The felling of diseased ash trees resulted in a large volume of excess timber on the reserves. We have left some logs as habitat piles but the majority needed to be removed. Over the past couple of years, Backwell Logs have partnered with BET to collect the logs and process and dry them for firewood sales.
Our challenge has been to move the heavy logs from the middle of the reserves, down the muddy and rocky slopes, to the roadside for collection.
Last year we enjoyed having heavy horses in Jubilee Stone Wood for a couple of days to extract logs. This year we had to rely solely on volunteer power and tried to find some more direct routes down the hillside to the road. Sack trucks proved to be a great new way to move big logs to the top of a slope. Then gravity played a major part, with ropes being used to drag the logs to stacks near the road.
Between March and May a staggering number of logs were moved safely down the hill and stacked for collection.