ASHDOWN FORESTlifeCelebrating over 125 years of care for the Forest www.ashdownforest.org

ISSUE NO 22 WINTER 2016

WELCOME

A DAY IN THE LIFE

CREATIVE CELEBRATION

WORKING WITH OUR COMMONERS

QUEEN’S AWARD PRESENTATION

DEER UPDATE

DIARY DATES

We are grateful to Natural England for supporting Ashdown Forest Life.

THE CONSERVATORS OF ASHDOWN FOREST Ashdown Forest Centre, Wych Cross, Forest Row, East Sussex RH18 5JP

T: 01342 823583 E: conservators@ashdownforest.org www.ashdownforest.org

Only printed on paper from sustainable forests. All paper used is FSC Certified and produced only at mills holding ISO 14001 certification.

This site is part of the European Natura 2000 Network. It has been designatedbecause it hosts some of Europe’s most threatened species and habitats. All 27countries of the EU are working together through the Natura 2000 Network to

safeguard Europe's rich and diverse natural heritage for the benefit of all. See www.natura.org.

Editorial: Paul Cooper, forest.marketing@btinternet.com Design and production: Studio 4, m.marriott@btconnect.com

Photography: Steve Alton, Dave Brooker (dave@mappingideas.co.uk), Pat Buesnel, Paul Cooper, Jane Kilby, Dan Nicholson-Smith.

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FRIENDS DIARY DATESAt the time of publication, our diary dates are still being confirmed so, in order to find out about forthcoming Friends' events, please check with our website.

www.friendsofashdownforest.co.uk

DIARY DATES3rd October – 3rd January Dave Brooker – The Forest and beyond. Ashdown Forest photography exhibition.Dave is a regular contributor to Ashdown Forest Life and his wonderful photographs of the Forest are simply stunning. An exhibition not to be missed!

5th November – 18th December Ashdown Forest Woodtuners

4th February – 26th March David and Barbie Harrison and Anthony Mills Pottery and painting exhibition

We have a bumper issue for you – a lot has been happening! We have welcomed new staff and have a new programme of work to tell you about. You will find an interesting article on Commoners ‘then and now’, various updates and a peek behind the scenes of the Forest Centre office to discover some of the issues and queries we deal with on a daily basis.

Welcome... The Winnie the Pooh Amble

During the summer we once again took part in theWealden and Eastbourne Walking Festival and, as wellas our normal Health Walks, we included a Winnie thePooh Amble to celebrate the 90th anniversary of thepublication of the first book. We also led guided walks to the Vachery Woodland Garden as part of the National Garden Scheme and in October held a Countryfile Ramble for Children in Need – the latter two raising money for those charities.

October saw the ‘Creative Celebration of Ashdown Forest’. This collaboration between the Conservatorsand locally based professional artists comprised sixevents, held over the course of a week and featured a stunning new film produced by Steve, our very ownConservation Officer, accompanied by a live renditionof a new musical composition created especially for the occasion. There was also poetry, storytelling, asoundscape of Forest voices, a schools’ day and a story walk.

If you attended any of the performances in the beautifully decorated Education Barn, I hope you enjoyed yourself - if not, you missed some real treats!

As mentioned in the last issue, we are in ongoing dialogue with the Ashdown Forest Trust and Charity Commission on the various submissionsand options on the governance of Ashdown Forest so please look out for any news and updates on our website.

I would like to thank you for your continuing supportin this period of change and transition, not only of us as an organisation, but both nationally and internationally. Also, a big ‘thank you’ to our invaluable volunteers who thoroughly deserve all the accolades going.

Pat Buesnel, Director pat@ashdownforest.org

Josh, Dan and Sky

Introducing...the new members of our teamJosh Bevan joined the Forest team in July 2016.He graduated from Merrist Wood in 2011 with a National Diploma in Countryside Management. Since then, Josh has been working in the UK, Australia and New Zealand,gaining experience with different aspects of livestock management and conservation activities. As the Grazing Officer, Josh assists Caroline, our Lead Grazing Officer, in managingthe day-to-day running of the grazing project,working with volunteers and alongside some of our active commoners. Josh is joined by Sky, an 8 year-old Border Collie!

Dan Graeme joined the grazing team in July 2016after volunteering for them since 2009. He wasbrought up on a local dairy farm and has alwaysloved working with livestock. In 2007 he made acareer change and went from being a chef toworking on local farms and shearing sheep. Hehas two collies to help him and a terrier aptlynamed Bracken.

A day in the life...of the Ashdown Forest Office

Good morning - Ashdown ForestCaller: Can I book an appointment to see Dr Jones. It’s about my…

..…let me just interrupt as you have the wrong number – this is not the surgery, this is the Ashdown Forest CentreCaller: But I’ve always called this number before…..

