This newsletter is to inform people of the progress of the Holyford Woodland Trust over the past year and to give notice of our second Bluebell Day - to be held on Sunday 4th May from 2:00pm until 6:00pm followed by our first AGM. Stalls and refreshments will be available at Horriford Farm and we will again be operating the park and ride scheme from Colyford Village Hall.

This has been a year of steady progress towards our main goal of having Holyford Woodland declared as a local Nature Reserve. During the late summer and Autumn 2002, Ian Crowe - an ecologist who specialises in woodlands, presented a draft management plan after a detailed appraisal. The committee spent a great deal of time discussing the proposed management plan, which will be incorporated into the 125 year lease by East Devon District Council to the Holyford Woodland Trust.

Each compartment in the woodland was formally named having regard to its historic use and former name. The meetings of the society discussed the proposals for the management of each compartment. For most areas a policy of non-intervention was proposed. A plan for the removal of a significant proportion of the conifers was approved to allow natural regeneration and to establish open woodland rides and glades. A new track was opened by the Axe Vale Conservation Society following an old timber track and accessing an area of woodland on the northwest section of the woods. A series of monitored bird nest boxes and bat boxes have been installed in the wood. A preliminary survey of lichens and mosses have been made plus a survey of insect life in the wet areas of the wood.

The management plan is with English Nature at the moment with an application for Holyford Woods to become a local Nature Reserve. We await the result of this application.

Much work has still to be done, not least the provision of a safe surface for the new footpaths, plus steps leading down from the goyle with a new footbridge across the stream. Also, the surveying and provision of fencing to stop livestock from entering the woods. A further proposal in the management plan seeks to allow cattle into the northwest section of the wood at controlled intervals to recreate a wood pasture habitat, which it is thought used to exist there. We are hoping to have more detailed information on display on Bluebell Day.

Become a "Friend of Holyford Woods"
There will be an opportunity to join the "Friends of Holyford Woods" on Bluebell Day. The committee suggests an annual subscription of £10 or an amount to suit your budget. The money will help towards the funding of maintenance work and the general upkeep of the woodland. If you cannot be with us on May 4th, then please fill out your details on the tear off slip below.