About the event

A course for community groups, parish councils and community activists thinking of creating woodlands or optimising existing woods or trees in their local community for wildlife. Led by Simon Hooton, long-time conservationist and volunteer conservation adviser for Suffolk Wildlife Trust.

Although a plan and timetable for the day has been created, every effort will be made to identify and cover particular examples and issues that participants bring to the day and so course content may vary slightly.

An indoor session will cover the pros & cons of creating new woodlands compared with the options around regeneration of existing features and the different approaches possible. Information will be shared on the key tree species for wildlife and how the right species needs the right location in order to thrive; plus the value of incorporating dead wood and other habitats in your thinking.

Basic woodland management techniques such as coppicing, pollarding, glade/ride creation, thinning and their relative merits to different types of woodland will be outlined along with guidance on tree safety, felling regulations, biodiversity net gain and where to go for more information and training. The course will touch on volunteer management and safety and how people can be enthused through good communication and interpretation.

After the indoor session, participants will move outside to the adjoining Parklands Wood (https://ufford.suffolk.cloud/our-village/parklands-wood/), which provides a range of tree features – from individual veterans to new planting, from dense to open woodland and a range of management techniques. Discussion will seek to draw out problems and successes including how close proximity to people and houses may influence your decisions.

A brief indoor session will end the day to summarise learning and undertake some evaluation, ensuring the course is completed by 4pm.

Tea and coffee will be provided in the morning and at lunchtime. Please feel free to bring your own re-usable mug, or a flask.

Please bring:
A packed lunch
Notepad and pen 
A camera or binoculars if you wish
Please dress suitably for the weather and for walking around the woodland in the afternoon.

When booking please ensure your email/contact address is correct as it will be used to send event joining instructions. If you do not receive these instructions after booking, please contact: wild.learning@suffolkwildlifetrust.org

Please note that your booking is non-refundable and non-transferable and we run all our courses based on a minimum number of participants. You can find our full Terms & Conditions via this link:  https://www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/wildlearninginfo

This is the first in a series of new Community Wildlife Courses arranged by Suffolk Wildlife Trust to support communities, parish councils and churches in optimising the habitat for wildlife in their local public spaces. Topics in the programme include:

Understanding your Community's habitat
Understanding your Community's river
Community Trees & Woodland for Wildlife
Community Ponds for wildlife
Community meadows
Churchyard management 
Community Hedges for Wildlife
Wildlife in your Parish

To find all our courses as they are added you can visit our Adult Learning page here: www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/wildlearning

If the course you wish to attend is full or you cannot make the date, please let us know so that we can register your interest and let you know of opportunities planned for the future. You can contact us on: teamwilder@suffolkwildlifetrust.org or Tel: 01473 890 089.

If you are a community or individual already taking action for wildlife, please do tell us about it and get involved with Team Wilder. To find out more and log your action, visit the website here: https://www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/team-wilder