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Coppicing: why it matters to the London Tree Ring

29th January 2025

After getting hands on with coppicing in Ealing, London Tree Ring volunteer Bill Byrne saw firsthand why preserving existing woodland is a big part of the project’s vision

Snedding. Bird’s-beak cut. Halo. I knew I’d be developing new skills when I attended a coppicing workshop run by The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) and The Friends of Grove Farm Local Nature Reserve at Grove Farm in Ealing. Little did I realise I’d also learn so much new eco jargon!

As a volunteer on the London Tree Ring project, a lot of my time is spend assessing sites where new woodland can be created, so I’m very focused on planting trees. However managing existing woodlands is almost as important. David, one of the TCV staff, explained to us that over 70% of London’s existing woodland is not well managed. So our role that morning was to act as “proxy wild animals” to improve the health of a patch of ancient woodland.

Layering

Our task was to coppice an area of hazel scrub surrounding one of the site’s ancient oaks. Coppicing involves cutting the stems right back to the ground with a view to either removing the tree completely or “layering” one stem to encourage a new tree to grow.

Layering is a technique also used in hedgerow maintenance. One stem is cut almost through and laid on the ground where it puts down roots. This not only prolongs the life of the hazel, but also allows foresters to move trees to a different part of the wood.

After a hard morning’s work we had cleared a halo of space around the old oak, with just a few layered hazel stems for moving to a new part of the woods in a few years’ time. This had the twin benefits of improving the oak’s health and opening the woodland floor to provide more diverse habitats.

Tree Ring vision

So, improving the management of existing woodland is a big part of the Tree Ring vision. However, the largest benefits will come from creating brand new woodland, particularly in derelict, unloved sites.

We are currently researching over 200 sites, which would form a ring roughly round the Greater London boundary. Planting is already underway with 6,000 trees planted by Trees for Cities earlier this season at two sites in Redbridge.

Find out more about the Tree Ring project, here

If you know of any potential sites near you contact us at woodlandcreation@crpelondon.org.uk

Oh, and “snedding” is the term for trimming small side branches on a tree.

Grove Park coppicing workshop