About the event

This course is designed for landowners, land managers, and communities (ages 18+) to understand what makes ancient woodlands irreplaceable, the threats ancient woods and trees face today and how to manage them appropriately.

The topics covered on this course include:

• What is ancient woodland and its history?
• Threats ancient woods and trees face today.
• Outdoor session showing and discussing the features, threats, and management of the ancient woodland at Nower Wood.
• How to manage ancient woodland against threats and protect its features, including (but not limited to) thinning plantations on ancient woodland, controlling invasive species (such as, rhododendron) and recovery of the wider ecosystem through herbivore management, halo-releasing ancient and veteran trees and managing habitat mosaics throughout the woodland and beyond.
• Briefly covering the requirements, regulations, and support for producing a woodland management plan, obtaining a felling licence, and seeking funding opportunities for delivering management works.

Please note, there is no practical or hands-on management training on this course. The information shared follows the guidance produced by the Woodland Trust’s Ancient Woodland Restoration Modules: How We Restore Ancient Woodland - Woodland Trust.

Tutor Profile; Rhiannon Hoy

Rhiannon has worked as an Outreach Adviser for the Woodland Trust for 4 years, advising and supporting private landowners across the South East of England in restoring ancient woodlands, managing ancient and veteran trees, and integrating trees into farm systems. She is also on the Board of Trustees for the Ancient Tree Forum, an organisation dedicated to the conservation of the UK’s ancient and veteran trees, and is a Panel Member on the Forestry Commission’s Forestry and Woodlands Advisory Committee, championing forestry and providing advice on the government’s woodland policy across the region.