A Walk in the Woods

Illiff planting an Ash

 I spent a day as a volunteer with The Welsh Wildlife Trust in Nant Y Gain Woods, near Cilcain in Flintshire, Wales helping out with planting an Ash Dome.  The ancient woodland is owned by Iliff Simey, or should I say the woods are shepherded by Illiff in a way that cares for the wood almost like an entire society of plants and creatures all living in a way that they give mutual support to each other. The result is a place that is beautiful to be in with sounds, smells and sights that vary from ground to sky, small to giant where time seems to pass as slowly as trees take to grow or as fast as it takes a fungus to burst out of the ground.

Illiff uses natural forestry practice to support a woodland habitat rather than 'farm trees'  for further info see this link....http://www.naturalforestpractice.com/

 Our little gang used picks and mattocks to dig holes into a hard limestone plateau which has been surrounded with arena like seating with a rope cobweb over head.
It will take decades for this to grow into a dome shaped through cutting and weaving to shape the trees to create a living arena.

Old fallen trees are a food source for fungus, insects and birds as well as providing shelter

wood for warmth and ..

wood for music..children play on giant xylophone

I find it a relief to put work into a project like this and support small local conservation work as sometimes  worrying or complaining about  'The Environment' is too distant and large scale to deal with.