Early Articles
Many of the articles in these newsletters have been moved into more specific pages. Those included here are not so specific.
Christmas 1993
Official Opening
The wood was declared open by our own Chairman, Don Hunford at a small ceremony on 6th November 1993, in the presence of the Mayor of Castle Point, Mrs E E Wood, the Chairman of the Rochford District Council, Mr Terry Fawell, and the Member of Parliament for the constituency, Dr Robert Spink, and other important guests. About 300 people attended and enjoyed a guided tour of the wood as well as light refreshments in St Michaels Hall. Our special thanks to Mrs Maureen Brazier who led the catering team, to Doug Beard who organised the parking team, to David Harris and his team of guides, and to all those members of the Castle Point and Southend & Rochford Groups who helped to ensure that we had a successful and enjoyable launch.
Car Parking
I have to inform you that the Trustees of St Michael’s Church Hall have decided that they are not prepared to allow visitors to Pound Wood to use the Church Car Park. This means that, visitors and work party members must park on the side roads in Daws Heath. Please try to minimise nuisance to local residents by parking prettily and guietly (or better still walk or cycle to the wood).
Management Plan
The Forestry Authority gave approval to our management plan on the 10th October, enabling us to claim under the Woodland Grant Scheme. This binds us to carry out coppicing and other work along the lines of the sketch plan provided with newsletter No 1.
Bluebell Day 7th May 1994
In common with many of our larger reserves, we would like to have a special day each year when people will be able to visit the wood, who are diffident about entering wild places unless they are invited, accompanied and pay an admission charge! There are a number of people throughout the County who love to come to this kind of event. We are therefore hiring St Michael’s Hall and field so we can park cars and offer light refreshments.
We are at the earliest stages of planning this event which will be promoted as a quiet family day out in the countryside; an opportunity for a picnic and a guided woodland walk. If you have any ideas or contacts please let the chairman know, and if you would like to come as a visitor or helper, please book it into your new 1994 diary.
Education and History
We are in the early stages of preparing a pack for use in schools and by other interested parties, on the fascinating history of this part of Daws Heath. We hope to have some early reports for you by the Spring newsletter.
Spring 1994
Bluebell Day 7th May
This, our third newsletter, is issued to coincide with Bluebell Day. If this is your first visit to Pound Wood, we hope that you enjoy yourself and learn a little of the conservation work of the Essex Wildlife Trust. With such an early Spring, the bluebells were already breaking into flower in mid-April, so we hope that they are not over before the day arrives ! We wish to express our thanks to all those who volunteered to help make the day a success. Pound Wood was purchased by the Essex Wildlife Trust in March 1993 and work started in October to reverse the effects of many years of neglect. If you would like to receive future newsletters, please complete the form on page 8.
Mud and mire the worst for years
Recent years have been so dry that we have tended to forget just how muddy our countryside normally gets during the winter months. Although this may be inconvenient for urban man, we must remember that most of our wild plants and animals are well adapted to these conditions and suffer badly in times of drought. We therefore make no apology for muddy paths, but instead recommend visitors wear wellington boots.
Firelogs all sold
We are pleased to say that the ten cords of mostly hombeam coppice wood has all been sold to a log contractor for a good commercial price. This money will all go back into the fund to manage the reserve. A cord is 4ft long timber stacked 4ft high and 8ft wide. It will be removed only when the access path is dry and firm enough to allow vehicular access without damage to the woodland.
Watches for the Wood
Pensioner Jean Rowley was so moved to help the Trust to buy equipment for use by our volunteers that she gave us two antique watches which had been in her family for generations. They were auctioned at Sotheby’s on 16th December and made £580. Jean presently lives in a rest home in Westeliff and was delighted to hear of the sum raised. We have decided to call the proposed stile on the Northern Boundary of the wood “Rowley’s Gate” as a thank you gesture.
