium – Ben Wilson
                        Download (7 MB )
                     5. Chadwick Oliver receives high award – Ted Wilson
                        Download (667 KB )
                     6. Interview with Professor Arne Pommerening – Ted Wilson
                        Download (1 MB )
                     7. Committee Members
                        Download (442 KB )
                     8. Welcome to New Members
                        Download (433 KB )
                     9. Bits and Pieces
                        Download (929 KB )

Stourhead Estate, Wiltshire

By Kind permission of Nick C Hoare

THEME:

Moving the forest towards its full potential in the face of climate change, ensuring it is sustainable, both biologically and financially, and resilient in the long term.

The day will include an introduction to Stourhead forest, and discussion on forest resilience, sustainability, irregular silviculture, biodiversity in irregular conifer dominated forest and forest monitoring. For more details of the theme, the estate and the planned visit, please use this link. 

Rendezvous time – 9.30 hrs, Friday 9^th May 2025

Meeting point – Main National Trust Stourhead Carpark, Stourton, Warminster BA12 6QF

Please park vehicles in the overflow carpark at the back, indicated by following in-carpark CCFG signs. 

Carpark facilities – There are National Trust toilets and a café at the carpark.

Vehicle consolidation – After an introduction, attendees will need to please share vehicles from here, thereby minimising in-forest traffic. The tour will take place in the main Stourhead Forest (within 6km). Metalled tracks are suitable for cars driven slowly (avoid cars with low sumps).

What to bring – Suitable in-forest footwear and waterproofs. For biosecurity, please ensure footwear is clean before arrival.

Lunch and drink – As we will be picnicking in the forest, please bring your own lunch, drink and snack requirements. We will NOT be returning to the National Trust Stourhead Carpark at lunch time. There will be a portaloo located near to the lunch stop in the forest.

Finish time – Back to the National Trust Stourhead Carpark by 16.00 hrs.

Booking – is essential. To allow for good discussion and facilitate logistics, places at the meeting will be limited in number. Priority will be given to CCFG members, and there will be a waiting list if numbers exceed this so please let us know if you cannot make it. To book, please click this link. 

For any queries, please contact Polly Spencer-Vellacott, CCFG Administrator. 

Following a webinar on 23rd January with Alex Held, a recording has now been made available on  YouTube which you can view using this link. 

A chat file from the event can be viewed here. 

CCFG will be hosting their next webinar – Biomass – Fuel – Silviculture: The role of CCF in fire prevention- with Alex Held – on Thursday 23rd January 2025 4-5.30pm.

Weather permitting, all biomass can become fuel for a wildfire. Fire spread is determined by the fire behaviour influencing factors: weather, topography, and fuels. While we foresters cannot modify weather nor topography, biomass (fuel) we can indeed modify and with this have positive or negative influence on fire spread, fire intensity and its severity and negative effects. CCF is providing a toolbox of silvicultural measures to increase our forests resilience in that regard.

Alexander Held holds an MSc in Forest Science from Freiburg University, Germany. He started as a fire ecologist at the Fire Ecology working group of the Max-Planck Society, got a number of operational qualifications in the US and South Africa. He moved from fire ecology to fire management and worked with the Global Fire Monitoring Center GFMC in Europe and Southern Africa. Later, Alex worked with the South African Working on Fire Program, from its early beginnings till 2012, when he joined EFI.

At EFI, Alex works on the current project Waldbrand-Klima-Resilienz, where the exchange of expertise and knowledge, mutual assistance and cooperation in Europe is the tool to create more resilient landscapes and better-informed fire management for Germany. His expertise is in fire management, silviculture and deer management for resilient forests.

See examples of Alex’s work in media here.

To book your place please visit this link. 

The Royal Scottish Forestry Society has announced that they will be publishing an important long-term research study on the survival of the Caledonian pinewood by CCFG’s former Chair, Bill Mason will be in their journal Scottish Forestry. 

Bill had submitted the paper before his death earlier this year, and his colleagues have completed the final edits.

Following the second session of CCFQT, Continuous Cover Forestry Question Time, chaired by Jonny Hulson and featuring Hazel Cowan, Andrew Leslie and David Pengelly, a recording has now been made available on  YouTube which you can view using this link. 

A chat file from the event can be viewed here. 

Welcome to the 50th issue of the Continuous Cover Forestry Group Newsletter, containing Jonny Hulson’s Chair’s report, an obituary for CCFG’s previous Chair, Bill Mason, and reports on field visits to the Lake District and Slovakia. 

Contents:

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Chair’s Report – Jonny Hulson
                        Download (618 KB )
                     2. Bill Mason 1949-2024 – Obituary written by Gary Kerr and Phil Morgan
                        Download (1 MB )
                     3. Bassenthwaite, Lake District Field Visit – Ben Walker
                        Download (3 MB )
                     4. Pro Silva Annual Meeting to Slovakia – Ben Walker
                        Download (3 MB )
                     5. Committee Members
                        Download (490 KB )
                     6. Welcome to New Members
                        Download (479 KB )
                     7. Bits and Pieces
                        Download (775 KB )