www.bedgeburypinetum.org.uk

Friends of Bedgebury Magazine Issue 5 Spring/Summer 2015

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I first fell in love with Bedgebury during my maternity leave in 2005. My post natal friends and I would meet regularly in the walled garden for tea and cake and a gentle walk in the Pinetum with our babies. We spent the pre-school years in the Pinetum too, having fallen in love with the landscape as a thrilling natural adventure playground for our children.

When my daughter started school in 2010, I missed the time we had spent in Bedgebury so profoundly that Malcolm Dove, the Manager of the Friends at that time, easily persuaded me to combine my return to part-time work with volunteering in the Forestry Commission’s Learning Team. He also convinced me to become a Trustee of the Friends’ charity.

Eight years after my first visit to Bedgebury, I found myself stepping in to help cover Malcolm’s retirement when we, as trustees, failed to find the right person to replace him. Two years on, I am still here and loving every moment of it!

The Friends work in close partnership with the Forestry Commission at Bedgebury helping to support an exciting range of projects on site from the development and maintenance of recreational activities like children’s play and cycling, that clearly draw our members to the site all year round, to our support for the world class conservation work being undertaken through the tree collection and related activities.

It is clear that our members also attach great value to the wonderful Pinetum landscape, rich in rare and exciting flora and fauna, that forms the heart of Bedgebury, and this too draws our funding, time and energy. In truth, it is difficult to imagine a more wonderful way to spend some time than working with the Friends and the Forestry Commission in this rich and beautiful environment.

It has therefore been fascinating to hear how you view the site and the efforts of the Forestry Commission to manage the numerous and occasionally conflicting activities important to all the people who spend time at Bedgebury.

With every Friends’ magazine we attempt to share and explain what we all do at Bedgebury and why, but with this edition we have focussed on the subjects we now know are important to our members. We hope to demonstrate the Forestry Commission’s plans to address some of the issues you have raised and develop or protect the things that you value. We have all learned much from the survey process and we look forward to continuing this dialogue with you long into the future.

My Bedgebury DecadeKatherine Jary, Friends Manager

Editors: Katherine Jary and Luke Wallace

Proof Readers: Elspeth Hill, Jeanette Armstrong and John Gordon

Contributing Photographers: Fraser Allen, Katherine Jary, Luke Wallace, Ian Beavis, Phil Clayton, Dan Luscombe, Mark Clixby, Bob Dransfield, Jack Glendinning, Keith Bunce

Contributing Florilegium Artists: Susan Conroy, Helen Hiorns

The Friends of Bedgebury Pinetum are very grateful to Fraser Allen for supporting the production of this magazine, our websites and our social media presence with his amazing photographic images.

Design: Jonathan Turner

Printed on FSC certified paper.

Cover: Long-horned Bee Eucera longicornis Taken by Ian Beavis (curator at Tunbridge Wells Museum).

The males of this beautiful solitary bee are very distinctive because of their long antennae. This photograph was taken when one was found during the Bedgebury Bioblitz of May 2014. We were very pleased to see this species in Bedgebury as it has undergone rapid decline across Britain. The main reason for the decline is the loss of flower-rich grasslands, as these bees have a particular need for large areas of nitrogen-fixing plants (known as legumes) such as Bird’s-foot trefoil and Clovers. Bedgebury Pinetum is lucky to have suitable habitat for this precious little invertebrate.

Friends of Bedgebury Magazine Issue 5 Spring/Summer 2015

Welcome: My Bedgebury Decade 1

Editor’s Letter 2

An interview with you! 4

Membership Information 10

Bedgebury’s Visitor Centre Team 11

Events and Activities 14

Go with the flow! 18

Aphids! 20

The Friends, the Forestry Commission and the Bigger Picture 22

A diary from Japan 24

Bird Ringing at Bedgebury 27

Why is Bedgebury a great place to bring your school? 28

Bedgebury and our Partners 30

Notice Board 33

Editor’s LetterLuke Wallace, Membership and Volunteer Coordinator

A substantial sum is invested in the botanical collection and vital tree conservation activities each year. One of Bedgebury’s most significant endeavours in 2014 was a seed collecting expedition to Japan. Dan Luscombe, our resident Dendrologist, diarised the trip (pages 24 to 26) and when typhoons weren’t hampering efforts, the team managed to find and collect the seed of some seriously threatened flora. This year, the team is planning to collect seed from endangered North American species. On pages 22 to 23, Bedgebury’s Manager, Dominic O’Connor Robinson, explains why we undertake such trips and ponders the subject of conifer conservation. You only have to visit our fascinating collection of trees to see the results of this conservation work.

Investing in the botanical collection also requires us to manage the natural environment in which it sits. This environment is important for all forms of wildlife and the best way of managing the landscape in an ecologically sensitive manner is to understand the ecosystem’s composition in detail. With this in mind, Bedgebury hosts a range of surveying and monitoring activities for all sorts of organisms. Christine George explains how bird-ringing, for example, still provides us with new information on our birdlife (page 27). Surveying also turned up some exciting wildlife finds at Bedgebury last year, most notably in the autumn when a nationally new species of parasitoid was discovered in the Pinetum! Find the full story on pages 20 to 21 and don’t forget to look out for some more amazing creatures in the Pinetum’s trees and meadows this summer.

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“A camel is a horse designed by a committee.”Alec Issigonis ‘Notes and Queries’ The Guardian 1991

Now, it is not fair to insult the perfectly adapted camel, but the point is that the collaborative result of disparate ideas will be a compromised one. Bedgebury, with its diverse array of activities and attractions, is indeed the manifestation of many different ideas and interests.

Being one of the most visited attractions in south-east England, compromises inevitably have to be made, but do they detract from the overall experience?

We start to explore this important question in a review of the results from our 2014 member survey on pages 4 to 9. Here, we discuss the prevailing opinions and try to answer some of the more conflicting and challenging responses we received. It is clear from the survey that our members are very aware of the issues presented to staff and visitors at a site like Bedgebury. This edition of the magazine aims to consider the different recreational aspects of Bedgebury and the careful balance the Forestry Commission has to apply in its management as “a place for people, a place for trees and a place for wildlife”.

In our Autumn Winter 2014 Magazine, Mark Clixby, Bedgebury’s Recreation Manager, outlined his vision for a “visitor experience that exceeds expectations”. In this edition, Mark introduces us to the frontline troops at Bedgebury, the Visitor Centre team (pages 11 to 13), who play a key role in the delivery of this vision. It is staff in this team who interact with the hundreds of thousands of visitors that come to Bedgebury every year. Combine the number of visitors with such a multifaceted site, and it’s easy to see how any role in this department is lively and challenging on a daily basis.

The forest bike trails have to be one of our biggest visitor draws and they are continuously being improved to enhance your riding experience. Local resident and mountain-bike enthusiast, Phil Clayton, tells us about the practicalities of maintaining bike trails and why the forest bike trails are gaining an impressive reputation (pages 18 to 19). However, cycling is only one of the site’s many activities so for those of you who prefer a less energetic or more cerebral approach to recreation, see pages 14 to 17 for a list of this summer’s events and activities.

So, aside from outstanding play areas,high quality bike trails and a variety of otherrecreational and educational activities, where else does your money go?

Bedgebury, “a place for people, a place for trees and a place for wildlife”.

Cycling, concerts, children’s activity trails, botanical interests, global conservation, beautiful walks, wildlife watching… the list goes on! If Bedgebury is the compromised camel, as extrapolated from Issigonis’s metaphor, then it is a camel in its native Africa or Asia; very well adapted for the demands placed on it.

The site is incredibly dynamic and diverse and, whether it is an extreme, adrenaline rush or a gentle amble around some beautiful natural settings, with a little compromise and consideration Bedgebury can deliver on all counts.

However, although play and cycling are now popular activities on site with 40 – 50% of you listing them as the reasons you joined, we are pleased that 47% joined because of the peaceful and safe outdoor space with 10 – 16% of you listing environmental conservation and the tree collection as key reasons for joining.

The great news is that most of you want us to continue supporting a range of activities on site with 39% of you favouring the tree collection and wildlife and 36% of you favouring play and cycling.

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An interview with you!Katherine Jary, Friends of Bedgebury Pinetum Manager and Dominic O’Connor Robinson, Bedgebury Manager

We would like to say a huge thank you to the 20% of our membership who took the time to complete the survey that we launched with our Autumn / Winter 2014 magazine.

Having compared some of your answers to data we already hold, we can be confident that the 20% who responded were representative of our whole membership.