Access bows out but improves access for all
We are pleased to acknowledge the sum of £750 donated by the Access Horticultural Society, which is now wound up. This generous gift has enabled us to proceed with such projects as the bridge, for which materials have cost in excess of £100, and has funded the purchase of safety equipment, such as hard hats, for next season.
Parking
We are monitoring the parking situation carefully, for we have no wish to cause annoyance to local people. However, we are reluctant to seek planning permission for another car park in the area which might cause problems of control and misuse, and in any case would need to be constructed within the wood, thus destroying part of the wood which we are committed to protect. We ask regular visitors to vary the places in which they park in order to relieve the pressure on residents of (particularly) Haresland Close.
Walking the Dog
We have been asked about disturbance of the wildlife by dogs, both by dog owners and others. The majority of people visiting Pound Wood do so with their dogs and for the most part no harm is done. We do not insist that dogs are kept on the lead. However, it is likely that there would be a greater variety of woodland fauna if there was less dog disturbance, and it is disturbance rather than the actual catching of wild creatures which is the major problem.
Therefore we request responsible dog owners to:
- keep their pets away from the non-intervention area;
- if possible, avoid walking in the woods in early morning or at dusk;
- try to avoid the fouling of paths or, better still, clear it up;
- if your dog is one of the few which cannot be effectively controlled without a lead, then please use one;
- remember that not everyone likes dogs, and respect that view.
Motorbikes
There have only been one or two motorcycles in the wood since we took over, hence the new notices. Walkers are asked to note the registration number of any bike in Tile Wood or the vehicle that bought them, and pass it on to us for appropriate action.
Autumn 1994
Bluebell Day washed out
May 7th will be remembered as the day it rained. From 9am till we left in the evening it poured continuously. It is surprising therefore that about 250 people came along, and most of them walked (or slid) around the wood admiring the bluebells. Many of the field activities had to be cancelled, but the Tug o’ War team stuck to their task and entertained visitors. The lesson learned from this first event was that if the weather had been fine, we would have been rushed off our feet and future plans must be made accordingly. It is not to be an annual event, but we will have another public day, probably in the autumn of 1995.
Campers
Three groups of campers have so far been moved on. The first quite large group were rather “lippy” but to their credit did go within the hour and cleared up after them, leaving the rubbish in a bag. The other two groups claimed to be on a Duke of Edinburgh Award expedition. Both of these were respectful and left without leaving anything behind. Please tell our Assistant Wardens if you see anyone camping, vandalising or lighting fires. Please note exactly where they are as we have to go and find them.
January 1995
Car parking
In order to relieve pressure upon neighbourhood roads when we hold work-parties, we have fenced off a small area inside the Tile Wood entrance for their vehicles. We are investigating the possibility of constructing a prepared surface so that it can be used in all weathers. It was a fairly barren area already and most of the mounds there are the result of fly-tipping during the time when the wood was in a previous ownership.
Spring 1995
Lower Wyburns Farm sold to Little Haven
The purchase of this important piece of open country situated on the northern side of Daws Heath Road and to the south of the A127 Southend Arterial Road, as the site of the new Children’s Hospice for Essex went ahead at the end of March.
Local people will recall that the site already had planning permission for a golf course, clubhouse and practice area, but a change of use has been granted by the Castle Point District Council. As a condition, the majority of the 120 acre site will be leased to the Essex Wildlife Trust to be managed as a nature reserve for the benefit of wildlife and for the quiet enjoyment of local people.
The Little Haven Project Office will be preparing drawings of the development for submission to the local authority. Detailed negotiations as to how the site will be managed will commence after Easter, although broad principles have already been agreed. A full-time warden will be appointed in due course. The Essex Wildlife Trust is researching the historic uses of the land, its botanical importance and priorities for its future management.
Thanks to Ridleys the Essex Brewer
By the time you receive this newsletter, there will be two splendid new information boards at Pound Wood, sponsored by Ridleys as part of a rolling programme to help the people of Essex to enjoy and value our wildlife heritage. In addition to the display boards, the sponsorship has also covered the cost of printing the new nature trail guide which is therefore free to local people. It will also be available to the public at our Conservation Centres.
