News & Events

  • SWOG at Westonbirt

    SWOG was once again at the Treefest which is becoming a well attended and established celebration of all things ‘Woodie’.  The event which takes place every year over the August bank holiday at the national arboretum at Westonbirt  attracts exhibitors and the general public  from all over the country.  This year the weather stayed fine…

  • Chalara fraxinea — dieback of ash Advisory Note

    A further update concerning Chalara fraxinea, ash dieback is available from the Forestry Commision.  It includes a warning about trees which may have been imported up to 20 years ago, symptoms and how to report suspected outbreaks. Download the document here.

  • August Newsletter 2013

    As it’s holiday time, the August newsletter includes a couple of family-friendly articles. We hope you enjoy it! Features this month: Building rope bridges in the woods Woodlands.co.uk new photo library The Treezilla project – mapping trees throughout the country.  

  • Woodland and forestry training

    Rebecca Butler from the Woodland Enterprise Centre at Flimwell has written to us with news of some interesting training courses which can be subsidised by the  Development Programme for England (RDPE). For more details of any of the courses, please contact her directly at the address below.

  • Good Woods

      Good Woods – Free Woodland Advice for Landowners and Managers Today, in England alone, it is estimated that more than 45% of our woodlands are either unmanaged or under-managed.   However the woods in the High and Low Weald have a long history of management stretching back into pre-history. Iconic species, such as dormice &…

  • July Newsletter 2013

    The July newsletter is available for download here. This month, we have reports from Woodfest Wales and the Chiltern Woodland Conference, Sarah Walters writes about Alvecote Wood’s Royal Forestry Society Award, and Rich Hare recalls the therapeutic nature of woodland work. We hope you’re enjoying the summer in your woodlands – please let us know…

  • Working in the Woods – The Ultimate Therapy

    When my mother died just before Christmas, it was a bit of a shock.  I suppose it should not have been unexpected, she was 80 and in poor health, but all the same when she succumbed to a stroke in just a matter of hours, the whole family was left with a numbness and disbelief…

  • Certification Help for Small Woods – FSC launches Smallholder Fund

    The new FSC Smallholder Fund, which offers financial assistance for FSC and non-FSC certified forests, to put in place the systems etc that they require, in order to seek or maintain FSC certification is available now.  The fund will be accepting applications each year, but the deadline for submitting the first-round, pre-selection questionnaire has been…

  • SWOG at Woodfairs

    You will have noticed from the newletter round up that there are a lot of wood fairs happening around the country at this time of year.   These are a really great opportunity to get out and see what everyone is getting up to in the ‘woody’ world.  Most of the fairs will have a nice…

  • Alvecote Wood is top of the Tree!

    Many congratulations to SWOG’s own Sarah Walters and her husband Stephen, winners of the Royal Forestry Society’s Excellence in Forestry awards in the Small Woodlands category. Sarah has written a wonderful blog about how they did it here. Read it and be inspired!

  • June Newsletter 2013

    The SWOG newsletter has a new look, but retains the same mix of interesting articles and news updates. There are reports from two recent SWOG meetings, Sarah’s account of chainsaw training and a look at old-style shelter building. Download it here.

  • Hi Tech Approach to Wildlife Recording!

     The Rother Guardians have secured funding from the  High Weald AONB for a high tec approach to recording wildlife! Find out what it’s all about on a 2 hour walk about at Brede High woods on Saturday June 1st More details on the flier, or contact Matt Pitts directly Matt Pitts Woodland & Cultural Landscape…