The survey has helped us understand a little more about our members. We were also keen to give you a chance to share your views on the things you would like to see change on site. We have spent some time reviewing your responses to the questions posed and have identified a few key things that have generated a great deal of comment, concern and suggestion. We will deal with each of them in turn.

enabled the Forestry Commission to improve the clarity of directional signage at the Visitor Centre and to ensure that the rules associated with the Pinetum are more visible. This, too, was requested by a great many of you. We hope that you will see the signage improvements already, but please do continue to make suggestions where you see the need for change.

83% of our members come to Bedgebury with children, most of whom are below the age of 11. Unfortunately fewer than 6% of our membership have been with us long enough to remember parking only in the walled garden and having a cup of tea in the Pantry portacabin when visiting the Pinetum. The Sport England funding received in 2006/7 and the development of the Visitor Centre, cycle trails and play areas changed both Bedgebury and our membership profile. We also know that this has been a cause of frustration to those of you who loved the Pinetum when it was quiet all year round.

Those who do not pay!Many of you expressed your anger at the visitors who choose not to pay, but instead park elsewhere and enter the site for free. This is clearly a huge frustration to those of you making a valuable contribution to the maintenance and development of Bedgebury. There is clear recognition among you that Bedgebury is not a free resource and that high quality cycle trails, miles of walking, children’s play furniture, the provision of a Visitor Centre and its facilities, and the Pinetum’s role as a world class centre of conifer research, conservation and education all come at a price.

As the survey tells us that, on average, our members visit Bedgebury 40 times a year with an average of 3 people in the car, we understand why more than 95% of you believe that annual membership is great value for money.

We would love you to share your view of Bedgebury with those who prefer to use the site and all its amazing facilities without paying by encouraging them to join as members in order to make a contribution. Details of our annual membership offer can be found on page 10 of this magazine if you need any help convincing them!

SignageMany of you shared your views about the signage on site through the survey. Some of you wanted more (to help you understand the site or to prevent you getting lost), others wanted less, a reflection of a great many respondents’ desire that Bedgebury avoids becoming a theme park.

To reassure you that signage is always on our mind, the Forestry Commission is currently undertaking a review of their signage policy as the existing three year signage plan expires in 2015. Signage is a very important part of the visitor attraction. It not only helps people navigate their way onto and around the site, but is also an essential tool in providing visitors with guidance and advice. Getting this signage right is not an easy job and requires the support of a number of partners. These include the Forestry Commission’s Landscape Architect and the Forestry Commission Design Team.

However we know that we do not always get it right. Underpinning the Forestry Commission’s signage plan is the simple motto ‘the right sign in the right place giving the right message’. By remembering this, co-ordinating the various teams’ recommendations and using a good deal of common sense, the Forestry Commission hope that they have created the right balance of simple directional signage on site, but they do take your comments on board.

We, too, are keen to avoid Bedgebury feeling like a theme park, so we will always remain cautious about adding more signage to the site. Having said that, the Café development has enabled the Forestry Commission to add some new messages of interpretation to the site, to share some of the stories of Bedgebury with visitors. We hope this will please those of you who wanted the signage to help you learn more about Bedgebury. The Café development has also

Events and activities Lots of you shared your thoughts about the events and activities you think the Friends and Forestry Commission should offer at Bedgebury, many of them conflicting! Some of you wanted more children’s events, some of you wanted fewer. A number of you thanked us for getting it just about right and none of you want us to become a theme park. Indeed, we have been heartened by the number of you who made specific reference to the importance of Bedgebury’s unique landscape and wilder and more natural spaces as areas of learning and enjoyment for adults without children as well as for families.

There is no doubt that Bedgebury is a bit different to most visitor attractions in the area and, as 61% of you list our unique landscape as one of your favourite aspects of Bedgebury, we want to ensure we maintain a balance between activity and tranquillity. For those of you wanting organised activity, we believe that we are already offering many of the things you have been asking for, but perhaps we are not sharing this information effectively with you. In each edition of this magazine we attempt to list all the upcoming events and activities on site. The Friends’ website, and that of the Forestry Commission can also be used as a guide. See pages 14 to 17 for the events planned for this coming spring and summer and for links to the relevant website pages.

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Until early 2013, the magazine was posted to members. However increasing postage costs and a growing membership have made this an expensive option for the charity. In this digital age we believe that our members would prefer us to apply our resources to supporting the maintenance and development of the site and we have therefore decided to make the magazine available to every member online rather than by posting a hard copy.

We now e-mail all members twice a year with either a PDF copy of the magazine or a link to our website, where current and former editions are now stored:

www.bedgeburypinetum.org.uk/home/the-friends-of-bedgebury-pinetums-bi-annual-/the-friends-of-bedgebury-pinetums-bi-annual--2/

Please keep an eye on your junk mail just in case our e-mail is misdirected and do inform us if your e-mail address changes. If you don’t hear from us, either with e-mails about events and activities, or with a link to the magazine, or with your renewal reminder, it is because we do not hold an e-mail address for you. Please help us to keep our communication costs down by allowing us to use e-mail whenever we can and get in touch with your details. We promise we won’t bombard you with e-mails, but we would like to communicate with you on occasion without draining our resources.

Having said all of this, we do know that many of you still love to read a hard copy of the magazine! Remember, you can always obtain one from the Visitor Information Office at the Visitor Centre. Just pop in on your next visit!

39% of you use the Friends’ website www.bedgeburypinetum.org.uk as a key source of information about the site. We are also pleased that 52% of you find our information emails valuable and informative. As more than 91% of you feel you are informed to some degree about the way in which your membership subscription is used on site, some of our communications must be effective.

We will continue to enhance our website with articles and information about the site, details of its events and activities, articles on the tree collection and features on the flora and fauna in the Pinetum. We hope you enjoy visiting the website, but we welcome your feedback and if you think we are missing something, please do get in touch at membership@bedgeburypinetum.org.uk.

This Magazine is also proving to be a valuable source of information with 26% of you reading it cover to cover, and 68% skimming it for articles of interest. To help us to produce a magazine that you continue to enjoy, we would love to know more about the features that catch your eye. We will be asking you more about the magazine in our next survey planned for the autumn / winter 2015 edition.

However, we were concerned to read that a number of you don’t appear to have received your e-copy of the Magazine, with a few of you wondering why it doesn’t arrive by post any more.

PlayThe children’s play areas are clearly a hugely important part of Bedgebury to our members. 84% of you bring children when you visit and more than 50% of you say that children’s play is one of the key reasons you come to us. 2015 sees the Forestry Commission starting the delivery of a new 5 year Play Development Plan. Like all the other work undertaken at Bedgebury, the Plan is a collaboration between a number of groups such as Landscape Architects, Designers, the Learning Team, external contractors and our staff. However, most importantly for you, the Plan has been developed using your views, as collected in a visitor survey completed in 2010.

It is important to understand that play is much more than simply buying equipment off the shelf and putting it in the ground. Bedgebury has a unique opportunity to engage with thousands of visitors through play and we believe that the play we offer should be as diverse as den building, making stepping stones and natural play inside the National Pinetum right through to the provision of physical play equipment such as the Ant’s Nest. Our Play Development Plan aims to continue and develop the provision of safe, fun and educational play to a wide range of visitors. At the heart of the Plan is the desire to link all play back to Bedgebury, the National Pinetum and conservation.

As with all things, the provision of Play equipment is expensive, individual pieces often costing many 10’s of £1,000s. As more than 43% of you seem keen to support play provision more directly, we will be offering our members and visitors the opportunity to sponsor new play equipment in the future. If you think you might like to see your family name more permanently connected with play at Bedgebury, keep an eye out for new sponsorship opportunities from the Friends as we approach 2016.

Cycling56% of you list cycling as one of your favourite things about Bedgebury, with more than 42% of you wishing to see financial support for the provision and maintenance of the cycling routes as part of a balanced portfolio of expenditure by the Friends.

It is clear that cycling is an important part of the Bedgebury offer.

The maintenance and development of cycling at Bedgebury is the perfect example of close partnership projects. Without the Bedgebury business partners the Forestry Commission would not be able to maintain or develop the cycling offer. Cycling is a key part of the business at Bedgebury and therefore requires a great deal of staff time and management. The Forestry Commission are working very closely with the BFCC (Bedgebury Forest Cycle Club), Quench Cycles, the operational and forest management teams, Forest Civil Engineering and staff to ensure that the trails meet or exceed your expectations.

The mountain bike trails have had over £120,000 of investment over the last two years. This work is ongoing, with plans to create new trail sections and to move all the existing sections away from the wet bridleways and forest roads. This will not only make the trails safer for everyone, but will also ensure that the trails are far more sustainable and fun to ride.

If you would like to get involved in supporting cycling at Bedgebury, the BFCC have monthly volunteer working parties that focus on repairing and developing the trails. Visit www.boarsonbikes.co.uk for more information.

