Many local streams have ponds inserted along their course. These may have been feeder ponds for a much larger ‘hammer pond’ further downstream. All are likely to have been created by the iron-masters of the High Weald in centuries passed.

February’s Stewardship Saturday is our traditional rhododendron shrub removal day. This evergreen shrub can, if unchecked, run rampant through a woodland displacing native woodland flowers and young tree saplings to create a green desert which supports very little in the way of native plants and animals. Yes the flamboyant flowers are eye-catching, which explains why it is grown in British gardens, but to the detriment of our own wildlife. It has to go!

Following the recent home team tour of the site, including the progress of projects being considered, planned and delivered out in the wood. Where possible, we try to justify carrying out a project based on its potential to deliver at least three benefits - Three Strikes and You’re In.

Heathland is relatively common in the High Weald but under-represented at Wilderness Wood. It supports a few very distinctive plant and animal species but soon becomes overrun by woodland, which shades-out these light loving plants. In this post I go on a hunt for prospective heathland sites for us to restore.

Woodland Rides can be widened and managed to create areas of low vegetation to encourage greater woodland biodiversity.

So we stagger into yet another year at Wilderness Wood. I thought I’d mark the new year by highlighting the various developments that have taken place around the wood whilst taking you along the A-Z Trail, which all visitors are encouraged to follow.

High winds require walking in woodland to be done with great caution. Deciduous trees in December present a lesser threat compared to the dense sail-like qualities of evergreen conifer foliage. Most visitors to Wilderness Wood prefer to stick to the A-Z Trail, but a bit of exploring along side tracks can bring its rewards.

The shortest day of the year and Christmas pretty well demand that we take a festive look at Wilderness Wood and its wildlife. There is still plenty to report on, with some of the wood’s residents already getting their Christmas Dinner, whilst others are having to work hard to ensure their survival as we approach the January freeze.

On a wet day in December the New Ponds flourish (almost to bursting) and Bat Park turns into a wetland. How our climate is changing. In the summer both will be bone dry.

This week I return to Bat Park which is now in its winter drab, however lots of interesting things are going on there and I am full of enthusiasm for the coming spring.

To make improvements to the ecology of Wilderness Wood we need to attract suitable funding. Funders inevitably want to know the details of any given project and its environmental impact. An ecological survey, even for a relatively small project, is a not uncommon requirement. Here’s how it might be done.

Creating a wildlife pond requires a reliable source of water (a challenge at Wilderness Wood in the summer time), you also need to populate it with freshwater invertebrates. The proof of the pudding is in the eating and the writing utensils are essential.

Rhododendron ponticum threatens woodland habitats all over the UK, although mostly along the western side of the country. Rhodie bashing is an important part of our woodland management activities.

Understanding basic hydrology is vital to the management of water as it passes through a woodland ecosystem. Woodland should not just be managed for the benefit of wildlife on-site, but with regard to responsibility for the welfare of those downstream - in fact for the whole of the UK and beyond.

A full pond is as satisfying as a full fridge after a Sainsbury shopping spree. Charged with all of the things necessary for feeding insect larvae and the rest of the Wilderness Wood family of wildlife.

October is a time of major change in the woods. The flowers of the summer are fading fast, replaced by the mysterious fungi which love the cool damp autumnal weather. Rain has returned with a vengeance, filling our ponds and turning the once dry Wilderness Stream into a trickle. Winter promises new challenges as the stream swells to bank-full from the winter rains.

A visit by Sussex Wildlife Trust’s ‘The Wilder Ouse’ Project Officer enables us to showcase our conservation credentials to an important local environmental organisation.

Developing an acid lowland grassland at Bat Park, Wilderness Wood has been a challenge to encourage a unique grassland habitat in the middle of a Wealden woodland.

Leaky Dam’s are something of a speciality at Wilderness Wood, where we have built over 100 to-date. We offer visitors a Leaky Dam Trail guide. Ask at ‘The Hatch’.

Wilderness Wood is not only a wildlife habitat, but also a working woodland, much of it managed for timber production. The challenge has to be balancing these in order to enable both to flourish.