Author: surreyheathtreewardens

The following pictures are taken of Warren Wood in February and April respectively. The first shows the Native Daffodils which are now starting to show.  The flowering area now extends year on year, due totally to the magnificent work our Volunteers have done over the last four and a half years. Prior to that, like a number of native plants and bird song, these were not to be seen or heard in the woodland.

The next pictures show a Brown Long-eared Bat. This bat we rarely find along the valley, even though they are relatively common. To have bats using our boxes in Warren Wood and Windlesham is really positive and hopefully will only increase! This result is again, a testament to the hard work from all our volunteers.

Did you know? The brown long-eared bat is known as the ‘whispering bat’, because its voice is very quiet – no need to shout when you have such big ears! While at rest, it tends to either curl its ears back or tuck them under its wing

A polite reminder that checking bat boxes, once they have had a bat in them, is only allowed under licence.

Photos courtesy of Bernard and Marie

At our work party at RMA Sandhurst we had the feeling of being watched, only for it to be a Tree Goblin saying thanks for all our hard work! In other news, we saved 7 trees on the day from being totally over run by Ivy, and also cleared many more meters of scrub within the woodland.

Thanks again to our dedicated team of volunteers for all their help!

Photo taken 28th January 2023. Credits: Tim Britt-Searle

SHTW’s had the great pleasure of supporting the West End Village Society in November 2022 for the planting of Surrey Heath’s first ever Community Orchard!

The weather held off, as a team of volunteers, some 34 in total, came together to plant 42 semi mature fruit trees, including a walnut tree at Windlemere SANG GU24 9QL. The ecological impact of such an initiative is great – from absorbing pollution to maintaining soil quality. Furthermore providing an annual supply of nutritious fruits for use by local residents. These trees will reap benefits for many years to come.

A huge thank you to all those involved!

Top left photo: Cllr Graham Alleway & Angela Llewhellyn ; Bottom Left photo: Anne & Trish

Members can find below the presentation shared during our 2022 AGM on June 28th 2022.

On 23rd and 30th June the team participated in two days of Big Himalayan Balsam Pulling to support Surrey Heath Borough Council and the community – and what a success it was!

Himalayan Balsam Pull is an invasive non-native species which is widespread along many rivers across the country. The issue is the species extensive coverage along river banks, which once it dies during the winter, leaves the river banks exposed to excessive erosion. This negatively impacts local river ecosystems, including the resultant silt smothering fish and invertebrate eggs.

Pictures from the two days can be found below, courtesy of Steve Harris. If you would like to find out more about our work, please do not hesitate to contact Jerry Brownlee.

Author: Isobel Gould

With spring on the horizon and temperatures warming, Warren Wood is thriving with all sorts of plants and wildlife and we have some pictures to show for it!

From left to right:

1. Spotted high up in the tree canopy – a fantastic looking bird’s nest
2. What looks to be like a type of Birch polypore growing on a Birch tree
3. Vice-Chair Jerry Brownlee stood next to some native daffodils
4. More daffodils – because we just couldn’t resist!

If you would like to join a working party, please check out our Upcoming Events page to find out more details.

In celebration of the UK’s largest annual tree celebration, SHTWs hosted a tree planting and woodland management event on 28th November!

Trees are important carbon stores, habitats providers, environment regulators…trees are basically amazing! Our work focuses on woodland management and tree restoration so in support of National Tree Week, we set out to plant trees in Windlesham Field of Remembrance. This week marks the start of the winter tree planting season (November to March of every year). 

Here are some photos from the great day!

This May, we had an exciting visit from RT Hon Michael Gove MP to Warren Wood! Here, he met and thanked Surrey Choices on our behalf for all their support with our efforts. Surrey Choices have also offered their support with us at Carwarden House School should we proceed, so a worthwhile days effort indeed!

Author: Jerry Brownlee & Issy Gould 28/05/221

To celebrate the recent snow showers, we have collated some fantastic snow pictures to share. A massive thank you Ian Simmons, Bernard Baverstock and Martin Merrington for the contribution and Jerry Brownlee for coordinating.

13/02/2021 Issy Gould

A number of our Trustees had an excellent site meeting with Windlesham Field of Remembrance on Wednesday, 14th October, with the aim of helping The Trustees of W F o R to maintain this excellent woodland area for the enjoyment of the local community.

We were delighted to find that a professionally run outside children’s “Woodland School” has been set in the wood and is used four times a week to educate kids about the wonders of the great outdoors. An aim we totally endorse!

To that end SHTW’s are to provide and put up a number of nest boxes (already in stock) and possibly going forward bat boxes. We will also tidy and clear any brambles around the adventure area.

In addition to the support of the education area, we will carry out cutting out and clearing the inevitable invasive species, Laurel, excess Holly and Rhododendrons where appropriate, to allow the native Woodland Trees to thrive, as they always have done. The site is well worth a visit as the new café is open and doing brilliant drinks and snacks!

For information on working parties at the Windlesham Field of Remembrance please contact Jerry Brownlee at: vicechair.shtw@gmail.com

15/10/2020 Author: Jerry Brownlee