Talking to our Friends

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Café When asked to share your views on the things that you felt would improve your experience on site, an overwhelming number of you suggested improvements to the Café and an increase in the breadth and location of catering on site.

A great many of you want to see catering made available near the play areas and on the cycle trails. I hope you will understand from the section on toilet facilities above that a second permanent building is not an option for the site at present. However, as Dominic O’Connor Robinson, Bedgebury’s Manager explains, the Café redevelopment will transform catering on site from Easter 2015, with the incoming Café leaseholder being required to provide the best and most creative solutions possible to the challenge of catering for Bedgebury visitors wherever they are on site with high quality refreshments, drinks, ice creams and hot food.

The new Bedgebury Café – your questions answered by Dominic O’Connor Robinson, the Forestry Commission’s Bedgebury Manager

We are really pleased to be launching our redeveloped ‘Bedgebury Café’ in time for Easter and the start of the new season in 2015. We have listened to your feedback through the Friends’ Survey and our own on-site surveys to make sure that it really does meet the needs of our customers. It will have a speedy serving option, space for buggies, great views of the lake, much more indoor seating and, of course, first class cake and coffee!

As well as glazing in the veranda areas we have enclosed the central atrium and put in place new underfloor heating to make it a warm and welcoming space in winter. We have also taken the opportunity to tell the story of Bedgebury in this space, with displays around the room showing what we do for trees and what trees do for us. We hope you enjoy sitting in and moving through the new glazed atrium whilst learning a bit more about the amazing things happening at Bedgebury and the ways in which you can support these activities through the Friends’ sponsorship activities.

Planning for the new Café began nearly 2 years ago. This investment has been made by the Forestry Commission in order to ensure that the facilities at Bedgebury meet our visitors’ needs. Over the next few years there will be a series of investments in the site that will ensure that Bedgebury continues to be “the” place to visit for all the family. Our partners running the Café will be listening to your feedback to ensure the Bedgebury Café is a wonderful place to visit. Please let us know what you think of the changes.

Learning to love each other! It was clear from the comments made in answers to the survey that there are concerns about how our numerous user groups interact and feel about each other. A user group forum was formed some years ago to develop a code of conduct for Bedgebury. This code of conduct is being updated and will be reissued soon. In the meanwhile we have addressed some of the issues driving conflict in a separate article which you can find on page 33.

Thank you all again for taking the time to talk to us through the survey. We hope that this will be the start of an extended period of dialogue with you with a further survey to come in the autumn / winter 2015 edition of this magazine.

Toilets! We received a huge number of requests through the survey for more toilets at Bedgebury, particularly at the play areas and on the cycle trails. We suspect that some of you may be unaware that there are toilets in the Pinetum – some at the walled garden and some close to the Forestry Commission’s office building near Park Lane – but we realise that the primary issue for most of you is the lack of provision of toilet facilities near the play areas.

As Bedgebury now plays host to over 300,000 visitors a year, there can be no shortcuts to a project of this nature if the Forestry Commission are to continue to offer a high quality visitor experience at Bedgebury. There are several good reasons why we haven’t been able to provide these facilities to date.

Additional toilet facilities have been on the Forestry Commission’s list of capital projects for Bedgebury (the Estate Masterplan) for some years, but additional toilet facilities have been considered a lower priority than the development of the cycle trails, the construction of the play areas, the redevelopment of the Café, the proposed regeneration of the Walled Garden and the provision of a Welcome building for the site.

In addition, the geology of the site, the lack of any underlying infrastructure beyond the reaches of the Visitor Centre and the need to ensure any building is both manageable and sustainable, have generated estimates for toilet facilities at the play area of around half a million pounds, a huge sum of money that makes the project more complex to deliver with so many other high budget projects on the list.

By the time the Café project is completed this spring, a similar sum of money will have been spent extending and developing the Café and the supporting waste and sewerage infrastructure. Like any business of this type, balancing a finite resource and near infinite needs at Bedgebury will always be a challenge; however, the Forestry Commission felt that the Café project was the priority for use of capital funds at the moment. We hope that you agree, but we know that many of you will still feel very strongly about the issue of toilets. Whilst our capital priorities have already been set for the next few years, we know that there are many new sources of funds and methods of fund-raising in this modern age. If you believe the project to be crucial and are able to give your time to raise the money that Bedgebury needs to enable a toilet block to side-step the Forestry Commission capital project queue, we would be very happy to build the extra facilities you want!

Coppicing Some of you wanted to know more about the site’s coppicing policy and to understand why some areas of the site have seen extensive coppicing in the last 18 months. Follow the link below to our 2014 Magazines to find articles written by John Allen, Bedgebury Operations Manager, which explain the coppicing that has taken place at Bedgebury, as well as an interview with ecologist David Streeter which outlines the ecological benefits of this ancient woodland management practice.

www.bedgeburypinetum.org.uk/home/ the-friends-of-bedgebury-pinetums-bi-annual-/ the-friends-of-bedgebury-pinetums-bi-annual--2/

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The Friends of Bedgebury Pinetum

Behind the Scenes with the Visitor Centre TeamMark Clixby, Recreation Manager

Rick is one of the Forestry Commission Supervisors at the Centre and, as well as taking responsibility for the visitor attraction when he is on duty, has the unenviable task of planning the staffing rotas each year – a tough job on a site that is open every day of the year except Christmas Day!

The Visitor Centre team are the heart and soul of the visitor attraction at Bedgebury. It is their job to provide our visitors with the best possible experience on site.

I am sure you will have met them when you have visited, but I wanted to tell you a little more about each of them and the work they do to look after Bedgebury.

Clare is also a Forestry Commission Supervisor at the Centre. Her primary responsibility is to ensure that all the essential tasks relating to our customers and the administration of the site are carried out when the site is open for business. Clare is on maternity leave at the moment and will return to us in the autumn.

Become a Friend to support the Forestry Commission in its management of Bedgebury as a world-class centre of conifer research, conservation and education, as a landscape of rare and endangered flora and fauna and as a site for high quality, healthy recreation.

The Bedgebury Annual Membership subscription enables one of two specified vehicles to gain admission to the site all year round* and will entitle you to an e-copy of the Friends’ bi-annual magazine.

* Excluding Christmas Day when the site is closed, or when the site is closed due to adverse weather.

Annual subscriptionFrom 1st April 2015 – £66 per annum

Friends also enjoy admission to other gardens and arboreta.Included within the annual membership subscription is a free admission pass for the lead member to the gardens and arboreta listed. Additional family members can also obtain an admission pass to these gardens and arboreta for the year for less than the price of a day admission ticket to many of them.

From 1st April 2015 – additional admission cards – £12 per person per annum

Terms and conditions apply. These offers are subject to change or cancellation at any time. Free entry to some gardens is restricted at certain times of the year and in some cases car parking charge apply. Please check their websites or telephone for more information.

Batsford Arboretum and Garden Centre 01386 701441 www.batsarb.co.uk

Birmingham Botanical Gardens & Glasshouses 0121 4541860 www.birminghambotanicalgardens.org.uk

Borde Hill Gardens 01444 450326 www.bordehill.co.uk

Brogdale Collections 01795 536250 www.brogdalecollections.co.uk

Kew at Castle Howard 01653 648598 www.yorkshirearboretum.org

The Living Rainforest 01635 202444 www.livingrainforest.org

RHS Garden Harlow Carr 01423 565418 www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/harlow-carr

RHS Garden Hyde Hall 0845 265 8071 www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/hyde-hall

RHS Garden Rosemoor 01805 624067 www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/rosemoor

RHS Garden Wisley 0845 260 9000 www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley

Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh 0131 248909 www.rbge.org.uk

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 0208 332 5655 www.kew.org

Royal Botanic Gardens, Wakehurst Place 01444 894066 www.kew.org/visit-wakehurst

Westonbirt the National Arboretum 01666 880220 www.forestry.gov.uk/westonbirt

Rick helping to prepare for our annual Christmas Tree sales

Clare receiving her “cone of the month”

employee award for outstanding performance

Agapanthus orientalis from an original watercolour by Helen Hiorns.

STOP THE PRESS…We have just been informed that the whole Bedgebury team, including our on site business partners, have been awarded a VisitEngland Welcome Accolade in recognition of the high quality of our visitor welcome. We are delighted that everyone’s ongoing hard work has been recognised and rewarded. Mark Clixby.

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Judi is part of the Forestry Commission team who, as well as helping to run the site, is our resident IT expert. This is a crucial job in the team as the smooth running of the site relies heavily on the ANPR gate admission system and related payment technology.

There are also a number of other very important people who help at the Visitor Centre.We have a large body of part time employees who support the team at the Visitor Centre during peak visitor periods. Their efforts are key to the delivery of an excellent customer experience and they are an integral part of the team at the Centre.

