About West Rugger’s Green
Our aim is to provide a relaxed, rustic venue for a celebration that will be remembered by family and friends for years to come.
Magical woodland glade that is available for Wedding Ceremonies, Naming Ceremonies and other family Celebrations
Striving to regenerate neglected woodland
“Why did rare breed farm animals become rare breeds?” Simple, people stopped eating them. Now they are coming back into fashion the numbers of these rare breeds are gradually increasing and are no longer at risk of extinction. “So, what does this have to do with this project?” I hear you ask. Well, surely the same applies to our woodlands? If nobody makes use of them, then they will become neglected, non-native species will start to take hold and our ancient native woodlands will be lost forever!
Why are people not caring for these sites? This is probably due to the fact that not many people can afford either the time or the money to manage them if they are not able to turn a profit or at least cover their costs. There are more and more small local woods in desperate need of attention.
This is where our project started
Just on the edge of our village there is a parcel of woodland which we purchased in March 2017. As we are not experienced in forestry management we are getting all the help, advice and guidance from experts to allow us to manage this small section of woodland and restore it to its former glory.
The majority of our section of the woodland has been classified by the Forestry Commission as Plantation on Ancient Woodland. During the war a section of the woods was clear felled and Larch trees were planted as they are fast growing and so could supply timber for the war effort. Post war this section remained as a timber plantation until it was deserted and left to its own devices. We now have Larch trees that are too tightly packed together, starving the forest floor of light and stifling the growth of any understory. This in turn means there is a lack of biodiversity in the woods, something we are keen to reverse.
Low impact management
One evening, my husband and I were pondering over the best way to manage the woods. Having had over 30 years experience working with animals of all shapes and sizes, a good few of those years I have been equine based, we came up with the idea of using a horse to help us with our project. Horses can be used, not only for logging to remove dead, diseased or non-native species, but also for transporting firewood to and collect supplies from the local villages. They would have the lowest possible impact on the environment and allow us to enjoy the peace and tranquillity of the environment whilst working in the woods.
We intend to use low impact management and keep everything as low key as possible, we want people to experience the woodlands in an undisturbed and natural state. We are just visiting and we want to leave nature as natural as possible.