Weald Forest Ridge Project

The Hundred Acre Wood is justly famous.

But while thousands of people know it as the home of Winnie-the-Pooh, Christopher Robin and Piglet, relatively few realise its importance as a historic landscape.

Immortalised by A A Milne in the 1920s, Ashdown Forest is one of four areas, remnants of ancient medieval forests, that stretched across the Weald Forest Ridge. Once the playground of kings, they are now accessible countryside sites for local residents and visitors. But between them they also form a significant proportion of this country’s total ancient woodland.

Now BTCV are partners in a £3.3million project to engage with local people, enabling them to discover, preserve and enhance these fragile national assets - hopefully for generations to come.

Just 30 miles south of London, it is easy to see why the rolling hills, abundant woodland, scattered farmsteads and patchwork of small fields and ancient routeways has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

The treeless heights of Ashdown Forest are reknowned for their rare heathlands – not nearly so gloomy as Eeyore might have you believe.

St Leonards Forest is carpeted with Lily of the Valley where, as legend would have it, the blood of St Leonard was spilt as he fought with the forest dragon.

The Forests of Waterdown (Broadwater) and Worth (Tilgate) complete the quartet of historical assets.

BTCV are working with local people, creating four community groups, one attached to each of the ancient forests. We run practical tasks and activities to care for the landscapes and providing hands-on training in traditional land-management skills to enable them to really make a long-term difference.

Get involved . . .

“By recruiting Ridge residents and volunteers from neighbouring towns this programme will focus on reconnecting people with the Weald Forest Ridge landscape,” explained Project Officer Warren Young.

“Skills creation and practical conservation activities will help volunteers to care for their area, whilst a series of “Weald” awareness talks will encourage volunteers to cherish the Weald Forest Ridge Features.”

Covering an area of 328km2 we will be delivering projects across the Weald; from clearing heathland to coppicing woodland and from pond creation to surveying ancient woodland flora. Check our task programme here. Working with BTCV, volunteers will receive all the training and support they need to be successful- through both on site task instruction and specialised one-day courses.

Longer term the Weald Ridge Project aims for each of the four community groups to be self-sustaining, therefore key volunteers will be encouraged to participate in BTCV's accredited training to learn in more depth about traditional land-management skills.

For more information and to get involved in a task near you, contact Warren Young on w.young@btcv.org.uk or 07740 899678.