There are some attractive patches of young woodland scattered around the rec., with a few well-developed stands of hazel that are about ready for a spot of coppicing. Coppicing is a traditional method of sustainably managing woodlands to provide wood products, that also has benefits for wildlife in terms of creating a greater diversity of habitats to support a greater diversity of species. Coppicing may seem rather brutal, as it involves cutting trees almost to the ground, but done in rotation on a 7-10 year cycle it can provide a range of woodland products. It also allows light to penetrate the tree canopy which in turn encourages a greater diversity of ground flora to thrive, and will also prolong the life of hazel trees, which quickly regenerate from the cut stems.
Once we started to coppice the hazel, it became clear that the current growth is about ten years old, meaning that our timing was perfect. In preparation for a community tree planting event at the other end of the rec. on Sunday March 17th (10-3), at which Kingston's mayor (The Worshipful the Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Councillor Mary Heathcote OBE) is due to be in attendance, we decided to harvest some of the hazel for use as supports for the new trees. After a day's coppicing, although we had only coppiced a couple of the larger hazel trees, we produced over 100 tree supports, and a variety of other wood products, such as bean poles out of the long straight pieces, and firewood from some of the larger pieces. This is the last coppicing event this year, as bird nesting will begin soon, but there is plenty left for next autumn/winter.
Once the larger of the two hazels had been coppiced, it was remarkable to watch as hundreds of tiny spiders frantically began weaving their webs across the freshly cut tree stumps. A myriad of other insects also emerged into the sunlight, including a native cream-streaked ladybird and a green shield bug.
Another bonus for the day, was the group being interviewed by Kingston Green Radio as part of Kingston's Paint the Town Green festival.
Philip and Gerrard shoot the breeze at a sun-drenched Churchfields Rec.
The hazel after coppicing.
A cream-streaked ladybird emerges from the leaf-litter.
And, spiders take advantage of newly-created habitat.
Although not strictly a native species, a beautiful crocus makes the most of the sunny weather.
Ditto with snowdrops, although they certainly brightened a chilly and damp site visit to the rec a few weeks ago.
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