We need your support
We are looking forward to working with Little Havens Children’s Hospice on the Lower Wyburns Farm site in Daws Heath. But taking on the management of further land in Castle Point is a major step for the Essex Wildlife Trust and will involve more administration and practical work for our volunteers. This is currently funded by our 13,000 members throughout the county but more responsibility requires more support. Now it is your turn. We need you to show your support for our efforts by joining the Trust. It costs a minimum of £17 a year: just 33 pence a week.
You do not have to be an expert on anything — just care about local open spaces and the creatures which share them with us. You will receive two regular magazines - the Royal Society for Nature Conservation’s Natural World, together with Essex Wildlife, the county Trust‘s own magazine. In addition, you will receive a permit to visit the Trust’s 80 other nature reserves. We also organise monthly meetings at Runnymede Hall during the winter on subjects to interest us all.
Please come off the fence. There is no point in us preaching to third world countries about protecting their wildlife if we allow our own to be lost. Now is the time for us all to do our bit for the conservation of our environment. Fill in the form on the left of this page or obtain one of the Trust’s application forms, which contains more details, from Ann’s Minimarket in Daws Heath.
January 1996
A Bequest for Wildlife
Our thanks go to the late Mrs Winifred Voss who spent most of her life within sight of Pound Wood. She was so pleased that the Trust bought and started to look after it that she instructed her son to send us £1100 from her estate when she passed away. The money is ring-fenced by the Trust for use on its Daws Heath reserves. Most of us spend our lives struggling to make ends meet, but at its end we have our last chance to be generous. If you would like to help the Trust with a legacy, whether for general use or directed at a specific project or locality, please contact the Chairman for a booklet.
A New Way from the Salvation Army
Come bluebell time, visitors will wish to acknowledge the good work done by the people from the Salvation Army’s Hadleigh Employment Training. Under their leader, Mark Groenenberg, they have created a diversion to bluebell path around the notorious “Seep”. A spring rises at the back of gardens along Bramble Road which creates a small pond by the side of the path — and at times completely across it! We expect to be able to create a boardwalk or bridge on the new path which was not possible on the old. The abandoned path will he allowed to go back to nature so the seep will become a more secluded watering place for wildlife.
Steady income from wood sales
As well as selling coppicewood in bulk, we have been.able to generate enough money to manage the reserve from the sale of planters, stakes and logged firewood. The latter is very labour intensive but commands a much better price. Enquiries to Gerry Bullock.
Ten Guided Walks in one day
Our Autumn Tints Open Day on 7th October enjoyed better weather than the previous Bluebell Day; but only just! Rather dull and cool conditions discouraged some, no doubt, but over 150 people came along for guided tours and refreshments. Whilst a guided walk is no novelty to locals, a lot of people are diffident about walking alone in strange woods, and many come to learn more of the history and natural history of the reserve. Our next Open Day will be another Bluebell Day in 1997.
May 1996
Special Places Appeal
Eight of our nature reserves were included in a county-wide appeal for management funds. Our members responded very well, providing the bulk of the £12,000 or so received by the beginning of May. Of this, about £1,300 has been specifically allocated to the Little Haven reserve. Thank you. If you still have not done so, please send your donation either to the Trust’s HQ on the special form or simply send a cheque, payable to the Essex Wildlife Trust, to CW Moore. Acknowledgements are always sent
Wildlife is Going to Suffer
This time the cause is not human carelessness or greed. The problem is water, or rather lack of it. Although Spring has not been held back by drought because of the ground water accumulated over the past four months, unless we get some rain soon, trees and other plants will not be able to provide the resources for their own reproduction and growth, nor therefore the food for insects, birds and mammals.
Amphibians like frogs and newts will have a particularly bad time.
You can help the wildlife in your garden by making sure there is always water somewhere for thern (but don’t water the lawn, that will survive better without it) but in large areas of countryside like our nature reserves this is not an option. We need rain, lots of lovely rain. Enough to make it necessary for you to wear Wellington boots to enjoy a walk in the woods!