We are also very grateful for the work of our visitor facing volunteers, known as Visitor Experience Volunteers. This group of volunteers are particularly important to the Visitor Centre team as they are often the first people that new and regular visitors see when they arrive. First impressions count, and as each of them is a passionate and enthusiastic supporter of Bedgebury, we know they do a great job of welcoming people to the site. If you would like to be a Visitor Experience Volunteer, please contact Liz using the contact information below.

To contact the Visitor Centre team call 01580 879820 during opening hours (details on page 30) or e-mail bedgebury@forestry.gsi.gov.uk

Judi advertising the Gruffalo’s Child Trail that we ran over the winter period

Helen at home in our first aid room

Liz advertising the 2014 Christmas Tree Sales

Sharon working through our online renewals

before we open for business in the morning

Sharon works for the Friends of Bedgebury Pinetum helping to manage the membership desk. She is an administrative demon and keeps the Friends’ team tidy and organised. Sharon can also be found helping the Forestry Commission during peak periods.

Iz works for the Friends of Bedgebury Pinetum and, as well as managing the membership desk, is responsible for running our small, but perfectly-formed gift shop at the Visitor Centre. Iz is also involved in administering the various sponsorship schemes that have been offered at Bedgebury over its long history. She has been working hard with Liz to develop new schemes that will enable members and visitors to engage with and support the work of the Pinetum into the future.

Liz is the member of the Forestry Commission team who wears the most hats! She can often be seen working with the team at the Visitor Centre, but is also one of the site’s dedicated army of volunteers working in the Tree Labelling team and, until recently, with the Learning Team. Liz is part of the Friends of Bedgebury Pinetum team too, working with Iz to manage the site’s historic sponsorship schemes and to develop the new schemes that will be launched this year.

Helen is one of the longest serving members of the Forestry Commission team at Bedgebury and is our resident first aid expert. Those of you unfortunate enough to have had a tumble or bump when enjoying the play areas or cycle trails may have been treated in ‘Helen’s Hospital’.

Craig is a member of the Forestry Commission team and spends most of his time helping at the Visitor Centre. He is also responsible for carrying out site safety inspections and repairs to the play equipment. He works closely with TROT, the horse riding organisation with permission to access the forest, and is also our resident orienteering expert!

Iz with some of our minature Gruffalos!

Craig trying to keep the Gruffalo a secret!

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Events and ActivitiesSandra Styles, Events and Marketing

Wednesday 29th AprilSpring Watch – an exclusive guided walk for Bedgebury Volunteers and MembersWe would like to invite you to join Bedgebury’s Dendrologist, Dan Luscombe, on a guided walk of the Pinetum and the Plots on Wednesday 29th April.

Dan will introduce you to some of the wonders of the Pinetum and the stories behind some of its rarest and most remarkable specimens. He will highlight the flora and fauna that is at its most stunning in spring whilst sharing with you special areas of the Pinetum off the beaten track.

From 7th to 10th AprilEaster Event – Seasonal TrailFamilies can follow an easy self-led Seasonal Trail to search for mystery activity boxes. Children will find stickers and stampers in the activity boxes to complete their card before returning to the classroom to make their own Superworm and Easter chick, then collect a small Easter basket complete with a chocolate egg to take home.

Suitable for all ages. £2 per child (plus admission fee per vehicle). Booking is not required for this event. Drop in to the classroom at the Visitor Centre between 10.00am and 2.00pm. Children must be accompanied by an adult throughout the event.

The walk will start from the Forestry Commission offices on Park Lane at 10am with a second walk to start at 1pm.

This walk is aimed at adults with an interest in the Pinetum, the tree collection and its wildlife and will last approximately 2 hours. Please dress appropriately for the event and the forecast weather. Not suitable for small children or those with limited mobility. £5 per person for members, free to volunteers. Booking is required.

Please ring 01580 879842 for more information or to book your place.

We hope to offer further guided walks for volunteers and members with Dan this spring and summer. Keep an eye on the Friends’ website and your e-mails for more information.

May 2015Saturday 16th MayThe Sorcerer’s Apprentice, adapted by David WoodIllyria returns to Bedgebury with this traditional tale captured in one of Disney’s best-known films. The production features breath-taking magical illusions, non-stop laughter and more water than you have ever seen in a play before!

Suitable for all ages. Tickets (including booking fee) are £9.50 for children (aged 2 to 15) and £12.50 for adults and will be available via the Forestry Commission box office at www.boxoffice.forestry.gov.uk or on 03000 680400. This event will take place in the Walled Garden (admission charges do not apply). Gates open from 1pm and the performance starts at 2.30pm.

“Illyria is an Equity Outdoor Touring Guidelines compliant company”

For more information on any of the events listed, please contact either:

Bedgebury Visitor Services Information Office on 01580 879820 or visit www.forestry.gov.uk/bedgebury

The Friends of Bedgebury Pinetum on 01580 879842 or visit www.bedgeburypinetum.org.uk

Events and activities may be subject to change. We recommend that you ring either of the above numbers before visiting.

March 2015From 13th March to the end of OctoberThe Superworm Activity TrailCalling all Superworm Superheroes! Superworm is super-long. Superworm is super-strong. Watch him wiggle! See him squirm! Hip, hip, hooray for SUPERWORM!

From Friday 13th March, friends and families can take part in our self-led Superworm Activity Trail around Bedgbury. Children can learn about the forest environment and mini-beasts as well as completing some physical activities along the way.

To enhance your Superworm experience, you can purchase an activity pack to accompany the Trail for only £3.50.

13th March – October

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April 2015From 23rd April to 6th SeptemberGuardians of the Areng Valley – Photography ExhibitionThis exhibition is the world premiere of a significant body of new work by Luke Duggleby. The photographs shown in the exhibition present Duggleby’s journey into the Cardamom Forest in south west Cambodia. They focus particular attention on a group of Buddhist monks pioneering a small but influential environmental movement aimed at reversing forest destruction to protect the indigenous peoples and endangered species of the remote Areng Valley.

This stunning outdoor exhibition links fittingly with the important conservation work undertaken by Bedgebury, and will be displayed in a beautiful setting within the Pinetum.

Luke Duggleby is a recipient of the Atkins CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year award as selected by Forestry Commission England Director Ian Gambles. The Atkins CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year competition is an international showcase for the very best in environmental photography and film. Honouring amateurs and professionals of all ages, it provides an opportunity for photographers to share images of environmental and social issues with international audiences, and to enhance our understanding of the causes, consequences and solutions to climate change and social inequality.

A supporting guide will be available to provide interpretation for the 30 large scale photographs included in the exhibition.

Standard admission charges will apply.

To find out more about art in England’s public forests visit www.forestry.gov.uk/forestartworks

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Saturday 20th JunePaloma Faith Following her sell out forest tour in 2013 Paloma Faith will be returning to Bedgebury as part of the Forestry Commission’s Forest Live concerts. Tickets are available from the Forestry Commission Box Office at forestry.gov.uk/music or on 03000 680400.

Commenting on the forest shows, Paloma Faith told Forest Live “We are very lucky in Britain to have such beautiful and diverse landscape and I am excited to play for you there again. See you all in the summer!”

July 201530th and 31st JulyHelp us to make a giant Superworm!Drop in and pick up a treasure hunter’s bag, then help Superworm to collect beautiful cones and leaves from the forest floor by following the Summer Trail. Bring your collection back and choose your own leaves or cones to stick on to your ‘segment’ of a giant Superworm on the classroom wall.

Suitable for all ages. £2 per child (plus admission fee per vehicle). Booking is not required for this event. Drop in to the classroom at the Visitor Centre between 10.00am and 3.00pm. Children must be accompanied by an adult throughout the event.

Saturday 8th AugustThe Three Musketeers, by Alexandre DumasThe whole family will enjoy this production of The Three Musketeers, one of the most popular TV shows of 2014. Join D’Artagnan on his quest to become an elite Musketeer of the King’s Guard in this tale of whirlwind excitement and broad comedy, featuring the dazzling, swashbuckling swordplay for which Illyria has an unrivalled reputation. This will be Illyria’s second visit to Bedgebury this year with a sensational production that enjoyed a sell-out tour in 2009.

For ages 8+. Tickets (including booking fee) are £9.50 for children (aged up to 15) and £12.50 for adults and will be available via the Forestry Commission box office at www.boxoffice.forestry.gov.uk or on 03000 680400. This event will take place in the Walled Garden (admission charges do not apply). Gates open from 5.30pm and the performance starts at 7.00pm.

