We are incredibly lucky to have five remnants of Ancient Woodland to enjoy in our area. In England these are defined as woodlands which have been in continuous existence since 1600 – long enough to develop as ecosystems that are rich, complex, and irreplaceable. In fact, there is some evidence to say that Highgate, Queens and Coldfall Woods have been around since prehistoric times. That’s a breath-taking fact.
Now, just imagine if the local council or the government declared that they needed to build a housing estate on the land, or perhaps HR2 or a new road. Apparently that is a reality in parts of the country and it is a shocking fact that, unlike buildings, there is no official protection for our ancient woodland.
The 6th November marked the 800th anniversary of The Forest Charter, which is a document few of us have heard of, but which is much more important than Magna Carta. ‘Forest’ to the Normans meant an enclosed area where the monarch (or sometimes another aristocrat) had exclusive rights to animals of the chase and the greenery on which they fed. It did not consist only of trees, but included large areas of heathland, grassland and wetlands, productive of food, grazing and other resources. Lands became more and more restricted as King Richard and King John designated greater and greater areas as royal forest. At its widest extent, royal forest covered about one-third of the land of southern England. Thus it became an increasing hardship on the common people to try to farm, forage, and otherwise use the land they lived on.
The Charter basically restored ancient rights: “Henceforth every freeman, in his wood or on his land that he has in the forest, may with impunity make a mill, fish-preserve, pond, marl-pit, ditch, or arable in cultivated land outside coverts, provided that no injury is thereby given to any neighbour”. It also repealed the death penalty (or mutilation) for poaching deer.
The Woodland Trust is currently trying to save 780 woods under threat from development – the most ever in its 45 year history. People today are again worried about what is happening to our woods and forests so, to mark this anniversary, a new charter has been drawn up by the Woodland Trust – the Charter for Trees, Woods and People, written in oak gall ink by calligrapher Patricia Lovett.
A spokesperson for the Woodland Trust said: “In 2017 we’ve hit a point when woods and trees are facing unprecedented pressures from development, pests and diseases and climate change. They risk being neglected, undervalued and forgotten And as England may have tipped into deforestation, with more trees being cut down than planted for the first time in 40 years, it is essential we act now as a nation to protect the future of trees and woods for people for generations to come. The Charter has been written by the people of the UK who have shared their stories of trees.”
If you would like to know more about the new charter (which has no force in law) click here: http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/get-involved/tree-charter/
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