Sustainable Woodlands in Watling Chase
It is rare to see horses working these days but it is a traditional and efficient way of extracting timber from small woodlands. Using horses is beneficial because they cause less damage to the soils and to other trees than vehicles, plus this a more sustainable option as no fossil fuels are required!
Working in partnership, St. Albans District Council, St. Stephens Parish Council, Watling Chase Community Forest and the Countryside Management Service recently engaged the services of four heavy horses and a mobile saw mill in two Bricket Wood woodlands.
As part of the agreed management plans a number of trees had been felled last winter. It was the horses’ job to drag the felled logs to the saw mill that transformed them into useful timber.
Blackgreen Wood is owned by St. Stephens Parish Council and is managed as a green space for people to enjoy and a reserve for wildlife. The logs here were milled into waymarking posts, benches, bridges and fence posts which will be used in the woods, or elsewhere in the parish.
Bricket Wood Common is a Site of Special Scientific Interest managed by St. Albans District Council and the logs here were milled into timber for benches, footbridges and fencing posts to be installed on the common.
Two demonstration days drew 400 visitors and attracted the attention of BBC London News and Three Counties Radio.
