OK, it wasn’t an actual massacre we were involved in but a good bit of woodland management in the beautiful Duchess Wood in Helensburgh.
The Glasgow Mid-Week Group recently made several visits to the site to cut back overgrown shrubs and trees to help open up the woodland floor. David and Sean were able to put their newly acquired chainsaw skills to good use and made light work of logging wind-fallen trees and felled a few more for good measure.
Sean and David flex their chainsaw muscles
A key aim for the management of Duchess Wood is to reduce the number of non-native tree and plant species, including Sycamore, Beech, Rhododendron and Japanese Knotweed, and increase the number of native tree and plant species, such as Oak and Ash.
We focused on cutting back Sycamore as they not only spread quickly but have a thick canopy that lets very little light through to the ground below. This reduces the biodiversity of plants and animals wherever they grow. We piled the branches into habitat piles to attract birds and insects.
John cutting up branches to add to the habitat piles
Increasing the number of native tree and plant species should encourage the growth of existing animal, bird, insect and fungi populations and attract new species to the area. This will increase the biodiversity of Duchess Wood. For example, Oak trees provide habitats for more organisms, especially insects, than any other type of tree.
To find out more about Duchess Wood visit www.duchesswood.org.uk