Assess the ecological impact of running your Forest School on your chosen site to include information on: seasonality, frequency of use, wildlife, use of fires, other relevant considerations such as SSSI, NNR, TPO

Environmental Impact Assessment

Site: Middlewood Nature Nursery

The site is in the area of BBBBBB Woods and is approximately 3 acres in size. BBBBBB Wods is situated several miles North of Sheffield city centre on the outskirts of the city. A Larg River, The Don runs along the South side of the woodland with roads and fields bordering the rest of the site. The woodland is owned by a private landlord and is used by many other stakeholders. The blue line on the OS map marks the river (The Don) and there is also a small stream through the woods

Access to the site is gained by crossing a bridge and walking up the footpath close to the commercial buildings. Inside the woodland there are established pathways in some parts of the wood and due to the maturity of the trees there are large areas with little or no ground or

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shrub layer. A second access point is accessed by following the footpath over the Railway line and over the train lines with extra caution

Preliminary Review

The project will take place every day of the week during the course of the year with around 12 children and 3 adults using the woodland. There is no use of fire on the site and the only use of fire on the site will be the use of a Kelly kettle where the fire is completely enclosed within a metal base so this will not impact significantly on the site. There is ample dead wood within the woodland to provide fire wood for the programme without having any negative impact on wildlife. The main impact of the project will be trampling and disturbance to wildlife. There is a large amount of standing dead wood in the woodland as well as dead wood on the ground providing a good habitat for many invertebrates and small mammals.

There is little ground layer in some areas and a great variety in other more open areas within the woodland due to the maturity and enclosed canopy, allowing little light to penetrate to ground level. Whereas in those more open areas, there is a greater propensity of diversity. The only prevalent ground species is Woodland grasses. Bluebells are present in the woodland in spring as well as Dogs Mercury, and other indicator species for Semi Ancient Woodlands.. For the sessions taking place in November and December to March, there will be no trampling threat, however during spring and summer extra caution will be needed. There are elements of a shrub layer consisting mainly of elder and hazel, brambles and holly. The hazel shows sign of having been coppiced at some stage in the past and there are some historical records available for the woodland. There is active management by the landowner in certain areas and close contact is important to ensure that relationships as well as Health and Safety considerations are adhered to. The most established layer of the woodland is the canopy as most of the trees are mature. Predominate species are oak, ash, sycamore and Ash with smaller amounts of other large deciduous trees. There are several small coniferous trees but the rest of the woodland is broadleaved.

In terms of fauna there is evidence of a badger sett to the east side of the woodland. The sett has evidence of being in current use so it is assumed badgers are always in the woodland. The sett is in an overgrown area on the opposite side of the woodland from the main shelter and meeting circle areas so there is not an unacceptable disturbance. Rabbit burrows are extremely frequent in the woodland and there is extensive evidence of many different bird species and nests high up in the canopy layer. The likely impacts of the project will not impact significantly on the woodland habitat.

The woodland is not under any kind of special protection or status such as SSSI or NNR and no trees have tree preservation orders. There is no information available about the woodland through any statutory organisations such as English Nature, although the historical society in Sheffield contains much architectural and archaeological information. As the woodland is private and has a public right of way through it, it used by the public it makes it easy to assess the impact of activities as it is known who is going onto the site and when, to the main site but the footpaths and any additional use by young people, children and walkers will be monitored as appropriate. Currently the nursery uses it for a range of programmes and training and outdoor learning as well as Forest Schools Kindergarten so we will be monitoring issues of over-intensive use as the initial sessions progress.

Underfoot the path leading into the woodland can become very muddy in wet weather as the soil has a clay horizon just below the surface meaning rainfall doesn’t soak away quickly. In the woodland itself there is a reasonably thick layer of humus and leaf litter and the underfoot conditions here don’t get so muddy; this situation will be reviewed at the end of the six week block to see what affect it has in terms of future sessions being planned.

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Impacts of programme and mitigation measures

Potential Impacts Mitigation MeasuresTrampling impact to ground flora Use pathways already established in

woodland, especially during spring (bluebells). Identify any vulnerable areas and avoid them.

Disturbance/habitat destruction of flora and fauna

Make participants aware of the environment they are in and how to treat it in terms of handling plants and animals and using natural resources.

Overuse of fire area/shelter area If ground is becoming trampled/ compacted move these to other areas. If any further Forest School sessions take place rotate the fire circle and shelter locations.

