My first three months as a trainee have absolutely flown by! I have learnt so much in this time and can’t wait to see what the next nine months have in store for us. One of the things about the traineeship that has surprised me the most is woodland management. 

My experience prior to being a trainee with the Trust has largely been on meadow and heathland restoration, so the knowledge and experience I've since gained about woodland management has been great! My knowledge before was very limited; I guess that like many people, I believed most woodlands were simply left to their own devices, as it were, and that this was the extent of woodland management excluding the felling of the odd unsafe tree. Whilst it is the case that a lot of woodlands are left alone, including some of the Trust’s non-intervention woodland reserves, the knowledge I have gained has helped me to see that this isn’t always best for many woodland species. I’ll use Monkwood as a case study a lot here, firstly because I believe it to be a great example of woodland management and secondly because it’s the site I've been to the most.  

Forestry is a big part of woodland management and usually takes place in late autumn/winter. This period usually involves getting contractors in to do the work (our volunteers do smaller and ongoing work). Talking to Dominique, the reserve officer at Trench Wood, I have learnt how much is actually involved with this side of forestry; communication with contractors can be tricky and checks are routinely carried out to make sure the work on the reserve is being undertaken sufficiently and with wildlife in mind. 

It was great to learn why certain trees are being felled and others left. For example, a lot of birch was being felled because in that area of the wood it had formed the closed canopy effect that I mentioned earlier, thus limiting biodiversity. Oak has a big part to play in the plan at Trench Wood and so they were mostly left standing with some trees being felled around them to give them space to expand. Some dead wood was also left as this creates its own unique community, used by woodpeckers, fungi and many different invertebrates as well as cavities for nesting birds and bats. 

Overall, I'm really happy with how my knowledge of woodland management is coming on and I can't wait to diversify this knowledge by including other woodland habitats that we manage to learn different management styles. So unfortunately for my colleagues I'm going to continue boring them about woodland management for some time to come! 

Jake Goodwin is studying towards a degree in Environmental Science whilst undertaking his one year trainee placement with the Trust. Having already volunteered for Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, he's keen to learn more about managing habitats for wildlife.