Dead Wood Society

Dead Wood Society is an important part of the Severn Treescapes vision to create a resilient and connected 60-mile corridor between the Lower Wye and Wyre Forest for trees, woodland and their associated species. This will help wildlife to thrive on our nature reserves, across farmland and in community greenspaces and gardens.

Dead and decaying wood provides a vital habitat for fungi, invertebrates, birds and small mammals. It includes standing deadwood, fallen branches, logs, dead roots and tree stumps.

Thousands of creatures depend on dead or decaying wood for at least part of their lifecycle, including 650 species of beetle. The scientific name for this dependence is saproxylic. With the loss of deadwood habitat, species like noble chafer beetles and lesser spotted woodpeckers are facing rapid decline.

Get involved

Dead Wood Society provides training to revitalise orchards, which are key sites for deadwood. As fruit trees age faster, traditional orchards build up a world of deadwood, with all its decaying crevices, slime and rot, more quickly. With the right orchard management, wildlife stands a better chance of thriving.

Thanks to funding from Natural England's Species Recovery Programme, until 2029 we are building knowledge and skills of people to identify and monitor four species that rely on deadwood. We are also supporting landowners to restore and create habitat for noble chafer beetles, red-horned cardinal click beetles, orchard toothcrust fungi and mistletoe marble moths.

Species

Noble chafer

The noble chafer is a rare and beautiful metallic-green beetle that can be found in traditional orchards. It is on the wing over summer…

Species

Lesser spotted woodpecker

The lesser spotted woodpecker is the smallest of the UK's woodpeckers. Listen out for its drumming, which is quieter than that of…

Species

Violet click beetle

The violet click beetle is a very rare beetle that lives in decaying wood, particularly common beech and ash. It gets its name from its…

Support for landowners and communities

Communities, farmers and landowners are vital in helping us to achieve this vision together. Contact us if you want to plant more trees on your land, need support looking after your orchard and deadwood habitat or would like us to undertake a survey.

Get in touch with our Severn Treescapes team

Orchards are particularly special as the fruit trees tend to age quicker than broadleaf species such as oak. We also offer orchard workshops to help landowners best manage their orchard to enable the habitats to continue to thrive and grow.

Discover more about Dead Wood Society in our podcast...

Severn Treescapes

Severn Treescapes is a Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire Wildlife Trusts’ partnership project working across the three…

Arable field with trees along the hedges and walls by Paul Harris/2020VISION

Working with farmers and landowners

We want to work with farmers and their representative organisations to find the best way to incorporate more trees into a productive…

Severn Treescapes - FAQs

Curious to find out more about Severn Treescapes and where the trees are going or how you can get involved?

Two logos side by side - 'Funded by UK Government' and 'Wild Again: Restoring England's Wildlife'

Severn Treescapes: Dead Wood Society has been funded by Natural England's Species Recovery Programme as part of the UK Government's 'Wild Again: Restoring England's Wildlife' initiative.