Small Woodland Owners' Group (SWOG)

Category: News

  • Culverts – keeping them clear

    For many of us, the first time we encounter a culvert is when we fall in the ditch around it, and notice the pipe before clambering out.

  • Launching the Tree Charter

    It was great to celebrate the launch of the Charter for Trees Woods and People at Lincoln this week. More than 70 organisations have worked for two years under the leadership of the Woodland Trust to create a new tree charter that aims to put protection for trees and woodlands at the heart of government…

  • Building a New ‘Old’ Barn – Part I

    As a tiny acorn can eventually lead to much bigger things, so has the seed of an idea I had of building a new barn to season my wood and store my forestry equipment.   I have been managing two small woodlands on the edge of the High Weald AONB of  East Sussex for 3 or…

  • Memories of the Great Storm of 1987

    Britain went to bed on the night of 15th October 1987 having heard weather forecaster Michael Fish reassure the nation that it might be a bit windy, but there was certainly no prospect of a hurricane engulfing the country.

  • Butterfly Workshop 30th July

    The last in our series of butterfly workshops was held at Combwell, an SSSI  (Site of Special Scientific Interest) in the heart of the High Weald of Kent.  It was well attended by about 18 owners and other interested parties who enjoyed a breezy, but mostly sunny and dry tour of the woods.

  • Butterfly Workshop 23rd July

    If our last workshop at Plattershill proved to be the perfect conditions for spotting and identifying butterflies, this weekends event was almost exactly the opposite.  It was promising sunshine as I drove along the bottom of the South Downs to the event at a woodland close to the village of Small Dole in  the Adur…

  • Butterfly Workshop 2nd July

    Last Sunday saw the first of a series of SWOG and Butterfly Conservation joint workshops.   About a dozen SWOG members, owners and other interested parties joined us at Plattershill Wood in West Sussex on a close to perfect day for spotting butterflies.  It was warm and sunny with a very light breeze.  If  anything…

  • Horse-logging demonstration 13 May

    Join us for the visit to Karen Moon’s 9-acre wood at High Stoop in County Durham. SWOG members can enjoy a day in the woods, watching a demonstration of horse-logging and learning about the advantages of this traditional, low-impact aspect of woodland management.

  • PAWS Restoration Workshop – Joint Meeting with The Woodland Trust

    Early April was an excellent time to hold a joint SWOG and  Woodland Trust, PAWS (plantation on ancient woodland sites) restoration workshop. 

  • Into the woods with Countryfile

    It was great to see a whole episode of BBC Countryfile devoted to woodlands and timber.

  • And the winners are . . .

    Thank you to everyone who entered the SWOG Big Picture competition. All the entries were wonderful and it is great to see everyone enjoying their woodlands. Our judge, Graham Wood, faced a difficult choice, but finally selected three clear winners.

  • Red Squirrel Training Day

    Holly Peek a  Red Squirrel Ranger for Anglesey and Gwynedd has contacted us with some information that  North West Wales members may find interesting.