“Illyria is an Equity Outdoor Touring Guidelines compliant company”

13th, 14th, 20th, 21st, 27th and 28th AugustMake Superworm’s Magic Wizard’s FlowerDrop in and pick up a plant collectors’ bag, then follow our self guiding Summer Trail to collect cones, leaves and sticks from the forest floor whilst learning about the Pinetum. Bring your collection back to the classroom to make a plant identification sheet and a Superworm’s Magic Wizard’s Flower to take home.

Suitable for all ages. £2 per child (plus admission fee per vehicle). Booking is not required for this event. Drop in to the classroom at the Visitor Centre between 10.00am and 3.00pm. Children must be accompanied by an adult throughout the event.

19th and 26th August From 10.00am until 11.30amFace Painting and Feather Headdress MakingHave fun face painting and making a feather headdress before going out for your Discovery Walk. Collect cones to make a memory stick to help you find your way around our magnificent North American trees. Many of our mature trees would have been well known to the Native American peoples as they gathered food and hunted in their vast forests.

Suitable for ages 5+. £4 per child. Booking is essential for this event as numbers are limited. Pre-book your place for free admission. This event takes place in the classroom at the Visitor Centre. Children must be accompanied by an adult throughout the event.

Friday 19th JuneTom Odell Tom Odell, supported by Rae Morris, will be performing at Bedgebury on Friday 19th June as part of the Forestry Commission’s Forest Live

concerts. Tickets are available from the Forestry Commission Box Office at forestry.gov.uk/music or on 03000 680400.

Released in June 2013, Tom Odell’s debut album ‘Long Way Down’ shot straight to number one. Described by The Telegraph as “utterly compelling”, singles from the album illustrate a song-writing maturity beyond his years.

Commenting on his forest gigs, Tom Odell said, “This will be a whole new experience for me. I can’t wait to bring my live show to the woods and I hope to see you there.”

Saturday 30th MayAn Introduction to Bedgebury’s WildlifeJoin us for a morning’s amble around the Pinetum where we will take a look at different habitats and the species they are composed of. The meadow grasslands will be carpeted with wildflowers, including several orchid species, and supported by a cast of interesting invertebrates and beautiful birdlife.

Not suitable for small children or those with limited mobility. £3 per person for members and £5 per person for non-members. Site admission charges will apply for non-members. Booking is required.

The walk will start at 8.00am and will last approximately 2.5 hours. Call 01580 879842 or email friends@bedgeburypinetum.org.uk to book your place.

June 2015Saturday 6th JuneRat Race TrailblazerRunner’s World Trailblazer events return to Bedgebury in 2015 with the hugely popular 10k and traffic-free half marathon courses first introduced in 2014 to widespread acclaim. Both courses take you on an off-road journey along Bedgebury’s soft, springy forest trails and lead you deep into woodland, along field edges and past open water, eventually coming home to a superb Event Festival Village in Bedgebury’s Walled Garden with post-race food, drink, entertainment and more.

Visit www.ratrace.com/events/trailblazer.aspx for further details and to register for the event.

August 20154th and 11th August From 10.00am until 11.30amMeet Superworm’s Friends!Come on a Superworm minibeast hunt under the Pinetum trees. Find some of the real minibeasts that helped Superworm in the story and then make your own Superworm or minibeast to take home.

For ages 5+. £4 per child. Booking is essential for this event as numbers are limited. Pre-book your place for free admission. This event takes place in the Walled Garden. Children must be accompanied by an adult throughout the event.

6th and 7th AugustHelp us to make a giant Superworm!Drop in and pick up a treasure hunter’s bag, then help Superworm to collect beautiful cones and leaves from the forest floor by following the Summer Trail. Bring your collection back and choose your own leaves or cones to stick on to your ‘segment’ of a giant Superworm on the classroom wall.

Suitable for all ages. £2 per child (plus admission fee per vehicle). Booking is not required for this event. Drop in to the classroom at the Visitor Centre between 10.00am and 3.00pm. Children must be accompanied by an adult throughout the event.

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Go with the flow!

The trails at Bedgebury have evolved organically since they opened in 2006, with mostly routine repairs and a few new sections added when funding permits. Limited elevations, soft wet ground and budgetary constraints make it an uphill task! Despite this, recent additions like the wonderful finale ‘Cake Run’ have received universal acclaim. It flows superbly, letting faster riders build speed and thrills, whilst remaining safe for the younger and less experienced. Clever ‘chicken runs’ to bypass jumps allow almost anyone to join in. That sense of whizzing through the trees is hard to beat whether you’re three or forty three! Less exciting but very important, the well thought out drainage has kept this trail in great condition whatever the weather.

The usual tens of thousands of riders, combined with the Biblical deluge that was the previous ‘summer’ and winter, left many of the more popular older sections looking a bit, erm... ‘First World War’. Holes half a metre deep, filled with water, ready to swamp the unwary. The underlying clay geology in our area doesn’t help: it’s a bit like building a road over peanut butter. If it gets wet, it turns lumpy and runs off down the nearest stream.

That sense of whizzing through the trees is hard to beat whether you’re three or forty three!

Broader appeal means more visitors. More visitors mean more trails. A virtuous circle is created.

Not just repaired either. More like reborn! We have to be patient, the builders really are moving mountains!

Most trail centres can rely on bedrock as a basis and source of materials for building and repair. Bedgebury has to buy it and cart it all over the forest. Time consuming and expensive, but essential to give us all-weather usability. We have to be patient, the builders really are moving mountains!

Is there anything we can do to help? Yes. Avoid leaving the built trail. It is armoured to protect the terrain, and using other parts of the forest floor results in rapid damage. When sections are closed for repair avoid the temptation to ‘just have a sneak preview’. As well as protecting workers, the closure allows the trail to ‘bed in’ and last longer. If you want more active involvement, on the second Saturday of every month a group of volunteers head off into the forest to do repairs. Tools provided, occasionally cake and always the warm glow of knowing “I did that bit!”

The results are worth waiting for: The section called 5 Ways, heading downhill from The Quarry, was always lumpy entertainment for experts, but after the revamp is great for everyone. The huge bermed switchbacks ride as spectacularly as they look, heading across the forest floor through enormous (but safely roll-able) jumps. Hidden drains keep the trail in one piece whilst keeping a natural look and feel.

Other old favourites like Dad’s Army and Genesis got new berms and drains to banish the bigger puddles, protecting the trail and keeping the ride flowing for a broad spread of abilities. It’s more than just good fun though. Making the trails accessible to different abilities means it’s easier for new riders to make the transition from the family trail and hone their skills. Trails built in this way effectively grow with the rider. Broader appeal means more visitors. More visitors mean more trails. A virtuous circle is created. Are there any new sections currently taking shape? Well, yes there are. Where are they? Well, that would be telling wouldn’t it! Best get out there and explore…

For more information on cycling at Bedgebury visit:

www.bedgeburypinetum.org.uk/home/activities/cycling

www.quenchuk.co.uk

www.boarsonbikes.co.uk

We can all look back on summer 2014 with great fondness. Outstanding weather for most of the season meant an even-greater-than-usual ‘Great Outdoors’. For those of us lucky enough to count Bedgebury as our backyard it was crowned with the long awaited re-opening of some of our favourite sections of single-track. Not just repaired either. More like reborn! The trail teams took the opportunity to address some long-standing ‘flow’ issues. Flow as in how the trails ride, and, just as important, how they cope with their nemesis: flows of rainwater.

Phil Clayton

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An aphid parasitoid new to Britain discovered in Bedgebury Pinetum Bob Dransfield and Bob Brightwell, InfluentialPoints.com

Autumn, whilst not great for many insects, can be rewarding for tree aphids. Giant conifer aphids (Cinara) are unusually big, have long tree-bark piercing mouthparts, and can form amazing colonies.

Cinara aphids are found only on conifers. Each species of Cinara is usually restricted to just one genus of conifer. Britain has only 3 native conifers and so has few ‘native’ Cinara species. Over the past few hundred years many conifers were introduced and some are naturalized so we now have at least 25 Cinara species.

Some, such as the Cypress aphid, are serious pests. Others provide honeydew for wood ants, a ‘keystone species’, thus improving biodiversity. In some European countries giant conifer aphids are valued because bees feast on their honeydew and produce high-quality ‘forest’ honey. Cinara also support aphid parasitoids, which add biodiversity and help keep harmful aphid numbers in check.

Contrary to popular mythology ants don’t ‘milk’ aphids. The watery phloem (sap) upon which aphids feed is rich in sugar but poor in other nutrients. Aphids excrete the excess – as ‘honeydew’ – via their anus, to the delight of ants and to the irritation of car-owners. The ants encourage honeydew production by rhythmically tapping or stroking the aphids with their antennae. Ants become devoted to their honeydew producers, and will defend them from potential predators. They can vigorously attack birds and mammals, as well as invertebrate predators like ladybird and hoverfly larvae. However certain parasitoids routinely evade ant-protection by mimicking ant appearance and behaviour.