08:53 Issue Riding permits. The Winter season generates lots of new applications. Someone has forgotten to attach a copy of their insurance.

09:01 Call from Commoner who asks to be added to the “wood list”. The gentleman is entitled to “Estovers” for the ancestral hearth as part of his Commoners rights.

09:02 Call regarding a dead sheep at Box car park. The Ranger is sent out and the farmer is contacted.

09:10 Call regarding fly tipping at Goat car park. Construction debris and containers have been dumped. Fifth time this week.

09:25 Radio call:Foxtrot: Ashdown Office, Ashdown Office, this is Foxtrot over

Office: Office receiving overFoxtrot: Just to confirm the location of the sheep, as there is no sign of a dead sheep at Box over

Office: The caller advised the sheep was on the left hand side of the road as you approach Box car park from the Crowborough Road over

Telephone rings….Finally Glen Poland, our new Deer Programme Co-ordinator, will introduce himself and give youan update on deer on the Forest later in this issue.

Foxtrot: There is no dead sheep here over

Office: It must have been asleep overFoxtrot: Affirmative, or eaten too many acorns. Will head back to the yard, Foxtrot out.

10:07 Issue Perpetual Licence for property on the Forest. All properties requiring access across Forest land must have a Licence, acknowledging that access and giving the Licensee the right to make up and maintain their access. The track is long and winding and the Clerk is despairing at the mapping software.

10:31 Call regarding volunteering. Caller keen to assist on the Forest with conservation projects. Details passed to Ranger who will be in touch.

11:17 Call regarding opening hours of the park. Caller is advised Ashdown Forest is Common Land and access is available 24/7.

11:18 Clerk discusses the office temperature with a Ranger.

11:20 Call regarding directions to Pooh Bridge from the Forest Centre. Caller given information but advised the walk from the office to Pooh Bridge would take several hours and it would be better to drive to a closer car park to start the walk.

11:36 Minutes from the last committee meeting are prepared and circulated to the Conservators for review.

12:20 Call asking staff what the weather is like in Wych Cross. Overcast.

12:21 Call from mounted Ranger about someone horse-riding on the Forest without a valid permit. Office confirm the individual is not licensed. Mounted Ranger will advise rider they are in breach of Ashdown Forest Bye-laws.

13:53 Staff member locked in barn after using microwave to heat up lunch.

14:05 Call from anxious dog walker. Their dog has chased a deer and the dog has been injured. Dog walker is unclear of his exact location but requires immediate assistance. Staff explain that the Rangers are not based at the office and immediate assistance is not always possible. A Ranger is radioed and rescues the dog. The dog walker is reminded that dogs should be under control when on the Forest and public should not rely on Rangers as an emergency service.

14:37 Call from Commoner who has forgotten to pay their Forest Rate. Commoners are assessed for a Forest Rate dependent upon the acreage of their holding. Rates are levied annually as from 1 April and payment is a statutory requirement.

15:21 Call from irate member of public, outraged that she cannot park in her usual car park as there are other people parked there. Staff try and placate the caller and explain the Forest is Common Land and accessible to all, but the caller continues to launch a torrent of abuse before hanging up.

16:08 Call from guest wanting to book a spa treatment. Caller advised she has the wrong number and there is no spa at the Forest Centre. Caller is advised to call the Ashdown Park Hotel instead. Office staff discuss the merits of a spa day.

16:27 Visitor to office with a dead bird of prey. Visitor is keen for the Conservation Officer to identify the specimen however the Conservation Officer is on annual leave. The visitor suggests putting the dead specimen in the office fridge until the Conservation Officer returns. The office staff make the visitor aware that the Conservation Officer is off for two weeks and this is not possible. Visitor departs leaving bird on desk.

Never a dull moment!

Very much alive!

Creative CelebrationThe ‘Creative Celebration of Ashdown Forest’ week - a collaboration between the Conservatorsand a group of local, professional artists -was a resounding success!

Over 250 people, young and not so young, enjoyed a varied programme of events spread over the weekincluding a ‘romp’ through the Forest’s history, storytelling, a soundscape of Forest voices, poetry and music. A schools’ day included a walk and sculpture making.

We aimed to get important messages out in a different way to perhaps a different audience. Alongwith celebrating the wonderful and important landscape and magic of the Forest, we covered topicssuch as the importance of grazing, why we cut treesdown, why we burn, the problems of dog attacks andcontrolling deer. We had a mostly local audience butmany had not been to the Centre before and were neither Friends nor volunteers. Judging by feedback, I think we have now gained many more supporters!To those of you who attended please send us yourthoughts– all comments, good and not so good,gratefully received.

