Management Plan Update

General

• Linear edge on Kellie Road. Plant shrubs to soften the edge.
• Clean floor of wood within 10 yards of paths.
• Ensure public provided with information to keep them on side.
• Look into the Forest Education Initiative.
• Publish Management Plan in local papers.
• Replant with native species and remove exotics.
• Replanting exercise to involve public.
• Put up signs showing that the woodland is being managed by DCWG.

Compartment 2a

• Take out majority of sycamore and poor pine.
• Create pine stand to allow crowns to develop.
• Thin out on edge to allow people to see further into wood from road and path.
• Keep felled pine – make into benches etc.

Compartment 2b

• Root plate lifting.
• Leave dead wood on forest floor.
• Remove spruce – replant with oak, ash, lime (small leafed).
• Plant in groups – overstock using 3ft trees (15-20p per tree).
• Avoid using shelters as magnet for vandals.
• Idea – ‘Plant a Tree for Mothers Day’. Fell in summer, plant in spring.
• Prepare site – haul out felled trees, have felled wood chipped.

Compartment 2c

• Remove a couple of the larches.
• Very light thinning.
• Remove very young sycamore.
• Good European larch, straight, good price. Durable, good for benches, signs etc.
• Demonstration of making benches, chain saw sculptures on site?

Compartment 2d

• Replant sycamore with ash.
• Thin out smaller trees.
• Yew – trim off branches. Take out couple of pines behind the yew.
• Coppicing of existing ash.
• Light edge.

Compartment 3a

• Minimal intervention.
• Paths to be kept away from the area to allow wildlife a safe haven.
• Longer term – remove sycamore.
• Good opportunity for a nature conservation area.
• Create some more pools by scraping ground. Remove vegetation.
• Allow water to develop naturally.
• This area was the site of the loch at Lochend.
• High water table – usually a lot higher.
• Develop a linked series of pools?
• Longer term – develop board walks.
• Rhodedendrons – monitor and review in a couple of years time. Remove while still manageable.
• Possibility of a number of events with which to involve the public.
• Set up some bat boxes – good hunting ground, open flying and insects.
• Also, bird boxes.

Compartment 3b

• Path follows drain line.
• Realign path and develop wet area by creating a more formal pond.
• Remove some sycamore. Pine are naturally going, take out the weakest, and the ones that have problems with the root plates lifting.
• Wall is listed. Long term – look into Heritage grant.
• Remove dangerous trees. Inform Scottish Power as trees are near the power lines on the other side of the wall.
• Drain – needs a cover. Overflow from Hallhill septic tanks.
• General tidy up.
• Evidence of squirrels.

Compartment 3c

• Thinning.
• Odd pine, remove Norway Spruce.
• Remove chicken wire fence.

Compartment 3d

• Group of yews – selective trimming.
• Release yews by removing consticting trees.
• Leave ash.
• Tidy up drinking den.

Compartment 4a

• Selective thinning.
• Wait and see what happens to the area once light hits the wood floor.
• Could plant shade tolerant understory.
• Cut up come logs and pile up for wildlife habitat.
• Rhododendrons – more than in other areas. Need to remove.

Compartment 4b

• Play area – old garden of Lochend House.
• Foot pace survey – create a landscape design.
• A number of specimen trees – walnut and cedar.
• Remove stumps and fill up hole.
• Clear trees right up to the Kellie Road.
• Allow access to road for machinery.
• High prune fir.
• Approx. 2 days work.
• Remove old stumps from corner of Kellie Road and Middlemas Road.

Compartment 4c

• Drain cover required.
• Fence off ‘well’.
• Light low thinning.
• Remove fallen trees.
• Beech and sycamore are to be removed.

Compartment 4d

• Keep but thin out weaker spruce.
• Create an opening in the woodland.

Compartment 4e

• Heavy thinning required.
• Eventually clear and replant longer term.
• Heavy undercover of elderberry. Tangly, but leave.
• Tidy up remining undercover.
• Heavy on dead trees.

Compartment 4f

• Thinning – remove sycamore and beech amongst the edges.

Compartment 5a

• Rhododendrons are a serious problem.
• Remove beech as weak specimens.
• Thinning but save ash.
• Keep beech further through the area.

Compartment 5a/6b

• Requires gate.

Compartment 5b

• Tidy up of felled trees.
• Take out beeches.

Compartment 6b

• Burn – excavate areas to make some pools?
• Probably not worth the effort to make pools. However, clear out and remove fallen trees.
• Thinning to let remaining trees develop their crowns.
• Drain needs attention.

Compartment 7

• Query re. Miller boundary.
• Moorhens nesting on lily pond.
• Board walk on southern edge next to Millers. Edge requires stabilization.
• Pipe on southern edge. Build up edge of pipe with stones to naturalise.
• Massive effort is required.
• Large rhododendron on east of clearing.
• Pond requires to be unsilted.
• In short the whole area is a special project within its own right.
• Survey area once boundary with the Miller site is defined.
• Survey must be detailed and include levels.
• Needs separate, well defined, landscaped plan. Detailed specification required.
• Will need a large amount of funding.
• Important through route from John Muir Gardens to ‘The Ferns’.

Compartment 8

• Mainly sycamore, with a little ash and occasional beech.
• In denser areas of ash – fell sycamore to allow more light for them to develop,
• Fell the ash with the damaged bark (main cross path, laundry to Wimpey).
• Fell ash with ash canker.
• Remove sycamore with damaged bark.
• Thinning to favour removal of sycamore, keep occasional beech.
• There is one oak in this area.
• Leaning elm tree to be removed.
• Open area needs replanting – junction with Wimpey/Persimmon. Oaks?
• Vegetation dense and aggressive.
• Weed control.
• Develop crab apples and fruit on roadside verge.
• Lots of young ash in roadside area.

Compartment 9

• Six Austrian pine. Yew trees and multi stemmed lime.
• More mixed area of woodland.
• Remove pine with poorest tops.
• Remove spruce next to long path.
• Retain big beech.
• Remove oak.
• Clear out rubbish – i.e. newspaper dumped next to log.

Compartment 10

• Composting points? Convert the dumping of garden water into an opportunity.
• Money from council to set up scheme?
• Clear nettles from Ashfield entrance.
• Mixed woodland – poor quality.
• Remove larches and other poor quality trees.
• Dead elm at east end to be removed.
• Prune off lower branches of leaning cedar to relieve weight.
• West of ruin – thinning, remove some sycamore to favour ash and beech.
• Extra path to be surfaced as it is regularly used.
• Take out some of the smaller beech.

Compartments 11 & 12

Are still under the management of the original owner, and are yet to be handed over to the community so do not fall under the remit of Dunbar Community Woodland Group.