Disturbance of stream habitat through clearing activities

The stream is almost completely blocked up so clearing it will have a positive long term affect that will outweigh any short term disturbance – clearance will take place in November when there is low wildlife activity in and around the stream.

Use of natural materials for activities Only what is required will be taken where there is abundance of that resource

Possible Positive Impacts

Clearing the stream – The stream is currently blocked with a lot of rubbish both natural and litter. Clearing it would enhance the habitat and get the water flowing again.

Further establishing footpaths and improved access – The footpaths have become trampled in places making the woodland harder to use for the nursery as they get very slippery. The Forest School leader will ensure that alternative access paths are identified and ensure there are no unacceptable health and safety risks.

Litter picking – Removing litter form the woodland will take away a threat to wildlife as well as making the woodland more aesthetically attractive.

Improved habitats – Forest School sessions might involve positive habitat effects e.g. there is a large monoculture of snowberries in the woodland (an invasive/non-native species). Some of these could be cleared to allow native species to colonise.

Monitoring and Findings

Access path – the access path became very muddy during the sessions and was becoming eroded so after the 4th session we used an alternative entrance to the woodland (marked by the blue square on the aerial photograph). For future sessions taking place in the winter months or in a wet period it would be advisable to rotate use of these two access points to ensure minimum erosion.

Home circle and shelter area – the home circle and shelter area had very little or no ground flora when the sessions began and there was no lasting impact on these areas at the end of the sessions. The humus layer was still intact and the ground had not been cut up. If the woodland was being used more intensively by the nursery it would be sensible to rotate the fire circle and shelter areas as there are many suitable sites within the woodland.

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Three year sustainable woodland management plan for the Forest School area based on your ecological impact assessment

Information collated for the environmental impact assessment gives a clear indication of some management activities which could enhance the woodland and contribute to its long term sustainability. Below is detailed a simple management plan for the next 3 years with suggested activities and management methods. The time scale of the management plan commences in March 2015 – during the Forests School sessions in the woodland.

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Factor Location Current state Target state

Any preventative measures

Monitoring

Management required

Timescale

Access Two access points marked in the aerial photograph iand established pathways within the woodland

Two access point paths become very muddy in winter and overgrown in the summer. Internal paths are well established and in good condition

To make access paths useable all year round

To rotate use of entrance paths

Review each term with members of the FS group

Edge paths with wood from woodland and lay bark. Prune vegetation annually – this will be carried out by the EMAS club

Year 1 – prune vegetation and begin to create path edging using wood from the woodlandYear 2 – prune vegetation and finish path edging.Year 3 – prune vegetation and lay bark on paths. Complete any maintenance of path edging.

Invasive species

Large area of snowberries on west side of woodland.Large areas of brambles throughout woodland

Snowberries have completely out-competed all other species. Ivy covers large areas of woodland floor and out-competed most species

To clear areas of these species and see if native species re-colonise

N/A Review cleared areas as we go and record new species

A large area of snowberries and ivy to be dug up by EMAS club and waste made into a compost pile/brash pile to create a habitat

Year 1 – dig up an area of roughly 3 metres square of both speciesYear 2 – clear any re-growth of ivy or snowberries and monitor and record any new species.Year 3 – monitor any new species and continue to clear larger areas of ivy and snowberries

Deadwood Throughout woodland

There is a lot of dead wood on the woodland floor as well as standing deadwood.

Utilize deadwood for habitat piles

N/A monitor and add to habitat piles annually

Collect deadwood and create habitat piles

Year 1 - Collect deadwood and create habitat pilesYear 2 & 3– Monitor piles and add to them, create new piles if appropriate

Woodland ecosystem layers

Woodland Very established canopy layer, partial shrub layer, little field and ground layer

A more balanced species distribution throughout layers

N/A monitor annually

Ideally create some gaps in the canopy layer to allow light to reach the ground, restart hazel coppice.

Year 1 – reintroduce coppicing the hazel shrubs – budget dependent (fell some larger trees on advice from a tree surgeon)Year 2 & 3 – continue hazel coppice rotation and monitor ground species that are colonising

Stream Runs along northern edge of woodland

Stream is completely blocked in several places by fallen branches, leaves, silt and human litter.

The stream to be litter free and flowing

N/A An ongoing task for the Forest Schools groups

Clear stream of all litter and remove natural debris that is blocking the water flow

Year 1 – Clear stream of all human litter and dispose of it correctlyYear 2 – Clear fallen branches and use spades to clear build up of silt and leavesYear 3 – Monitor the stream and clear any annual build up

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