Now more than ever, we need solutions to managing our woods in the best way possible to help ensure they thrive for generations to come. That’s why we set up the Esmond Harris Award for Innovation in Small Woodland Management, in 2022, to unearth the creative and unique methods and tools that are working well in woodlands across the UK.
The aim of the award is to showcase best practice and ingenious problem-solving in our sector. Now in its third year, the annual competition aims to discover creative solutions to woodland challenges, clever hacks that streamline tasks, proven strategies to enhance biodiversity, and technology that revolutionises the jobs involved in caring for our woodlands.
This year's award was presented to winners Carolyn Church and Hugh Ross in recognition of their work to develop an effective technique of dead hedging in their woodland in Rawhaw Wood, Northamptonshire.
The couple received an award certificate at the Small Woods AGM, held at our headquarters, the Green Wood Centre, on Saturday, September 28.
Their winning technique uses brash bundles, packed between stakes up to a height of around 6ft, creating a natural structure that provides an impenetrable barrier to deer, enabling hazel coppice to regrow unhindered. As well as keeping costs to a minimum, Carolyn and Hugh's method provides a valuable habitat that is used as a wildlife corridor and hunting ground. After four or five years, the dead hedge begins to slowly decompose, accommodating various types of invertebrates and fungi, before some of its carbon is reabsorbed into the soil.
2023 – Made posthumously to Andrew Cartwright for his long-term dedication to establishing a sustainable Welsh woodland supporting biodiversity at Coed Gwinllan Tyddyn, in Gwynedd, North Wales.
2022 – Hugh Dorrington, from Lincolnshire, who won for effectively producing high-quality timber while prioritising biodiversity, despite ash dieback and grey squirrel issues.
Our award is named after Esmond Harris (pictured below), a long-standing Small Woods member, author and retired director of the Royal Forestry Society. Esmond is on the judging panel along with our CEO Simon James.
Esmond Harris at Staverton Park
