The Alchemist in Grizedale

'Sometimes, when all you have before you are reflected, transmotted and absorbed light, some raw materials and instruments and what we produce is an object of beauty, then it feels a little like 21st Century alchemy in practice'

The Alchemist's Workshop is a gallery of silver gelatine photographic prints by fine art photographer Steven Taylor. It is also a workshop facility for the teaching of black and white film photography. Set in the idyllic surroundings of Grizedale Forest, the landscape provides inspiration for the artist and the students that visit'.

A programme of events, workshops and classes will be announced on here as they are organised. The gallery is open 7 days a week from 10am-4pm and the dark room is also available for hire. Taylor is also happy to arrange bespoke workshops and short courses for individuals and groups of up to five people- contact details are below

Steven Taylor has been a professional photographer since 1976 and has won many awards. He has had exhibitions in the UK and abroad, as well as gaining an MA in Photography from DeMontfort University in Leicester.

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Email: talk@steventaylorphotography.co.uk
Twitter: @taylorphoto
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAlchemistsWorkshopBlog: http://alchemistsworkshop.tumblr.com/Number: 01229 860588

The Peace of Wild Things exhibition, coming soon

Victoria Clare Gray’s Exhibition ‘The Peace of Wild Things’ begins on Monday 11^th March within the Café in the Forest, Grizedale Visitor Centre.

Gray’s work focuses on beautiful Natural History Illustration, something which has always been of interest to her and uses her natural skill of drawing to its full potential.  As Gray states:

‘I have always been interested in the way animals are drawn and displayed within the context of ‘the museum’ so to speak. The core focus of my artistic practice is the study of wild animals, and I think it will be something I will always be fascinated by, be it their behaviour, environment or the details of their anatomy. Learning about and documenting different creatures, whether they be beautiful or repulsive to us as humans, helps me as an individual to de-contextualise the world around me and focus on the raw animalistic tendencies of nature’. 

The exhibition features intricate drawings of animals within Grizedale Forest and combines both monochrome and colour pieces. Gray’s technique is delicate, detailed and full of depth, allowing the visitor to see the forest creatures close up.

Gray graduated from Lancaster University in 2011 gaining a BA in Fine Art. This is her first solo exhibition.

The Peace of Wild Things will run from 11^th March till 20^th May, open 10am-5pm everyday.  

Visit Victoria's website at www.victoria-clare-gray.com

Or follow her on Twitter @VictoriaCGray

Designing and managing a forest, the role of Forest Design Plans

Managing a forest may look simple-you plant some trees then you leave the trees alone-but it’s actually much more complicated than that.  Decisions are always being made about managing the forest and the forest is constantly changing shape as we make sure we look after it in the best way for everyone, including the wildlife.  To help us achieve this we create and update a Forest Design Plan which allows us to make long term decisions about the forest, including when and how to fell and plant trees.

When the Forestry Commission was first set up in 1919 its main aim was to replace the trees felled for use in the First World War, forming a ‘strategic timber reserve’ in case the country again needed a large source of timber.  In 1937 the Forestry Commission bought Grizedale estate and planted trees on 2,000 hectares (an area the size of 2,800 football pitches) of farm land used for grazing..  The main priority was producing timber quickly.  Because different trees grow at different rates on different soil types the Forestry Commission surveyed the land before choosing which species to plant where.  The result was large quantities of Sitka spruce, Douglas fir, Western hemlock and Scots pine being planted over 15 years. 

From the 1960s onwards Grizedale developed as a multiple-use forest.  This means using the land not only to grow timber but also to manage it to benefit wildlife, to make possible adventure activities such as those offered by ‘Go Ape’ and ‘Grizedale Mountain Bikes’; to benefit walkers who enjoy our walking trails; to provide education for students of all ages and even to make sure that you have the best views possible.  In order to balance all these different objectives and to deliver all of these benefits, Forest Design Plans are used.

Forest Design Plans are long term plans which layout how the forest will be managed.  Because the forest is managed for so many different people, we involve neighbours, Parish Councils, County Wildlife Trusts, and specialist interests like Friends Of the Lake District in the shaping the Forest Design Plan.  Managing each forest as well as possible means appreciating what is special about each forest.  That’s why special features of wildlife or archaeological interest, the forest’s potential for timber production and its value for landscape and recreation are all taken into account. 

Each ForestDesign Plan has many maps, accompanied by text, with each map corresponding to one objective we are trying to achieve such as:

• Ensuring that we don’t spoil any of the good views from various points around the forest
• Plotting the different soil types to make sure we plant the right trees in the right places
• Mapping areas of high windspeeds and poorly drained soils where trees will be exposed to being blown over if they are thinned out. (see this blog about the forest cycle)
• Ensuring that one group’s (e.g. cyclists) enjoyment of the forest does reduce the enjoyment of another group (e.g. walkers) and that an area is set aside as quiet wildlife area.