Cinara confinis colonies disperse rapidly when being examined by inquisitive entomologists. However, on this occasion some very black individuals stayed put. They were aphid ‘mummies’ containing live parasitoids. We brought these mummies home very carefully, then kept them comfortable to see what emerged.

Bedgebury Pinetum is a great place to hunt for these exotic Cinara aphids. Towards the end of an early September day we noticed a small colony of Black Stem aphid Cinara confinis under the lowest branch of a small Pacific Silver Fir Abies amabilis. Cinara confinis is somewhat variable in appearance, ranging from mottled dark brown to a beautiful vivid greenish-black. Their colonies are generally found on a trunk just below its first whorl of branches. Like most giant conifer aphids, Black Stem aphids are ant-attended. This makes these rather elusive beasties much easier to find.

Aphid parasitoids are tiny parasitic wasps that lay eggs inside aphids. Shortly before the resulting larvae pupate, their carapace becomes a hard protective shell. Most aphid parasitoids are just 2-3mm long, but these parasitoids were a monstrous 5-7 mm! Given their extraordinary number of antennal segments (Baker, pers. comm.), our parasitoids were almost certainly Pauesia grossa. If so, they were a ‘new’ UK species. Pauesia grossa, a specific parasitoid of Cinara confinis, is only known from Austria, Czech Republic, France, Hungary and Switzerland.

Since Noble Fir Abies procera, first planted in Britain in the 1600s, supplanted Norway spruce for the Christmas tree market, Black Stem aphids have achieved considerable importance. Finding a specific parasitoid is thus of interest. When the secretive Cinara and our parasitoid arrived is unknown. Their mummies look like live aphids so even the ants were fooled, and continued to attend!

Confirmation of our discovery is pending because their identification ‘key’ requires female parasitoids and we found only males. They are currently en-route to a world expert on this group. Despite repeated searches we found no more mummies. Perhaps next year...

STOP THE PRESS… Since this article was penned, the parasitoids found in Bedgebury have been confirmed as Pauesia grossa, a new UK species.

Contrary to popular mythology ants don’t ‘milk’ aphids. Aphids excrete the excess sap – as ‘honeydew’ – via their anus, to the delight of ants and to the irritation of car-owners.

Given their extraordinary number of antennal segments (Baker, pers. comm.), our parasitoids were almost certainly Pauesia grossa. If so, they are a ‘new’ UK species.

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Conservation, why bother? Dominic O’Connor Robinson, Bedgebury Manager

Conservation, why bother?Did you know that one in every three conifer tree species is threatened with extinction? The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have been studying the status of conifer trees over many years and in their second report, published in 2013, they found that over 34% of the world’s conifers are now classified as ‘threatened’. More worryingly, this is an increase of 4 percentage points since the last complete assessment 15 years earlier and therefore shows a picture of decline in the number of conifer species we have on our planet. But why does this matter and why should we be interested?

In the previous edition I explored the impact of Bedgebury’s work on the conservation of conifer trees. We know that we can and do make an impact in slowing this decline in conifer species globally, but what is the point of this? What does it matter if a few species die out? How many of us miss the dodo in our lives today?

One could argue that as long as we have enough physical mass of trees to support our needs for timber, oxygen production and regulation of other ‘ecosystem services’ (such as water purification, carbon storage and soil retention) then we’ll be OK. Besides, the geological record is littered with extinctions and they are a fundamental part of biological evolution. Fossil records show that there have been at least 5 ‘mass extinctions’ in the earth’s history. Often these were the result of large-scale environmental change wiping out up to

three-quarters of all species on the planet. This is in contrast to the natural background rate of extinction which is around one species per year.

However, over the last few centuries human activity has accelerated this rate of decline and at present it is believed to be 1,000 times greater than the background rate of extinction. For conifers this is because of illegal logging, uncontrolled forest fires, open-cast mining, conversion of forests to pasture and arable land as well as the spread of pests and diseases. I think we all feel ‘uncomfortable’ about these activities and rates of decline, but why should we preserve the diversity of life on our planet if we know that such extinctions are just a part of the development of life on earth?

As well as the resilience afforded to ecosystems by maintaining a breadth of genetic material there is a clear practical value to genetic diversity, as demonstrated by the humble yew tree from which is derived the anti-cancer drug Taxol. Therefore there is a utilitarian value in the yet unknown properties of those species, some of which themselves are still to be discovered, that we try to conserve. I believe that, in themselves, these technocratic arguments are useful but lack depth and soul. There is a deeper and more searching question we can ask; that is, is biodiversity morally valuable in itself – does it have an intrinsic value? Clearly there are no right answers to this – only questions we have to ask ourselves and answers that are unique to each person.

There are, of course, values other than utilitarian and moral, they include the aesthetic values as well as the value to future generations, considering our responsibility as stewards of this planet – all of which are anthropocentric and based on the notion that harm to biodiversity would harm humanity. But the deeper question of an ecocentric value remains and raises far more wide-ranging and perplexing questions.

Despite the potentially divergent views on environmental ethics over recent decades, an international consensus has been evolving and this is why the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was established in 1992 by the UN. This was the culmination of decades of debate and discussion between nations, and ultimately 168 signatories agreed to commit to sustainable development and to take action to preserve the diversity of biological life on earth. One of the outcomes of the CBD was the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) of which the latest strategy (2011–2020) sets out a number of objectives and targets to address the decline in biodiversity. Bedgebury supports the UK’s contribution to delivering the GSPC through two of the 16 targets in particular.

The first is Target 8 which sets out to ensure that 75% of threatened plant species are held in ex situ collections like Bedgebury, and the second is Target 14 that sets out our commitment to educate people about the importance of conserving plant diversity.

What I think is really unique at Bedgebury is that people can come and see this diversity of plant life for themselves and as they explore the site can consider these questions of value, from sensory to ethical; and on top of these questions of value, they can also marvel at the wonder of life and its complexity, and discover the beauty of its diversity.

One of my favourite descriptions of nature is by the celebrated ecologists Holling and Sanderson which I think captures wonderfully the reason that we feel the need to halt the alarming increase in threatened species, not just because of the value to us of this biological diversity but because it is intrinsically both complex and beautiful:

“ Ecological systems are rhythms within rhythms, providing not the static structures of a well-oiled machine shop... but rather those of a jazz band, building rhythms and riffs around each other.”

Two of the targets of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) 2011–2020 delivered by Bedgebury:

Target 8: At least 75 per cent of threatened plant species in ex situ collections, preferably in the country of origin, and at least 20 per cent available for recovery and restoration programmes.

Target 14: The importance of plant diversity and the need for its conservation incorporated into communication, education and public awareness programmes.

The Friends, Dominic O’Connor Robinson, Bedgebury Manager, considers Bedgebury’s role within the bigger picture of tree conservation.

the Forestry Commission and the Bigger Picture

If you would like to find out more about the conservation value of ex-situ tree collections, the following article may be of interest to you: “Strengthening the conservation value of ex situ tree collections” by N Cavender, M Westwood et al. ©2015 Fauna & Flora International, Oryx,1–9 http://journals.cambridge.org

Pinus from an original watercolour by Susan Conroy

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11th OctoberIn the morning we walked into the forest and collected a few specimens before returning to the forest lodge for lunch. The best part of the day, however, was visiting Seichoji Temple in the afternoon and admiring the 1,000 year old Cryptomeria amongst the beautiful, ancient buildings.

12th OctoberAfter a successful first half to our trip, it was time to embark on the second leg of our journey. The highlight of the day was the crossing over the Tokyo Bay. The crossing starts with a drive over a 4.4 km long bridge before the road just vanishes into the ground and you find yourself in a 9.6 km long tunnel underneath the bay (the fourth-longest underwater tunnel in the world). We eventually reached Chichibu City in the late afternoon and met up with our guide who explained the plan for the week and showed us to our forest lodge. This week we were going to be self-catering. This gave us the opportunity to experience a Japanese supermarket which proved quite amusing! We recognised very little of the food and none of the language, but pork and rice seem to be ubiquitous and so they sustained us for the duration!

Our forest lodge really was out in the sticks but we could not have been in a more beautiful location, set amongst steep-sided mountains that were covered in pristine forest. Even better, the forest was just starting to display its autumn colour. All seemed perfect until we received the news that another typhoon was due to hit us late the following afternoon!

