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Coppice woodland management12/25/2023 Smaller woodland birds like long tailed tits, mash tits, coal tits etc also make Prime Coppice their home. Birdwise there buzzards, owls, sparrow hawks and ravens frequently passing through. There is a wide range of species of butterflies and dragonflies and moths. In the spring there are beautiful spring flowers, bluebells, wild daffodils, wild garlic, orchids, anenomies, celandine, violets and others. Prime Coppice is a Site of Nature Conservation Importance (SNCI) and it has a varied flora and fauna. We have an agreed Forestry Commission management plan in place, and it is our ambition to return it to a well-managed working woodland that is a haven for wildlife and where people can come and learn new skills and spend time in nature. Since taking on the wood we have cleared and widened the bridleway making the woodland more accessible for walkers and horse riders, and have opened up the wood to visitors attending courses and to volunteer groups. The woodland came into new ownership and management in June 2011 when Ruth and Kit Vaughan bought the land. Prime Coppice like many other small woods has suffered from a lack of active management, typified by severe over-browsing by deer leading to no or little under storey, a decline in biodiversity and economic and social values, plus very real threats from new diseases (chalara fraxinea) and climate change. The woodland and Marshwood vale where the wood sits is ringed by a series of 7 ancient hill forts including the famous Pilsdon Pen.įrom the 1950s to 1980s there was active management of the rides and coppice, but since the 1980s there has been little management and the wood has become neglected, with the rides, paths and ditches falling into disrepair. Historically the area adjacent to the wood was known as the kings moot where the local leaders would meet to discuss affairs and surrounding the woodland there is a rich history including the finding of a bronze age Viking axe head and the old Marshwood castle and deer park. Historically the wood was an excellent example of a community working woodland providing a wide range of livelihood and coppice products eg: employment, training, cider, firewood, charcoal, timber, hazel and ash hurdles, baskets and bean sticks etc. The wood was once a vibrant and thriving working woodland in the west Dorset landscape, hence the name Prime Coppice.
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