These maps, as well as the other information in the plan are used to guide our long term management decisions, such as

• When to fell each area of the forest
• What to replant following felling
• Where to set aside quiet areas, with less human disturbance, for wildlife
• Where to site new recreation facilities, such as trails, picnic sites or car parks.

The best opportunities to mould the forest come from decisions about felling and replanting, so getting this right is a key part of any Forest Design Plan.  After an area has been planted for 20 years then it may be thinned. Thinning means harvesting the smaller trees so that the bigger trees have more space to grow.  Decisions about thinning may be made before the area is even planted and will depend upon how windy the area is.  If it is a very windy area then thinning may lead to the remaining trees being blown over and is therefore more likely to be avoided.  There are other areas, which are very visible from major roads and public areas which will often be managed as ‘continuous cover’ meaning that the area will never be clear felled.  But, when an area is clear felled we are presented with a clean slate, and foresters have the opportunity to plant more conifers for timber or to plant broadleaf species.

Although the Forest Design Plans are long term plans they are not set in stone.  They are reviewed fully with consultees every 10 years to see what has worked well and where we can improve.  Our plans may also be affected by events outside of the forest for example, if the price of the timber of a species trebled or if new diseases made planting a species more risky.

For more information about Forest Design Plans and to see some online, go to www.forestry.go.uk and search ‘Forest Design Plans’

The Commercial Forest Cycle

Grizedale is a working forest containing trees grown to produce timber and then harvested before the ground is re-planted.  As well as producing a steady supply of timber which generates income which helps to maintain the whole forest, this cycle of felling and replanting ensures that there is a range of habitats for many woodland species.  Not all of the forest is managed with timber production in mind, we create and manage broadleaf woodland for visitors and wildlife with large parts set aside as wildlife reserves.

So how does this cycle work?

The starting point:

Clear felled sites can look like areas of devastation but they are the starting point for new growth.  Following clear felling there is an opportunity to re-design the forest.  We can choose to replant conifer trees, to restore broadleaved woodland or to leave nature to decide upon the future of the site, if you want to know more about how we make this choice then check out this blog.  Whatever we choose to do, life quickly asserts itself on the clearfell site.  The felling of the trees means more light reaches the forest floor than in the past 50 years.  Ferns, grasses and wildflowers take advantage of this light and space and insects benefit from the new vegetation.  Eventually older stumps will be decomposed by fungi, in fact, next time you’re here check out the different fungi growing on the felled tree near the visitor centre.

Where replanting with conifers is planned, felled sites are left for 3 years before replanting. This allows the needles and branches left over from the felling to decay which provides nutrients for the next generation of young trees and makes planting easier.  Waiting for 3 years also protects the next trees to be planted from pine weevils, an insect pest which is very common in recently clear felled sites and damages young trees.  For species which are vulnerable to damage by deer, including Pines and Firs, fences are built to keep the deer out and prevent them from eating the young trees.

Planting:

Three years after clear felling a big excavator (digger) creates mounds that the trees will be planted into, that’s 2700 mounds per hectare.   These mounds provide good conditions for the tree and kills weeds saving us from using herbicides.  The mounds also make it easier fro the planters to plant.  .  Each tree is planted by hand using a small spade and a good planter can plant 2000 trees a day!  The young trees come from Forestry Commission nurseries in Yorkshire and Cheshire which may be grown from seeds collected from the forest here in Grizedale and are planted when they are dormant, between November and March.  We will be replanting a large area in March so keep your eye out for blogs about that which will include some photos of our work.

Checking up on young trees:

About 5% of trees die in the first year.  These dead trees will be replaced the following season, a process known as “beating up”.  After this, the crop doesn’t normally need any help for about 20 years.  Once the trees have been growing for 20 years, the decision may be taken to ‘thin’ the crop.  Thinning means taking out some of the weaker, smaller trees which gives the bigger trees more space to grow.  .  After a crop has been thinned once, it may then be thinned every five years or so for the rest of its life with each thinning resulting in larger and better quality trees.

Clear felling and extraction:

Conifer trees will typically be felled when they are between 45 and 70 years old, depending on the particular crop (called a ‘stand’).  This is the age at which they are most useful and valuable to the timber-using industries such as sawmills. Trees are cut down using a harvester, and are stacked up to be removed from the forest.  This brings us back to a clear felled site and the start of another forest cycle.

We hope that you might now see clear fell sites in a different light.  If you have any topics that you would like us to blog about then please let us know by posting a comment below or tweeting to us using @FCGrizedale