The group told me, ‘Our little woodland holds stories that reach back to our ancestors of the Iron Age. It holds treasures, and the voice of a lineage that deserves to be honoured, to become a community and a woodland with a voice again. We hope to both bring alive ancient stories as well as generate new ones to enjoy and take forward into the future.

'Liaising with adjacent landowners to expand the woodland is also part of our vision. Cowroast woodland copse will be transformed into a thriving habitat and a beacon of community-driven conservation, preserving its natural and historical significance for generations to come.

Cowroast tree planting

We are working towards:

• Becoming a self-managed community woodland offering tree and hedge conservation training opportunities through funding activities.
• Creating a sanctuary; a place to relax amongst the trees, opening up the use and enjoyment of the woodland. 
• Hosting story-telling gatherings/evenings that include friends and friends of friends. 
• Putting together a wooden signage-board to tell the story of this woodland; guiding and informing folk who meander through. 
• We want to develop as a community to provide food for nature as well as us.

'What we have achieved so far: We now have a small, effective, committed ‘woodland guardians’ team, all up for being sharers of knowledge, in alignment with their individual field of expertise. Further training and support will allow us to support others to connect and learn from small woodlands. Further funding will be needed to capitalise on this opportunity, to include covering individual expenses.'

I asked the group to feed back what they learned from being on our guided walk, and they had this to say:

‘What was really valuable learning was getting to know the land and how humans and nature already engage with it. It’s easy to impose one’s wants rather than understanding what is actually working. Of course we learned the importance of monitoring, surveying, documenting current wildlife and new visitors – this way you can track whether your actions are making a difference! It’s about making small changes, as if it’s a growing story. 

'The walk affirmed the importance of creating nature corridors that connect the pockets of land together, as well as engaging the community who don’t embrace nature, who see it as something they are not responsible for. Plus, engaging a community who do not share the vision is hard slow work; I felt encouraged by seeing how others have similar experiences and to never give up.’

Want to come along to one of our community network walks or other events?

See the Community Network events page

And to learn more about Cowroast Copse community project, based near Tring, contact them here at: Cowroastwoodland@gmail.com