Working with the Commoners An astonishing 685 Commoners have grazing rights for 4,015 cattle and 20,140 sheep on Ashdown Forest (remember that historically the Forest was much bigger).

Up until the Second World War, the Commoners with smallholdingsaround the Forest would have turned their livestock out onto therough grazing of the Common for the summer. This allowed themto cut their home meadows for hay to get their animals through thewinter. Today these smallholdings are the desirable properties wesee around the Forest but generally the owners are not small farmers anymore, with a few notable exceptions.

The Osborne family have been Commoners of the Forest for generations. Today, Henry Osborne, his son Brian, and Brian’s sons Harry and Archie run 900 sheep and 130 cattle on the fencedSouth Chase of the Forest. Without the Osborne family, grazing on the Forest would almost certainly have ceased, to the greatdetriment of the heathland habitat.

At Boringwheel Mill Farm, Commoner Anthony Watson and his wifekeep a herd of Dexter cattle. During the summer months, these arealso turned onto the South Chase, where they thrive on the varieddiet that the Forest provides. As a result, the beef that they produceis full of flavour and this excellent Forest produce will be on sale atthe Forest Centre this winter. Keep an eye on our website to order.

Outside of the South Chase the internationally important heathland habitat still needs the summer grazing. Without it, the coarse grasses dominate, smothering smaller wild flowers and heathers and the whole sward becomes less and less diverse.The Conservators have been pioneering the reintroduction of grazing to the unfenced parts of the Common in recent years and we are also encouraging farmer Commoners to get involved.

This summer Bob Felton and Liz Wallis of Twyford Farm have had twenty of their beasts out grazing. Bob and Liz are the tenants of the Countryside Restoration Trust and manage thelovely grassland farm as well as providing sumptuous B&B accommodation for visitors to the area. Having spent a lifetime in cattle, Bob is interested in the challenge of grazing out on the Forest and the Conservators are looking forward to developing a long term working partnership with Twyford Farm. You can find out more on their website www.countrysiderestorationtrust.com

We are very eager to hear from any other Commoners with cattlewho would like to exercise their grazing rights.

Everyone enjoyed our "Creative Celebration Week"

The Henry Osborne "round up!"

Fallow deer on the Forest

By way of introduction, my family live and farm locally and I attended Plumpton College, leaving in 2010with a National Diploma in Game and Countryside Management, specialising in deer management.

Ashdown Forest Deer Programme updateWinter 2016-2017

Since then, I have managed deer on large and small estates across the south-east of England, gaining a great amount of experience, particularly with Fallow deer.

I am delighted to say that I am now the Deer Programme Co-ordinator on Ashdown Forest. This is an exciting role, fundedthrough the Countryside Stewardship Scheme, with the support ofNatural England, the Forestry Commission and the Deer Initiative.

The objectives for managing deer on the Forest are:

to ensure a healthy and viable Fallow deer herd but at tolerable numbers

to reduce the incidence of Deer/Vehicle Collisions (DVCs)

to protect natural plant communities

to reduce damage to surrounding commercial crops and to ornamental planting

Culling trials on the Forest began in 2014, supporting the effortsalready being made by local landowners. As a group, we are beginning to reduce Fallow density, mainly by bringing femalenumbers down. I am pleased to say that this is slowly proving tobe effective. DVCs are slowly decreasing, the woodlands andground flora are beginning to respond and the deer themselveshave started to improve in condition. Numbers are still very highhowever and a further reduction in deer numbers is required.

Part of my role as the Deer Programme Coordinator is to managethe small stalking team on the Forest. In 2016-2017 we will in-crease the Forest cull plan by a further 50 percent. This will becarefully co-ordinated with our neighbours.

It is unlikely that you will notice our activities but please feel freeto speak with us, or email or call me.

Glen Poland Deer Programme Co-ordinator, Ashdown Forestglenpoland@ashdownforest.org Mobile - 07392952183

Following the announcement of this prestigious award in June, we were asked by the Lord Lieutenant’s office when and where we wanted the formal presentation.

Queens Award for Voluntary Service – Presentation by the Lord Lieutenant, Peter Field

We were delighted that the Ashdown Park Hotel agreedto not only host the event but also to sponsor it and we can confidently say that all who attendedhad a lovely time, and were treated to a delicious afternoon tea in the beautiful upper chapel.

We were presented with an engraved crystal piece and the Deputy Lieutenant read out the Citation, which is signed by the Queen.

A huge ‘thank you’ to all our volunteers for their time, energy, good humour, knowledge and expertise– we couldn’t do without you! And ‘thank you’ to thestaff team for providing support and guidance in somany different ways to the volunteer teams.

Below: The presentation gathering at the Ashdown Park Hotel