13th OctoberToday we headed to The University of Tokyo Chichibu Forest which is nearly 6,000ha in size (approximately five times the size of Bedgebury) and is part of the wider Chichibu-Tama-Kai National park. The tree-covered mountain rises to 2,000m and drops sharply into deep valleys giving a dramatic landscape view. Unfortunately, the weather was not really favourable! The mountains were shrouded in patchy mist and cloud and, with the imminent arrival of typhoon Vongfong, we knew our day of collecting would be cut short. Dan collecting seeds

in the rain and mist.

8th OctoberThis was our first day of collecting seed and we were all quickly kitted-out in wellies, hard hats and anti-leech spray! Chiba Forest is a mix of planted commercial forest, experimental plots and natural forest. We were collecting from the latter, where the forest was mixed deciduous and evergreen in a warm, temperate, coastal mountain range which rises to about 300m and is located right next to the Pacific Ocean. Collections were made on the west side of the forest, along the Godai Forest Road. On the way, it was great to learn about some of the new species we encountered and to see some of the more familiar species that are grown at Bedgebury, such as Abies fima (Momi Fir) and Acer palmatum (Japanese Maple). It was also a chance to familiarise ourselves with some of Japan’s wildlife. The spiders were amazing and Black Kites often soared above us. I did not enjoy the leeches so much! We made some good collections for Bedgebury Pinetum, the Millennium Seed Bank and Oxford University Botanic Gardens today, our main aim for the day.

A diary from

Japan

4th October – 6th OctoberAfter arriving in Tokyo, I spent the rest of the day acclimatising (Japan is 8 hours ahead of the UK). I had made the 13-hour flight in the company of Tom Price, Curator at University of Oxford Botanic Gardens, and Ben Jones, Curator of the Harcourt Arboretum (Oxford University Botanic Gardens). There had been a weather warning that a super typhoon was due to hit on the 5th or 6th (Typhoon Phanfone) so we were told not to travel until the 7th. As it turned out, the typhoon hit further up the coast (providing plenty of dramatic news footage for the UK) but we did have torrential rain and big winds all day on the 5th and on the morning of the 6th, so we were still unable to start our journey to the first seed collecting site. In the afternoon of the 6th, we visited the Imperial Palace in the centre of Tokyo. There we saw an amazing example of Niwaki (cloud pruning) on the hundreds of Pinus thunbergii outside the main wall. These distracted us so much that by the time we had found the main entrance, the Palace had closed!

7th OctoberToday we travelled from Tokyo to Chiba City to pick up our car from where we headed down to the Boso peninsula and to the University of Tokyo’s Chiba Forest. This is where we were to be based for the next few days. We were greeted by our host and guide for the visit, a Hisamoto-san research associate at the University of Tokyo, who talked us through the species target list and the itinerary for our visit.

9th OctoberToday we conducted surveys on Mt. Sengen and the Godai Forest Road, these being two of the major objectives for the trip. The team conducted ‘Rapid Botanic Surveys’ to support research developed at Oxford University. This is a new methodology for the assessment of biodiversity hotspots, based on global species distribution.

In addition to surveying, we also had to collect herbarium specimens for all the different species we encountered. Herbarium specimens are dried, pressed, material from the plant that provide us with a ‘DNA snapshot’ and a visual representation to assist us with future identification and scientific study.

10th OctoberToday our aim was to find Pinus parviflora (Japanese White Pine). Once fairly common in the forest, its numbers have declined dramatically in the last 30 years due to the Pine Nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) which causes a tree disease called pine wilt. We were taken to two trees that have, so far, survived unscathed but we were too late to collect the seeds. We then travelled to the far end of the forest where we saw some huge Tsuga sieboldii (Southern Japanese Hemlock) and made good collections of the endemic Torreya nucifera (Kaya Nut).

The majestic Pinus parviflora (Japanese White Pine).

Dan Luscombe, Dendrologist

In August 2014, Bedgebury’s Dendrologist,

Dan Luscombe, was asked to assist Oxford University

Botanic Gardens in a collaborative trip to Japan.

The main objectives of the trip were to obtain seed

from threatened trees and to undertake botanical

surveys. It was Dan’s responsibility to collect seeds

of plant species native to Japan to propagate at

Bedgebury, including the critically endangered Betula

chichibuensis. This is Dan’s diarised account of the

trip, which was supported by funding from the

Friends of Bedgebury Pinetum.

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Our guides drove us up a zig-zag path that climbed through the forest. It was a virtual sweet shop of species! I saw numerous choice plants that I would love to have in the Pinetum. We set up base and started to explore on foot. It was clear from the start that the steepness of the mountain sides made the walking treacherous so we paired up to explore. It was good to see both Tsuga sieboldii and Abies firma but this was really broadleaf country. Huge old Fagus japonica and Quercus crispula clung to the mountain side and in the gaps between them we saw Clethra barbinervis, with its fiery red autumn colour and mottled bark. I think my absolute favourite was the endemic maple Acer distylum; unusual for the genus in that it has big lime-like leaves that, at that precise moment, were glowing golden yellow (I had to have a quick hug!). We could tell that our guides were quite keen to get us back to the lodge before the weather started to turn. Later in the day, whilst we were sitting in the comfort of our lodge, the rains arrived!

14th OctoberBecause of the rain, we were not surprised when our guides would not allow us to into the forest because of the risk of landslides. We were therefore confined to camp for the whole day, cleaning seeds and sorting out herbarium specimens, an essential if less exciting task!

15th OctoberToday, the weather finally abated and we were able to go back into the forest. We had persuaded our hosts to enable us to collect one of the area’s botanical stars, the critically endangered birch Betula chichibuensis (named after the area we were in). To get to it, we had to hike for three hours up and down steep mountain tracks about a foot wide, as well as crossing rivers and scrambling up rocks in the pouring rain. However, it was well worth the effort when we finally reached our destination. Perched on the side of a narrow ledge was a small group of this incredibly rare birch, complete with seed capsules that we were able to collect. There were some huge old Hinoki Cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) that we were able to collect too. As the mist cleared, we were offered stunning views out between the trees to the surrounding mountains. Perfect! On the walk back we tried to get some cones of a huge, old Tiger-tail Spruce (Picea torano) using a throw line. After much swearing because of the fading daylight and the difficulty of the task in hand, we had to call a halt to one of the best days in the field I have ever had!

16th OctoberToday was my last day in Japan. After a quick morning visit to a patch of forest on the outskirts of Chichibu, I headed off to the airport negotiating the rather complex Japanese rail network along the way!

During our visit to Japan, we had seen some stunning scenery, met some lovely people and made over 100 collections of seed. As the flight took off, I got a chance to see Mt Fuji from the air – a wonderful end to an extraordinary trip!

The main focus of a ringing scheme is to help us understand why bird populations are changing. Recording the proportions of juveniles to adults, monitoring survival rates and the interpretation of biometrics taken all play their part in helping us to understand what is happening to our birds. Bird movements, dispersal and migration are also studied. This data helps us consider whether the timing of migration or breeding is changing and if birds are migrating with as much fat as they used to. This information adds to our knowledge and can be used to help tackle conservation issues.

Ringing also produces discoveries like that of the British Blackcap population. We knew that they bred here and that they wintered here but as a result of the ringing scheme we now know that there are two distinct populations that may be seen at Bedgebury – our breeding Blackcaps migrate to winter in south and tropical Africa and our wintering Blackcaps have bred in central Europe.

I would encourage anyone who reads a ring or finds a ring on any bird to report it to the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). Whilst bird watching please look out for any colour ringed birds. If you can read the ring, note as much detail as possible. Any information recorded can be reported on www.cr-birding.org. You will then be playing your part in helping to monitor these birds. When you get a reply you may be surprised to learn the bird’s origins!

Bird ringing has taken place periodically at Bedgebury since 2010, primarily in the winter. Although it is done on a small scale it nevertheless contributes to a wider understanding of birds, their habits and migrations, and helps with their conservation. I have recently taken over the ringing at Bedgebury and look forward to finding out more about Bedgebury’s birds.

Bird Ringing at Bedgebury Christine George

Blackcap

Taking a closer look at some seeds.

The “glowing” leaves of the rare and unusual Japanese native, Acer distylum, a tree hugged by Dan in Chichibu Forest!

This spring, Bedgebury will stratify and sow the seeds of every ‘woody’ species collected on the trip. Within a few years, they will be planted in the Pinetum for everyone to appreciate. For more information on our specimens, visit the Pinetum section of the Friends’ website www.bedgeburypinetum.org.uk

Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) is just one bird that does well in a conifer-dominated environment.

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Why is Bedgebury a great place to bring your school?Cath Weeks, Learning Manager

Something for everyone… and every pocketWe offer a choice of visits with varying charges so that you can pick the option that best suits your needs.

We can lead your primary group and introduce them to trees and how they develop from seed to soil. Our emphasis is on getting people out amongst our trees and using them to illustrate, inspire and amaze.

