Commonwood

TROSERCH WOODLAND SOCIETY NEWSLETTER 2009-10

(Troserch Wood is an 80 acre patch of woodland up the Morlais valley from Llangennech, near Llanelli, in South Wales. It was bought by a specially formed community association with a grant from the Forestry Commission, former owners of the land, who had sold it off during the privatisations of the early 90s)

What’s the Troserch Woodland Society for? I was asked that today for a Forestry Commission survey. The man on the phone didn’t know which box to tick: ‘conservation’ or ‘community regeneration’? What about both, I said, with some misgiving: how DO communities regenerate? So ‘conservation’ got the tick, with ‘community’ in brackets beside it.
What has been regenerating is the newly-felled east bank of the Morlais: more than ten acres of little broadleaved saplings, rooting and budding in the gaps between the fellers’ brash. Gorse and birch, rushes and foxgloves seed themselves. Birds and animals are drawn into the light and space in what was once a dark crypt of conifers.
The felling also revealed old mine buildings, and tall, spindly clumps of oak and ash that had somehow survived the plantation. We had working parties to extend the machine tracks into new footpaths and plant more trees in gaps, alders for damp places, copper beach and scots pine for colour and variety.
A second picnic site was opened up near the river, and we’re building a roundhouse - rough timber with a turf roof - to provide shelter and a base for activities.
How many people visit the wood? No way of knowing without turnstiles or monitors, but we do have 150 (???) paid-up members and their families. We meet more people in the woods and see more cars in the carpark since logpiles were replaced by a notice board with information, map and bench. Horses and bicycles leave their marks on the tracks, also motorcycles – less welcome but hard to keep out. To prevent fourwheel access we’ve put in swinging barriers (off-road vehicles tear up tracks, consort ill with wildlife and walkers). We’ve also wasted time (ours) and money (yours) picking up old tyres and getting a burnt-out car removed..
We’d like more people who share our aims to visit and enjoy the place. If people have activities they’d like to organise, let’s know and see if we can help. By summer we hope to have a roundhouse built, a timber structure with a turf roof to serve as shelter and base for group activities. Last year Llangennech schoolchildren came up for a walk, this year a little group came up for a Christmas tree. In November we joined a table-top sale at the Community Centre, recruited new members and made decorations with children. A calendar with pictures of the wood sold well. For more pictures, history and information visit website www.troserchwoods.co.uk (???). If you’d like to submit a picture for next year’s calendar, contact…..(???)
We were grateful for a donation from Llangennech Bowling Club in memory of….. (???) Another memorial, a bird-cherry near the upper picnic site is doing well.
Wildlife thrives, except perhaps for grey squirrels which seem to have disappeared since goshawks took up residence. We see foxes, badgers and rabbits, hares in adjoining fields. Besides goshawks, there are kites, merlins and sparrow hawks. There may or may not be dormice: an experiment with prefab dormouse houses (dormice hice?) was inconclusive. Dippers nest by the river, sightings reported of otter and kingfisher. Herons fly in to fish. Apart from small brown trout, there may also be sewen or salmon coming up the river to spawn (expert advice welcome).
There’s always work to be done. Besides the roundhouse, there are windfall trees across one path and several more in the river. We’re linking up with other commonwoods in Lais y Goedwig (sp???). We’re in touch with Permaculture magazine and the Heart of Wales railway. New ideas and activities welcome. Committee meetings open to all members, 7pm first Wednesday every month at Llangennech Community Centre. Thanks for the support we’ve had, and to whoever planted daffodil bulbs along the new track. When you’ve an hour or two to spare – take a walk on the wildside, and mind the little trees.
PS If you wonder why there are two bridges within a few yards, it’s because we had to put a bigger one in for the felling machinery. Ideally we would move the footbridge down stream, to make a newer circular path. For now we’ve made the planks less slippery with chicken wire.