Supply lines

Somewhere in there is an enormous beech tree! This is one of hundreds of mature trees in the woods we have just taken over to extend the nature reserve from 150 acres to 211 acres. It's great to have more mature trees as most of the original Dancersend reserve was clear-felled in the early 1940s as part of the war-effort. It's also good to have quite a few trees reaching the end of their lives and plenty of standing and fallen dead timber. A wildlife rich wood will have well over one third of its timber dying, dead or rotting. Some trees, like this one, are absolutely covered in ivy and that is brilliant for wildlife as well - providing nesting and roosting sites for birds and mammals and a valuable pollen and nectar source for a whole range of insects. Ivy does not harm trees and should be left to grow unless the tree is becoming rotten and is near a path, in which case the swathes of evergreen ivy can make it more likely to fall in high winds.