Through our approved learning provider we can also offer teambuilding sessions in an amazing forest location. Whether you want to reward your group for work well done, or to bond them at the start of a term, this is a popular and enjoyable choice.

If you want a more flexible visit at a lower cost, but still with expert help to plan the day, why not book a supported visit? Available for early years and primary groups, this option offers activity packs for schools to hire and use to lead sessions on site, alongside advice and support from our Learning Team.

For more details and information about how to book led and supported visits, please see our website: www.forestry.gov.uk/bedgebury or ring 0300 067 4474.

Of course, we also welcome schools and groups who come to Bedgebury to do their own thing, on a ‘DIY’ self-led visit. Even if you opt for this sort of visit, we would ask that you book ahead by ringing 0300 067 4880. Booking several weeks in advance can also save you money on the vehicle admission fee.

The Pinetum can also provide a stunning backdrop to other subjects such as teambuilding, arts and general environmental studies.

Many schools are finding that a blend of focused learning in the morning and an afternoon on our play trail, one of the largest in the South East, provides just the right combination for a trip.

For the adventurous, Bedgebury Forest offers activities such as orienteering and biking, with a range of skill and distance-based cycle trails for you to try, whether you bring your own bike or hire one on site.

The help you needBedgebury’s expert Learning Team aim to support you throughout the process of visiting Bedgebury. We can advise you from the enquiry stage right through to booking a visit, planning the day and evaluating the outcomes.

We may even be able to help you with the cost of a visit. Through the generosity of the Friends of Bedgebury Pinetum we are currently offering school travel bursaries to encourage more young people from socially and economically disadvantaged areas to visit Bedgebury.

Contact us on 0300 067 4474 for more details.

Then, when school’s out….We also run fantastic holiday events for families. Have a look at our ‘What’s On’ pages at www.forestry.gov.uk/bedgebury for more details or turn to pages 14 – 17 for information on all the events and activities at Bedgebury this spring and summer.

A school trip to Bedgebury can bring classroom learning to life. It also introduces youngsters to trees and the outdoors, and to a place that they may revisit with their families, perhaps even with their own children in the future. Sometimes it can even spark a life-long interest, or inspire a choice of career. Bringing learning aliveBedgebury offers wonderful opportunities to learn outdoors.

The Pinetum’s trees and landscape can open students’ eyes and hearts to wildlife and trees. It’s the perfect place for us to share the stories about our conifers and the work we do to save them.

‘ ‘An excellent programme, perfectly pitched, would definitely return. Thank you!” Stonegate C of E Primary School

‘ ‘A lovely safe place to visit with plenty of starting points to follow up later at school.” Dudley Infants School

“ The children had a fantastic day. We always enjoy our visits to Bedgebury. Some of the children commented, ‘That was my best day out’. What more could we ask for?! Thank you.” Ore Village Primary Academy

Bedgebury brings learning alive for schools and groups

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We, the Forestry Commission at Bedgebury and the Friends of Bedgebury Pinetum, would like to express our gratitude to all our partners. Without their help we would be unable to achieve all the wonderful things we do at Bedgebury.

Our partnerships enable us to be world-leaders in the diverse activities we undertake; from conifer conservation, mountain biking and helping people to appreciate and enjoy nature, to helping us to source funding for all of our valuable work.

Charity no. 1113325

‘ Supporting the work of Bedgebury and the National Pinetum’

The Friends of Bedgebury Pinetum MagazineThis magazine is produced twice a year by the Friends of Bedgebury Pinetum charity. It aims to inform members about upcoming projects and events. It is also an opportunity to share the wonders and stories of Bedgebury.

PatronHRH The Countess of Wessex GCVO

TrusteesMr M Kerr Mr J Gordon Mr K Noakes Mrs E Reid Mr P Jenks Mr N Pink Mrs R Mayhew Mr K Webber Mrs E Hill

Staff information and contact details

Friends’ Manager Staff members Katherine Jary Luke Wallace Isobel Lobo Sharon Booth

General enquiries 01580 879842 friends@bedgeburypinetum.org.uk

Membership enquiries membership@bedgeburypinetum.org.uk

Volunteering enquiries volunteer@bedgeburypinetum.org.uk

www.bedgeburypinetum.org.uk

INFORMATIONSite opening times March 8.00 -18.00 April 8.00 -19.00 May 8.00 -20.00 June 8.00 -20.00 July 8.00 -20.00 August 8.00 -20.00

Office opening times March 9.30-16.30 April 9.30-16.30 May 9.30-16.30 June 9.30-16.30 July 9.30-16.30 August 9.30-16.30

General enquiries 01580 879820 bedgebury@forestry.gsi.gov.uk www.forestry.gov.uk/bedgebury

Staff information

Bedgebury Manager Dominic O’Connor Robinson

Operations Manager John Allen

Recreation Manager Mark Clixby

Learning Manager Cath Weeks

Dendrologist Daniel Luscombe

Bedgebury National Pinetum is cared for by the Forestry Commission. www.forestry.gov.uk

Mrs Elizabeth Banks DL

Lord Howick

Mr David Knott

Mr Roy Lancaster OBE VMH

Colonel John Edward Kendall MBE

Mr Giles Coode-Adams OBE VMH (Chair)

Mr Malcolm Kerr LLB MRICS

Mr Tony Hall

The Forestry Commission Arboreta Advisory Committee:

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh

Forest Research

Harcourt Arboretum, Oxford

Botanic Gardens Conservation International

Botanic Gardens Education Network

Royal Botanic Gardens, Wakehurst Place

Sport England

The Arts Council

Our volunteers

Go Ape

Quench Cycles

The Kent High Weald Partnership

The Bedgebury Forest Cycle Club

Our partners include:

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Notice BoardConflict at BedgeburyThere is no doubt that Bedgebury is a site of many users; from dog walkers to mountain bikers and from families with small, excited and noisy children to those who love the peace and sanctuary of the Pinetum. It is impossible for the Forestry Commission to define rules to cover every eventuality, or to thoroughly police the few rules that do exist. We can only encourage everyone to find a way to share the site, to comply with the rules that are in place and to respect each other’s love of this very special place.

Having said that, there are some simple things we can all do to improve our experience on site.

Cyclists – Please slow down when you pass families and dog walkers on the family trails. However well-trained dogs (or children!) are, they can move unpredictably, and no-one wants to get hurt.

And please… no cycling in the car park, the Pinetum, the Visitor Centre or in the play areas.

On the other hand, dog walkers and horse riders, for your safety, please avoid the single tracks. They have been built to enable mountain bikers to achieve great speeds so you are risking the lives of all concerned if you use them.

Dog walkers – Please keep your dogs on leads around the play areas, in the Pinetum, in the car park and around the Visitor Centre; and please pick up after them wherever you are. When you are in the forest, please keep your dog under close control and within the Bedgebury forest area – please don’t allow them to stray onto adjoining land. It is important that those of us who love spending time with our dogs in Bedgebury don’t spoil the experience for the visitors who don’t!

We know a few of our members would love to walk their dogs off the lead in the Pinetum or take their small children in there on their bikes, but, as well as being an important ex situ collection of rare and wonderful trees and a site of special ecological value, the Pinetum is a haven for people who don’t want to encounter dogs off the lead or cyclists racing around. We think it is important we keep it that way.

Real Bedgebury regulars know that there are plenty of idylls on site for everyone if you are prepared to explore, but where we overlap we must be respectful. Some more benches will be appearing in the forest in the coming months and there are many beautiful spaces for a walk or a picnic in the Pinetum and the wider forest to suit your needs. Let’s share this beautiful space harmoniously!

Be part of the bigger picture…

Pinus from an original watercolour by Susan Conroy

Do you love Bedgebury? Are you a regular visitor and a supporter of all that we do at Bedgebury?

We will soon be able to offer you a unique opportunity to become a part of the Bedgebury family and take your passion for Bedgebury even further.

• Imagine yourself picnicking under a majestic tree dedicated to you or your loved ones…

• Receive an inside view of the important conservation work undertaken here at Bedgebury by joining a ‘behind the scenes’ tour of the Conifer Conservation Project (“The Plots”), the nursery and lesser known areas of the Pinetum…

• Picture yourself admiring one of our many stunning views through the seasons whilst sitting on a limited edition bench set in a choice of locations…

• Enjoy a cream tea in the newly redeveloped Bedgebury Café whilst admiring the bespoke wall art centre-piece with your name engraved on your chosen panel.

Sign up now More information will be available soon, both on-line and in the Visitor Centre. However if you want to be one of the first to receive details of the schemes when they are launched please contact Isobel Lobo or Liz Randall on 01580 879842 or pop into the Visitor Centre during your next visit.

All of these things will be possible through our new sponsorship schemes launching this spring.

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