Go On, Enjoy It!
We are often asked how we manage to get so many volunteers to undertake such hard and sometimes messy work as woodland management It is no secret — we do it because we enjoy it. We also get a great deal of satisfaction out of improving the woodland for both wildlife and people. Most physical work is undertaken in the winter when the choices for outdoor activities are limited, and we have good fun with planning, interpretation, servicing tools and preparing for next year’s work (and clearing litter) during the summer. We are not exclusive though, for you can join us if you wish. Contact one of the wardens during the summer to enrol for next year’s work parties.
January 1997
Badger Glass Threat Makes Front Page Headline
The Standard Recorder carried a full colour picture and story on page one of its 6th December issue. The disturbing facts are that jagged broken glass has been deliberately put down a badger hole in Pound Wood. This is not the Middle Ages, or some Inner City. This is Daws Heath 1996. Please be on the look-out so we can catch this person. It is not alarmist to predict that someone who could do this to a badger could just as easily do it to you or me.
Sell Out of Firewood
Unlike last year, there was heavy demand for our logs and several potential purchasers were disappointed. If you wish to purchase cord wood (ie. in four-foot lengths) next summer, please register your interest now. Buyers must collect.
Spring 1999
Woodland products
Whilst the woodsmen of earlier times coppiced for the products they could sell and happened to help wildlife in the process, we have stood this on its head. This year the coppice yielded 35 cords of firewood (each 128 cubic feet) and over 1000 fencing stakes all traditionally cut and sharpened by hand.
As well as using the stakes on site we have supplied our nature reserves at Langdon, Roding Valley, Blue House Farm at Fambridge and Colne Point. We can also supply firewood, Forest Steps (wooden stepping stones), garden planters (hollowed logs), woodchips and a range of posts and poles. For the first time this year we are also producing charcoal from our native hornbeam smallwood. It is cleaner, hotter and more easily lit than the imported product. Most of the production of these items has been undertaken by volunteers: would you like to help? To offer help, or to purchase woodland products, contact either of the wardens, who are both named David, on 01702 716678 or 01268 773375.
Incident Black-spot at Digby’s Dell
By cutting back all re-growth of trees and brambles around the edge of the water and by removing one third of the vegetation in the water every year, we ensure Digby’s Dell pond (the first Pound Wood site coppiced by the Essex Wildlife Trust in 1993-4) maintains its value to wildlife. This year, each of these tasks led to an incident.
Firstly Bob Delderfield slipped and fell onto a stump, injuring his leg. Fortunately he has fully recovered. Then young volunteer Benjamin Raine fell into 2 feet of muddy water, filling his waders. Wearing little more than a donkey jacket, a plastic bag and a smile, he was happy to watch others work while his clothes were dried by the fire.
Maybe the first incident in Digby’s Dell occurred during the war years, Rumour has it that two bombs landed in Pound Wood and the craters are now Digby’s Dell pond and the hollow just to the north. Can any of our older readers remember this incident or recall seeing the two hollows before the war?
Newts and frogs continue to thrive in the pond as “red leg” disease has not infected the Pound Wood population.
If you have excess frog spawn in your garden, please do not introduce it to a natural pond like that at Digby’s Dell or you could turn it into a black spot for the frog population too!
Attention Map Enthusiasts and Horse Riders
You may have seen the new 1:25,000 Ordnance Survey Explorer maps. The Southend and Basildon sheet (175) unfortunately shows the newly created circular Pound Wood bridleway as incomplete and does not always follow the correct route. Horse riders should note that the route of the public bridleway in Pound Wood is the shingle path surfaced by Essex County Council, which is waymarked with blue arrows. Other paths in Pound Wood, shown as green dashed lines on the new map, are incorrect.
