Site visits with our New Graduate

The end of July is an ideal time review new plantings and progress of young plantations.  We have been looking at some of our Cornwall projects and also a potential new planting just a couple of miles from the North Cornwall coast.  It’s important to monitor young plantings, especially in year 1 & 2 to ensure they are not being out-competed by grasses or other vegetation.  Unlike traditional forestry where a year here and there will not make much difference, when growth rates can be well in excess of 50cm/year in year 1 then the opportunity for beating-up is limited; it is crucial that these early-years are well managed. Once established monitoring can be less intensive however, we work closely with owners who have young woodlands to ensure success.

We also took the opportunity to take out Lucy, a recent graduate from Bangor who will be working with us over the coming months.  Lucy will be developing our Geographic Information System (GIS capability so that woodland planting grants can be processed faster and management for owners becomes more streamlined.  GIS systems are essentially databases displayed as maps.  It will allow us to integrate the many facets of out services and become much more efficient.  It was important to us that Lucy understoood what we do from the field before getting stuck behind a desk and she has now spent a day and half with us looking at recent plantings and 2021 projects.