Disabled Path soon to start
Thanks to sponsorship from Barclays New Futures and hard work from The Deanes School, a start will be made this spring on a gravel dust path suitable for wheelchairs. It will run from the wheelchair kissing gate (installed last year) opposite Ann’s Minimarket to the entrance to Starvelarks Wood. The aim is eventually to make a circular route through the wood to return via the meadow.
Pound Wood Pong
Many visitors to Pound Wood have been greeted by a strong smell of sewage. The problem has now been investigated and our neighbours have implemented what they believe is a satisfactory solution to the problem. Our apologies for the inconvenience!
Vandalism and Abuse
When we were small boys (or girls) living in this area, the Daws Heath woods and fields were not nature reserves. Of course, we got chased by the farmer when we crossed his arable land but since the 1970s the owners did not bother about what happened there. Children are still welcome to play but we do ask them to respect our. property and its wildlife. Our volunteer work force have spent far too much time undoing the work of unwelcome visitors who have, among other things, damaged internal woodbanks which have remained undisturbed for maybe 1000 years. We therefore ask you to report such unsocial behaviour. If you happen to have your camera with you, a photograph of the culprit(s) would be helpful. Please also remember that children take their lead from us. If they see adults breaking the rules, like allowing dogs to foul the reserves, we can hardly expect them to learn respect for the law, let alone the country code.
Please keep to the paths
We have provided a good network of paths in our nature reserves. To minimise disturbance, we ask visitors to keep to those shown on the published maps and information boards. When walking in our fields, please keep to the edge unless there is an obvious worn path elsewhere as we need to take a hay crop later in the year. Thank you for your co-operation.
All correspondence to: Cliff Moore, 12 Conifers, Hadleigh, Benfleet, Essex SS7 2JR
Autumn 1999
The Bodger in the Woods
Many of you will have been perplexed by the reference to a ‘bodging lathe’ in one of Cliff Moore’s Newsletter articles. To most people, the word conjures up a vision of ‘The Bodger on the Bonce’ immortalised by Flanders and Swan. However, a bodger was once an important part of the local community. Far from botching his work, as the name might suggest, he was a skilled craftsman. The bodger would usually build himself a wickerwork hut in the woods in which he would install his lathe. This lathe was driven by a treadle and a cord wrapped around the spindle. The cord would then be attached to some suitable flexible branch above his hut. By operating the treadle with his foot, the lathe spindle would be made to spin. The bodger would turn the thin coppice wood to make components for furniture and other household goods.
David Cowan has built his bodging lathe in the old traditions. He has used some existing wood (an old door frame) to make the, basic structure and has begun to turn some small items from local wood.
Expect to see the bodger in Pound Wood on our open day next year.
Eclipse
What were you doing at 11.20am on 11th August? I was in Pound Wood sitting on the bench by the water in Digby’s Dell to experience the changes caused by the partial eclipse of the sun. Fortunately the sky was clear. My first unusual experience was that the heat from the sun reduced to make it feel like autumn sunshine yet the shadows were short and the sun was high in the sky. As I watched the scene, I noticed what was originally a bright blue sky turn to wedgewood blue and then to grey, yet there were no clouds. Very strange!
Then everything went quiet except for many light aircraft above no doubt to ensure that their occupants had a good view of the eclipse. The birds stopped singing, the wind stopped blowing and gradually all the different greens of the leaves seemed to merge into one colour. It was not the colour so typical of foliage in evening sunlight but more like that of lettuce leaves in a supermarket display lit by fluorescent lamps. The situation was that the light spectrum was that of sunlight at noon yet the intensity fell to that of evening. It was also very strange to see short sharp shadows yet the intensity of the sunlight was so feeble. It began to feel quite cold. One of my friends reported that the outside temperature dropped to 14°C during the eclipse. I was surprised by the sensation that my eyes kept telling me it was getting darker and darker at an ever-increasing rate. Eventually at about 11.2Oam the trend was reversed and at 11.45am I emerged from Pound Wood. During the entire visit I neither saw nor heard any other person. Who knows, I may be the only person to have observed a partial eclipse in Pound Wood this century!